Mary’s Miracle

I recently started reading the Christmas story in Luke and finished chapter 1 in amazement. Sometimes you read things in the Bible that you know are the truth, but the human mind can barely comprehend it. That an old woman and a virgin conceived is just…inconceivable! It doesn’t happen, except by a miracle.

On Sunday morning I started reading Luke chapter 2, but I never got past the 7th verse. I started thinking about a bunch of things I’ve never really thought about before. Then , after our church service we watched ‘The Nativity Story.’ It is an excellent movie about the birth of Christ. I dare anybody to watch it without using at least one tissue and feeling the swelling joy of Christ’s miraculous birth.

Since I started reading in Luke, I’ve been thinking about Mary. She was an exceptional young woman. Mary must have been a godly girl, because I really doubt God would have chosen a rebel to give birth to His precious Son. When an angel appeared to bring her news of God’s plan for her, she asked how it could be. Both Mary and Zechariah asked this question, but Mary must have asked with a different attitude, because Zechariah was struck dumb and Mary was not. What I think is so interesting about this is that Mary had more reason to be unbelieving than Zechariah did. Though Elizabeth was too old to bear children, she had a husband. Mary was a virgin. Virgins don’t have babies. It just doesn’t happen! Yet, Mary believed and yielded her will to God’s will.

I’ve heard godly Christian ladies in the fulltime ministry confess that had they known all the difficulties of the ministry, they might not have been so eager and willing to follow in God’s will. I wonder… If Mary had known what lay ahead for her, would she have said to the angel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”?

Mary bore the shame and reproach of what looked like a pregnancy out of wedlock. She was unmarried, yet she was pregnant. In Bible days women were stoned for adultery and fornication. Mary had broken no vows of purity, yet, it appeared that she had, as her body began to show that a baby was growing inside.

What must Mary’s parents have thought when they discovered she was pregnant? What would have been their reaction when she told them that an angel had appeared to her and announced that she was chosen to bring God’s Son into the world? I doubt the Jews were expecting their promised Messiah to be born in such an unusual way. Perhaps Mary’s parents accused her of being immoral. It must have crossed their minds.

And, what must Joseph have thought? He knew that he was not responsible for Mary’s baby. Yet, the neighbors didn’t know that. Joseph and Mary were engaged. Since Mary was pregnant, folks naturally assumed Joseph was guilty. Either he would have to claim Mary’s baby as his own and shared in the shame of it all, or he would have to accuse her and have her stoned. Joseph was in a serious predicament. He surely felt shock, confusion, anger, and betrayal. For all he knew, Mary was not the righteous girl he thought he was engaged to. She had promised to be his wife, but it appeared that she had been with somebody else.

What must the friends and acquaintances of Mary have thought? The Bible doesn’t specify what occurred as Mary’s pregnancy became known in Nazareth. Mary was a virtuous young lady. Most likely she held the love and respect of all who knew her. She was a godly girl, known to be morally upstanding. But suddenly she was pregnant, and the whole story sounded a little fishy. People grew suspicious and made assumptions. Mary wasn’t the girl they thought she was.

I would imagine that as this news spread around town, the result was rejection. Shunning. Scowls, as Mary passed other women in the market place. Girls who were once her best friends whispered behind her back. She bore the shame and disgrace of what appeared to be an unwedded pregnancy. Mary must have cried. She could hardly comprehend this herself, yet she knew it to be true. She was innocent of the crimes thought of her. She must have felt like everyone was against her. A question that may have crossed her mind often might have been this: “Why is it me God has chosen?” It’s no wonder that the angel’s greeting was, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women,” and “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” The Lord must have known that in the coming days Mary would need these words of praise and the reminder to not fear as her family and friends turned against her. Still, in what probably seemed like the darkest days of her life, Mary had found favor with God. This was the beginning of a great wonder that would astound the world and rescue a dying human race.

This is how it is for us Christians sometimes. With our salvation, God changes us from the inside out. Things start to change dramatically, and people begin looking at us differently. Our high standards and separation are looked down upon by this world. They misunderstand us, thinking that we think ourselves better than them and assuming that we judge them. The Gospel is offensive to the lost, and we are offensive because Christ shines through us. We are not of this world, and, as a result, we are rejected by the world. Family and friends turn their backs on us, and we feel pain and abandonment. But even as it seems that life is crumbling around us, God is doing a miraculous work in our lives. We need to wait on the Lord and trust Him. He knows what He’s doing! Like Mary, if we expect to see the fruits of the Lord Jesus blossoming in our lives, we need to be prepared to bear the reproach of men. “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.” Isaiah 51:7

