Mary Did You Know?
by Gene Zackerman
During the Christmas season, we share many reasons why this time of year is special. Most importantly, we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We enjoy time with family and friends, food and fellowship, and giving of ourselves to others. Personally, I really enjoy Christmas music. One of my favorite songs that tells the story of the birth of Jesus is Mary Did You Know. Let’s take a deeper dive into the message of these lyrics.
Mary Did You Know, written nearly 40 years ago by Mark Lowry, asks this central question: Mary, did you know that you would give birth to the Son of God? We know from Scripture that Mary and Joseph planned to wed when the angel of the Lord came to her (Luke 1:30-33). We know from Scripture that Mary was a virgin. We also know from Scripture that because of the first sin, we are all born of a sinful nature, in need of a Savior. The angel told Mary that she had found favor with the Lord. She would conceive and give birth to a son, and was to call him Jesus, and that He would be great and was to be called the Son of the Most High. Did Mary understand what the angel told her? We don’t know, but the song asks the rhetorical question.
Because of the message delivered to Mary by the angel of the Lord, she walked in faith. When she gave birth to her perfect baby in Bethlehem, I believe that she knew He was the Son of God. Mary knew that her pregnancy was the result of the Holy Spirit. Mary knew that her baby would save the people from their sins. That little baby, God in the flesh, spoke the world into existence. In our human mindset, it seems incomprehensible to think that Mary did not know.
Mary gave birth to this little baby, as foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament. His life, death and resurrection offer each one of us the promise of eternal life if we turn to Him in faith, confessing our sins and asking Him to be Lord of our lives. The song asks if Mary knew that one day, her baby boy would save our sons and daughters. The Bible tells us that Jesus offers that plan of salvation. Mary knew, and Jesus saves. Good enough for me! May each of you experience the peace of Jesus during this Christmas season and beyond.
