Twelve Extraordinary Women: Mary

Here is ehart's wonderful post on Mary.

Anyone, who has read the gospels, is familiar with the mother of Jesus, Mary.

Mary was a young woman of approximately 13 - 15 years old. She lived in a poor district of Galillee, Nazareth.

Imagine by today's measures a 13-year old preparing to wed and start a family. Obviously, in Mary's time, 13-year old girls were of marriageable age, making them more focused upon their life's plan than our modern-age teenagers are.

Picture Mary, preparing for her life's plan of marriage to Joseph, the carpenter, and settling into the role of wife and most likely, mother. I'm sure Mary had a plan for her life. When couples take on the commitment of marriage, whether they are 13, 33, or 103, they have plans for their life together.

In Mary's case, God also had a plan!

I have often wondered, as ehart states in her blog post about Mary:

Where was she when the angel, Gabriel came to her?
What was she doing at that time?
What was she thinking before, during, and after the angel's visit?

I also wonder:

Did she understand fully she was about to become the human instrument God was to utilize in bringing our Savior into the world?
Did she realize she was to play a role in the covenant God had given Abraham, way back there in Genesis?

Whether Mary was fully aware or not of what her capacity was to be in God's plan, one thing is clear: Mary had a strong faith and willingness to do God's will. This is illustrated in her reply to the angel in Luke 1:38, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."

I'm sure Mary's plans from that point forward may have shifted more to a plan that was directed by God and for God.

But when I think about it, I realize God has a plan for us all. We just need to open our hearts to God, so He can direct us. We need to pray that God may reveal to us His plan, not our own agenda.

Can you imagine the struggle Mary went through learning to submit to her son, Jesus Christ as our Lord? As time goes on, the Scriptures clearly show Mary did learn to submit herself to her Lord and Savior, the son whom she gave birth to.

When Jesus was 12 years old, Joseph and Mary traveled to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. On their return trip home upon discovering the missing Jesus, the parents returned to Jerusalem seeking Him. After three days they found Him in the temple.

Luke 2:48 and 49 reiterates the conversation between Mary and her son, Jesus, after they found Him:

"So when they saw Him, they were amazed, and the mother said to Him, 'Son, why have you done this to us? Look Your father and I have sought You anxiously.' And He said to them, 'Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?' "

At this young age, Jesus, states He was about His father's business, and He wasn't referring to Joseph, his legal father.

This passage illustrates Jesus had a clear understanding of His identity and mission. Although, Luke 2:50 states concerning his parents, "But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them."


Mary "kept all these things in her heart." Undoubtedly, she recalled "these things" throughout Jesus' lifetime here on earth, and obviously, came to understand the meaning of such expressions and sayings of Jesus.


At the crucifixion, we see Mary standing near the cross Jesus was hanging upon. Mary was a firm believer God's will was being fulfilled, and she gave herself to that will. How else could she have stood by and watched her Son die such a painful and humiliating death? What a fine example of her remarkable faith!

Mary was a truly blessed woman, but MacArthur gives scriptural evidence throughout that in no way should we escalate her to a position where we pray to her , or ask her to bless us. She was an extraordinary woman who God had chosen to bless through her and our own Savior, Jesus Christ.