Mary, Mother of Jesus

The lessons from Mary, the mother of Jesus

Grief doesn’t spare the good. As it were, Mary not only knew of her son’s divinity and His incarnation from the very beginning, but Simeon’s foreboding prophecy must have loomed over her throughout Jesus’ journey, especially as he was gaining disciples and teaching across Galilee and Judea.

The prophecy stated that a sword would pierce Mary’s heart (Luke 2:25-35). In other words, the persecution that would ultimately result in the crucifixion of her son would break Mary’s heart as if she were mortally harmed; this is how immense her love for her son was.

As the mother of Jesus, she would face hardships all relating back to carrying the responsibility of this title. After His birth, Mary and Joseph were forced to seek refuge in Egypt with aid from an Angel’s warning that King Herod had ordered the execution of all male children two years old and under within Bethlehem.

The amount of suffering and bloodshed that proceeded this ruthless pursuit is staggering and would have set the tone of how dangerous the world was going to become for Mother Mary and Jesus.

After escaping Herod’s wrath, Mary would settle in Nazareth. While Jesus was barely a teenager visiting Jerusalem for Passover, He would go missing for three days. Imagine the panic and uncertainty that Joseph and Mary felt, not knowing where their son—the Savior--had disappeared to.

They would find him in the Temple in Jerusalem, having a discussion with the elders. Relieved, Mary admonished His disappearance, to which Jesus replied that she should have expected Him to be in His Father’s house (Luke 2:49).

There’s a universal motherly instinct to keep your sons and daughters close and shielded from a tough world, especially for Mary’s sake, where the world was clearly going be hostile toward her son--the Messiah.

Like any coming-of-age story, the son or daughter outgrows their surroundings and fulfills their purpose. Jesus proclaiming the Temple as His “Father’s House” was a statement to Mary that it was His mission to preach and teach the Word, and when He is resurrected, He will be seated at the right hand of the Father.

The triumph of fulfillment

Mary’s presence in the Gospel wanes after Jesus begins His public ministry, possibly because of the previous lesson at the Temple; it isn’t until Jesus is persecuted and condemned for crucifixion that Mary meets with Jesus again. From the cross, Jesus has His arms open. He is ready to commit his spirit as she committed herself to the son from her womb.

While nearly every disciple abandoned Jesus at His death, Mary would remain near the cross, watching the Son of God sacrificed, perpetrated by the very people He loved dearly. As she was comforted by John the Evangelist, Jesus used some of his final breaths to address them both.

Jesus would be taken down from the cross after He gives His spirit in death, and He was buried. After the third day, Jesus Christ is risen. This is a triumphant ending for Christ, delivered by the faith and obedience of God’s will.

Now imagine how Mary, mother of Jesus, must have felt hearing of His empty tomb after the sabbath, and that the Christ had risen; to behold the fulfillment of her Son, His becoming the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22). What a beautiful sight it must have been!