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Mary, the Mother of Jesus!

In Matthew 1:18-25 we are presented with the account of the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke offers us the account of the angel coming to Mary and presenting her with the opportunity to give birth to the Messiah, which she accepted (Luke 1:26-38). It was important for Mary to accept her part in…

Eddie

In Matthew 1:18-25 we are presented with the account of the birth of Jesus. The Gospel of Luke offers us the account of the angel coming to Mary and presenting her with the opportunity to give birth to the Messiah, which she accepted (Luke 1:26-38). It was important for Mary to accept her part in bringing the Messiah into the world, because of the problems associated with an unmarried woman, becoming pregnant in her culture. Indeed, the context of chapter eight in John shows that even the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem knew of the mystery surrounding Jesus’ birth and accused him of being a mamzer or a bastard (John 8:19, 39, 41), where the “we” in verse-41 is emphatic: “We are not illegitimate children…” implying Jesus was illegitimate. Thus, Mary knew what would probably befall her, when she accepted her position as “the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38).

In the Old Covenant text, we were introduced to Moses’ sister Miriam, which is the Hebrew for the Greek Maria (Mary; Matthew 1:16, 18, 20). Miriam was an important figure in protecting Moses who would deliver his people, Israel, bringing them out of the bondage of Egypt. She carefully watched the babe floating among the reeds in the Nile River and was instrumental in having the daughter of Pharoah, who both adopted and named Moses, give him to his natural mother to be nursed and cared for (Exodus 2:1-10). Thus, just as Miriam was instrumental in protecting the deliverer of ancient Israel, Mary was the protector of the Deliverer and Redeemer of Israel during the first century AD.

Nevertheless, Mary must also be understood in the context of the other four women, whom Matthew mentions in Jesus’ lineage, Tara, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah. Each of the children, which they had borne pointed to an embarrassing and controversial event in the genealogy of Abraham trough David to Jesus. Just as Jesus’ birth was held in disrepute, so were the children born of these four women, and three of them led to the birth of David, the king! If Mary’s pregnancy is too great an obstacle to overcome, how is it that one is able to embrace David and overcome the contradictions that led to his reign?

What I find interesting in the study of Mary and her conception is that Isaiah opens his prophecy with the words of God: “You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10), and modern Biblical scholars try to tell us that the text is clear and all things point to the people in Isaiah day. Nevertheless, both Jesus and Paul pointed out that Isaiah’s prophecy was for the days of the first century AD (John 12:38-40; Acts 28:26-27).

The skeptics try to tell us that Matthew’s Gospel was written by a gentile who interpreted Isaiah 7:14 as a god who raped or seduced a young virgin like so many of the pagan myths. Yet, what does the text say? “Behold, the virgin will conceive…” and “the virgin… shall bring forth a son.” What ancient pagan myth says such a thing as this? Whenever the gods raped or seduced a virgin, guess what; the virgin was no longer a virgin! The skeptics seem to want to skip that part. Yet, Matthew’s Gospel agrees with Isaiah’s prophecy:

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way (for his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph) before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit… And as he thought upon these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream… And Joseph, being roused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took his wife, and did not know her until she bore her son, the Firstborn. And he called His name JESUS” (Matthew 1:18, 20, 24-25).

There isn’t even a hint of rape or seduction by a god, which skeptics claim is there. Instead, we find Mary’s conception is the work of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). The first mention of the Spirit of God is in Genesis 1:2, where he is involved in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and bringing order out of chaos. Similarly, Matthew shows him at work in Mary’s womb to produce a body for the Son of God (cp. Hebrews 10:5), and he, the Messiah, would bring order out of chaos and fulfill the promise of God to David by resurrecting the dead royal line, which was sent into exile in judgment.

 

 

3 responses to “Mary, the Mother of Jesus!”

  1. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    This is a careful and deeply grounded reflection on Mary that takes both historical context and the biblical witness seriously. I especially appreciate how you frame Mary’s consent in light of the real social cost she would have understood—this was not a sentimental “yes,” but a courageous and costly act of faith.

    The connection you draw between Miriam and Mary is compelling, particularly in how both figures stand as quiet guardians of God’s deliverer at moments of extreme vulnerability. It reinforces the continuity of God’s redemptive work rather than treating the Incarnation as an isolated rupture from Israel’s story.

    Your discussion of Matthew’s genealogy is also well taken. The inclusion of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah reminds us that God has always worked through lives and circumstances marked by scandal, ambiguity, and human brokenness. If that pattern is acceptable in the lineage of David, it seems inconsistent to reject Mary on similar grounds.

    I also found your treatment of Isaiah and the charge of pagan borrowing especially helpful. The text itself simply does not support the caricature of divine seduction that skeptics often project onto it. What emerges instead is a picture of the Holy Spirit acting creatively and purposefully, echoing Genesis rather than pagan myth.

    Overall, this post honors Mary without mythologizing her and defends the integrity of the Gospel accounts with clarity and restraint. Thank you for presenting an argument that is both intellectually serious and reverent toward the text.

  2. Eddie Avatar
    Eddie

    Greetings Mike, and may the Lord richly bless you.

    It is rare that I receive a response like yours. I am surprised with such an unexpected reply. I am uncertain how I should react. I suppose I could say that I simply pray that I’ll represent God’s word in a respectful manner, and if I did that, then perhaps I was enabled by God to do so. Yet, that, in itself, seems awfully arrogant to me. Yet, I must conclude prayer has had its way here.

    Thank you, for your kind words. They do mean very much to me, as I do wish to please God in the studies I publish. I am so very glad that they have touched you in the manner that you say above. My hopes of communication have both changed and merged together over the years. My hope today is merely to point folks to the word of God, hoping they will look deeper and deeper and find Jesus, as they do, who will take them as far as they are willing to go.

    Once again, Lord bless you, Mike, and thank you for reading and for your kind comment.

  3. Mike Avatar
    Mike

    Thank you for such a gracious and thoughtful reply. I genuinely appreciate your humility, and I don’t hear arrogance in your words at all—only a careful desire to be faithful to the text and to the God who stands behind it.

    If prayer has had its way here, then I’m grateful to have been a small part of that exchange. Your writing reflects someone who has spent a long time listening as well as studying, and that combination is increasingly rare. It invites readers not merely to agree or disagree, but to linger with Scripture and wrestle honestly with it.

    I’m especially moved by your hope of simply pointing people deeper into the Word and toward Christ, allowing Him to take them as far as they are willing to go. That posture—offering light without coercion—is itself a quiet witness.

    Thank you again for your work and for your generosity in engaging with a reader. May the Lord continue to guide and steady your studies, and may they keep drawing others into that deeper seeing and hearing you spoke of.

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