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MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS
Jesus told us who the greatest man who ever lived was. His name was John, John the Baptist. We were not told who the greatest woman who ever lived was, but I think it is quite universally understood and unquestionably the Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus. Since there is only one begotten son of God there is only one woman who has ever been honored with His birth. There must have been some recognizable traits that would somehow signal to us even today that she was to an extent worthy of such a responsibility and privilege. Undoubtedly she would have been obedient to the commandments of God. She would have the fear of disobedience, the fear of God. She would certainly not have been a murderer, a thief or a bearer of false witness against her neighbors. She would not have been an adulterer or a coveter. She would not have worshipped foreign gods or made idols for herself. And she would certainly have rested on the Sabbath from her work and have been obedient to her parents. Apparently she was only fifteen when chosen for her role as the mother of our Savior.
Much more than just a dutiful observer of the faith she would surely have displayed some if not all of the fruits of the spirit consistently. I think it is unfair to say that she was perfect but wise to say that she tried very hard. In her zest for God she exuded in love, joy and peace. She worked with kindness goodness and perseverance. With her friends neighbors and relatives she would have exercised faithfulness and gentleness and with her challengers self~control. (Galatians 5:22) These are the things we envision in Mary. We place her above the average person. She is a role model for all even today. We use her as a standard, a measure by which we can check ourselves.
We remember her suffering at the feet of her beloved son Jesus while he died nailed on a stake at the place of the skull, Golgotha. She did not utter a recorded word of hatred toward the butchers that so tortured and defaced him. All her thoughts were toward Him. She stood there like a pillar of society starring death in the face where anyone claiming to have anything to do with this blasphemer were in danger of the same treatment. This death stands out in history as the most outrageous of all crimes ever committed by man. For no man had ever suffered as He had in His last day and this was the Son of the Creator.
We get this understanding of Mary through the pages of the Bible the indisputable word of God. We rely on the witnesses of the composers of the four Gospels primarily for our source of information. Without these works we would have very little to go on as testimony to the events that transpired over nineteen hundred years ago. Thanks be to God we have a text that cannot be broken. From start to finish it is the Truth from God to mankind. It is a merciful work second only to the sacrifice of Jesus without which we would have no salvation or Savior. He could not have risen from the dead had he not died. Without His death the scriptures would have remained unfulfilled, incomplete, unfinished and consequently unreliable. However this is not the case. We have our mediator, untainted by sin and overcomer of death. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is our Passover sacrifice. Through Him we are spared the agony of defeat. Through Him we have h ope, faith and even love of salvation onto eternal life.
Mary^s devotion as it turns out plays an important role that is frequently overlooked. In the accounts of Matthew to whom we owe many of our beliefs we see that Mary was present at the death and at the burial of Jesus as depicted in chapter 27. She sat beside the tomb where Jesus had been laid only moments earlier. The sun had set. Joseph of Aramathia did not want the body of Christ left hanging on the Sabbath, a high day, the First day of Unleavened Bread (Mark 15:42, John 19:31). On this God appointed Holy day, as described in Exodus chapter 12 and Leviticus chapter 23, the priests went to Pilate to ensure that the tomb be sealed lest the followers of Christ come and steal the body in order to claim that he had risen. They remembered that He had prophesied that He would rise again in three days. This is explained in verses 62 to 66 of chapter 27. On this same day Mary the mother of Jesus, James, Joses and Salome along with her friend Mary Magdalene rested according to the commandment (Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56). The next day they prepared spices and ointments for the anointment of the dead body. They could not have prepare these ointments on a Sabbath for Mary was a devout woman. The following day they rested again according to the commandment of Exodus 20:8 to 11 and Leviticus 23.
Notice that the Bible speaks of Mary several times and describes her in different ways. She is described perhaps by the son or sons that are escorting her, or she is described by the son who comes to mind when the author writes. In this manner she is distinguished from the other Marys mentioned in the New Testament.
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
By the time Jesus was thirty Mary^s family had grown considerably.
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter^s son? (speaking of Jesus) is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Mark points out the same thing here.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
Matthew 27:56 Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee^s children.
Mark 15:40 There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;
Mark 16:1 And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary [the mother] of James, and other [women that were] with them, which told these things unto the apostles.
Mark 15:47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary [the mother] of Joses beheld where he was laid.
Matthew 27:61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
Matthew 28:1 In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
The following verses confirm that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was indeed the one who was with the apostles and at His impalement.
John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
In Exodus and in Leviticus we can read of the instructions given to Israel concerning God^s appointed Feast and ordinances. There are many who believe that these high days or God^s special Holy days have been done away with. Whether they have or have not it is obvious that at the time of Jesus^ death [and around the time of His life] they were being observed by all involved as described in the scriptures that we have. These scriptures bear witness and are irrefutable.
Jesus stated that He would rise in three days after His gruesome death. This is a very well recorded fact. I have taken the trouble to quote some of the scriptures that make reference to this to show you just how important this prophesy really is.
Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale^s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Matthew 17:23 And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
Matthew 20:19 And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Mark 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mark 9:31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
Mark 10:34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
Luke 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
Luke 11:30 For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
Luke 18:33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
Luke 24:7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Acts 10:40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;
1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
It is the only sign given to the generation of people at the time of Christ and therefore it is the only sign given to us. We have no other source to rely on except the Bible. The sign that Jonah was in the fish for three days and three nights is the sign that our Messiah was three days and three nights in the grave.
The Bible must hold true. The word of Jesus must be reliable. If either one of these cannot be relied upon then what do we base our faith, our hope and our beliefs on? Thanks to Mary^s devotion and proper example we have a witness that Jesus died on Wednesday of that year and was risen by Sunday. He did spend three whole days and three whole nights in the grave and we have our Savior, Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath.
When Mary returned to the tomb it was late on the Sabbath. That day is commonly known as Saturday in the English language. The first day of the week was about to begin. This would have been approximately twelve hours after the scheduled resurrection from the tomb of Jesus. The tomb, when Mary arrived, had its stone rolled away and the body of Jesus was not there. He had already risen. He had risen on a Sabbath. Mary then went to report her findings to the apostles. They didn^t believe her.
Luke 24:10,11 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James [also the mother of Jesus], and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.
2007 Jacques Gauvin
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