Waiting on the Manger: Day 6
Mary
“You who are highly favored! The LORD is with you.” - Luke 1:28
Mary, Mary.
We cannot talk about waiting on Jesus without discussing the person whose wait was the most tangible—Mary. Mary waited nine months for the birth of her son and her Savior.
But why was Mary favored? Out of all the righteous virgins in Israel, why was she chosen to carry the Savior of the world? The Bible doesn’t explicitly tell us why she was chosen. All we know is that Mary found favor in the sight of the LORD. Through the text, we gain insight into why Mary was chosen.
Luke chronicles the angelic encounters Mary and Zechariah had with the Angel Gabriel. By contrasting Zechariah’s encounter with Mary’s, we gain some insight into what sets Mary apart.
Zechariah was in the temple of God, serving as a priest, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to him, saying, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” After Gabriel finished telling Zechariah about the ministry of John the Baptist, Zechariah asked, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.” To this, Gabriel responded that Zechariah would be “silent and unable to speak until the day this comes to pass, because [he] did not believe [Gabriel’s] words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
In contrast, six months later, the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the same manner, telling her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.” After Gabriel declared this to her, she asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and also mentioned Elizabeth, who was now six months pregnant. Mary then answered, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me according to your word.”
Zechariah and Mary both asked Gabriel a question after he told them God’s plan. The difference between their questions is that Zechariah did not believe the angel’s words. He essentially asked, “How can I be sure of this? How can I be sure that this will even happen?” In contrast, Mary asked a question of logistics: “How will this happen, since I am a virgin?” Elizabeth even said to Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that the Lord’s word to her would be fulfilled.” Mary believed God.
Mary might have been chosen and favored by God because she had faith in Him. Faith is the currency of miracles. Zechariah lacked faith so much that he had to remain silent during the course of Elizabeth’s pregnancy so he couldn’t possibly speak against what God had ordained.
“And because the people did not have any faith, Jesus did not work many miracles there.” - Matthew 13:58 (CEVDCI)
“And without faith, it is impossible to please God…” - Hebrews 11:6
“…when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on Earth?”
Like Abraham and David, Mary lived a life submitted and surrendered. When Angel Gabriel told her about Elizabeth, “Mary got ready and hurried” to visit her, and she remained there for three months.
Mary was not worried about the consequences of God favoring her. Becoming pregnant with Jesus as a virgin meant she might endure shame and disgrace, but she never brought this up to Gabriel. She didn’t even ask Gabriel about her marriage or what would happen to her betrothal. Shoot! I would have! If I were Mary, I would have been like, “Hey… yes, Lord, I believe you and all, but what about my marriage?? Am I going to be a single mother??” Mary trusted God to take care of her—to take care of her needs and her wants.
I can only imagine how those first few months felt for Mary as she stayed with Elizabeth. How did she feel? Was she worried about taking care of Jesus? How do you even take care of the Son of God? How would her life look now? Was she worried about her future, or did she trust God completely? Was she anxious? I would have been! Did she worry about Joseph? How he would react? Thankfully, God took care of Joseph for her.
When I was preparing and thinking about going on this seven-day journey, Mary was the most important study to me because I needed to dispel the common belief that Mary lived in shame due to her pregnancy. The text simply does not support that. Let’s take a look.
Matthew records Joseph’s encounter with the Angel Gabriel in Chapter 1, verses 18–24:
“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.’
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.”
God did not leave Mary to live in shame and disgrace after she became pregnant. The text says that Joseph “resolved to divorce her quietly” because he did not want to disgrace her publicly. This means that when Mary was “found to be with child,” it was not in a public manner that led to her public disgrace. It was not public knowledge that she was pregnant out of wedlock. Joseph took her and married her, covering her from public shame.
Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. He grew up as the son of both Mary and Joseph. See the verses below:
“When the time of purification according to the Law of Moses was complete, His parents brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.” - Luke 2:22
“The Child’s father and mother were amazed at what was spoken about Him.” - Luke 2:33
“Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished … Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?”
“…Jesus was known as the son of Joseph.” - Luke 3:23 (NLT)
Mary’s life was a testament to God’s goodness and favor. She trusted in the Lord and she was rewarded for it.
For Mary, waiting on the manger meant trusting God with everything—her body, her life, and her future. To Mary, the birth of Jesus was the embodiment of a life lived in faith.