By Marini Thian
When you hear the name “Mary”, the first thing that comes to mind could be someone whom you know personally who has this name (or its variant such as Marie/ Maria/ Myriam/ Maryam/ Miriam, etc). Indeed, this is not surprising because most people named their children after someone who has a virtuous character and the name Mary could most likely be derived from Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus. She is one of the virtuous women mentioned in the Holy Bible.
We will introduce who Mary is as revealed in the Bible, what is so virtuous about her and why the name Mary has therefore been used throughout ages.
Mary was a young woman who was pledged to be married to Joseph, a descendant of David, King of Israel (Luke 1:27). She is widely known as the Virgin Mary, emphasizing her purity and the power of God. Mary remained sexually pure before marriage but you may be thinking: what does it have to do with God and His power and grace? We will unfold the mystery of God’s grace and Mary’s response in this article.
The Book of Luke in the Holy Bible recorded a series of conversations between the angel of the Lord, Gabriel with Mary:
The angel went to Mary and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:28-33 NIV
Here we see that the angel pronounced Mary as the one who is favored by God. God’s unmerited favor to Mary was not due to the things Mary had done because nothing she did could earn God’s grace, yet God chose to give it freely. Therefore, Mary is a recipient of God’s grace like any of us.
The angel Gabriel then reassured Mary not to be afraid of what will happen next…, a miracle! Something that is beyond any human abilities and natural laws, but only through divine power can it happen. What is this miracle? Jesus, the Son of God Himself would be born through Mary to become a human and ultimately save humankind from sin and spiritual death. Mary is taking part in God’s plan to save the world not because she is someone exceptional, but because God chooses to bring about His plans through simple men and women.
Mary, an example of faith
Imagine yourself in Mary’s shoes. You are a young virgin who is supposed to get married to the love of your life. Suddenly an angel appears to you saying you will conceive a child through the Holy Spirit. Wouldn’t you freak out and think of what shame it may be for yourself and your family if you were to conceive before marriage, especially in that time and the Jewish cultural context? In the Jewish culture of the time, a betrothal is legally-binding while adultery and fornication are punishable by death (Leviticus 20), so Mary was in danger of getting killed!
But look at Mary’s response!
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:34-38 NIV
Initially, you can see that Mary was surprised since she was a virgin, how could she possibly conceive? No scientific nor natural laws could explain this! But God is all-powerful and He can make all things possible according to His will! The virgin birth is a divine act of creation without sexual relations involved.
Mary’s next response is truly exemplary. Instead of thinking how absurd it was or questioning exactly how all these could be possible, Mary put her faith in God and humbled herself to become the Lord’s instrument in His salvation plan. She said, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” Can we be like Mary, trusting her life in God despite all the uncertainties she may be facing when she is conceived while being a virgin? The Lord has made everything possible for us to reconcile back to Him through His Son Jesus, are we willing to put our trust in Him?
Jesus, the Savior of the World
Friends, we may ask what is there to save? We may think that we are alive, we are well, we seem to have everything we need… so why do we need a Savior? The truth is, we are actually not spiritually alive nor well. The thing is we are far from being perfect. We do not live a life free of mistakes, free of sins. In fact, we are all guilty of something and we are dead in our sins and transgressions. But the Good news is that God did not leave us alone in our death! He came to rescue us from our helplessness.
Alright, now we understand that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), but we may ask why is it important for Jesus to be born as a human to save us? Why can’t God just say, “OK I forgive you” and it will all be well? Why is He going such an extra mile to send Jesus to become human through virgin birth and die on our behalf for our sins?
Because God is not only Holy but also Just.
In God’s holiness, evil and sin cannot be tolerated. Holiness and sinfulness have nothing in common. In God’s justice, sin must be punished and the penalty of sin is spiritual death and separation from God. However, God in His rich mercy and grace sent His Only Son Jesus, who lived a perfect life without sin to bear our punishment for sins and to redeem us through His blood. He died once and for all so that our sins may be forgiven.
Well, that’s not all! God not only makes us alive in Christ when we put our faith in Jesus, but He gives us a new life with a new identity because we have become sons and daughters of the Most High God. We can have direct access to God through Jesus as our Mediator. We have peace with God because God has forgiven us and we can live a life that is according to His good plan, holy and pleasing to Him. In fact, that is God’s original plan before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
Friends, it is not only about what God can do for us but it is also about how we can serve the Lord and take part in His perfect plan. Now that we have seen God’s mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, and how Mary was willing to believe and be used by God to take part in His salvation plan for mankind, are we willing to put our faith in God? Can we take that faith into action by humbling ourselves to be used by God for His purposes? Imagine how privileged it is for us to be part of God’s plan!