Mary’s trials weren’t over. As if these false accusations weren’t enough, Mary had a long journey ahead of her as she traveled with Joseph to Bethlehem. The Bible says Mary was great with child. Traveling under the blazing sun through sandy deserts and over barren rocky mountain slopes, with the ever present threat of being robbed and left for dead, would have been frightfully difficult enough, not to mention that Mary was in the last uncomfortable and tiring weeks of her pregnancy. I’m sure she would have preferred a comfortable rocking chair to the constant jolting of the donkey’s back on which she sat. She probably would have chosen to rest in bed over walking those long miles through the heat of day and the cold of night. Mary might have had the option of staying home, but she decided to follow her husband, and, in doing so, the prophecy of Micah 5:2 was being fulfilled. “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

This causes me to think about missionaries who leave their snug homes, the love of family and friends, and the country of their birth to travel to foreign lands with the Gospel. Perhaps God’s call comes at a time that seems inconvenient. It would seem more profitable to stay in the States where there is such a great need for preachers and teachers. Yet, God chooses to take us out of our comfort zone and place us elsewhere. We are “great with child”; the message of the Gospel is inside, waiting to be “born” in the country of God’s choosing. The Lord awaits in the place appointed, eager to carry out His will through us, but we must be there! Like Mary, we must go! We must follow in obedience.

During such a long and wearisome journey, Mary surely comforted herself, thinking that once they arrived in Bethlehem she would be able to rest in a nice little inn. They could buy some fresh food, and then she could sleep in a warm bed. But this is not what awaited an exhausted, pregnant girl upon reaching journey’s end. As Joseph went from inn to inn, inquiring after an unoccupied room, the answer was always the same. There was no room. Everything was filled up. I can imagine the increasing alarm that must have filled Mary’s being. Where would they stay? Where would her baby be born? How could this be happening? And then, as young Mary was about to collapse with fatigue and despair, God provided, as He always has and always will provide for those who love Him.

A little shelter was pointed out. A cattle shed. Dark, dirty and drafty, with hay strewn on the hard-packed floor. This is not where Mary imagined giving birth to her first born son. Yet, God had a plan and was carrying it out to perfection. In this humble dwelling, as the animals looked on, a little king was born. The Creator entered His creation, not as a man of power, but in the weakness of infancy. There was no cushioned cradle in which to lay God’s little boy. Only a rough feeding trough, filled with course hay. There were no blankets in which to wrap His tiny body. Just rags. As Mary tenderly rocked her son in her arms, the silence of night was broken as the soft cry of a tiny baby mingled with the bleating of sheep and the lowing of oxen. A star beamed from the dark sky above, casting a warm glow on the shabby dwelling below. Strangers came to greet this little baby. Lowly shepherds left the fields, and wealthy wise men traveled from distant lands. Angels heralded His birth, and in the temple an old man prophesied His future. There was a quiet understanding among all who heard. This was an exceptional child, destined for great things.

The Bible says that Mary pondered all these things in her heart. What must have run through her mind during these precious moments? A miracle had occurred, and it had happened in the most unlikely of places, in the oddest of circumstances. Perhaps Mary thought of the shame and rejection in Nazareth or remembered the long journey and again felt the ache and exhaustion and moments of dismay. Nine months ago she was just a poor young Jewish girl. Would she ever had dared to dream that she would bring the Son of God into the world? Could she have guessed what it would cost her? She would be brought to the end of her strength and the limit of her resources. Yet, God’s strength would sustain her, and His resources would never be depleted.

At that time, I doubt that Mary fully understood the miracle that was taking place; it seemed that a nightmare was unfolding. But she believed God anyway. She trusted God. And this was her reward. The baby she softly cooed to sleep, the small face she tenderly traced in the darkness, the tiny form she held to her bosom, was the One who would one day lay down his life to redeem her soul. As she planted a warm kiss on her baby’s velvety cheek, she was kissing the face of God. This was Mary’s reward. If we could ask her today, “Mary if you had known of all the suffering beforehand, would you have done it?” Her answer would be, “Yes!”

We need to be more like Mary. When God calls us to fulfill His will, we need to say, “Behold the servant of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” We need to be willing to bear the reproach of men as Jesus Christ blossoms in our lives. We must learn to endure the pain of rejection. When God calls us to travel the long and difficult road of Christianity, in the path of His will, to the place of His choosing, we need to be ready to follow obediently. When it seems like we will be crushed under the load of anxieties and broken with despair, God will provide for our needs. It may not be just what we expect, but He will provide in His own perfect way. And, when His will has been accomplished through us, we, like Mary, will be able to say it was worth it all, because God worked a wondrous miracle in our lives!