Mary of Jesus
MARY (Maw' rih)
- Greek personal name equivalent to Hebrew Miriam, meaning, "rebellious, bitter." Mother of Jesus.
- Mary seems to have been related to Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and wife of the priest Zechariah.
- Luke presented Mary as a person of great faith prepared to be an agent of God in the birth of the Messiah.
- In later church tradition, two important theological beliefs focus the significance of Mary.
- One has to do with what is referred to as "divine maternity," while the other is "virginial conception." Their scriptural orientation is based on Luke 1:34 that details Mary's response to the angel's announcement that she would have a son. Mary questioned how this could be since she did not have a husband. The Greek states, "I am not knowing a man." Some have interpreted the Greek text as making an eternally valid theological statement that her virginity is an on-going state that equals a "perpetual virginity." Matthew 1:24-25 (including, [Joseph] "knew her not until she had borne a son") would seem to challenge the perpetual virginity belief. The Luke text is sufficiently vague as to allow the growth of such doctrine.
- In contemporary Christianity, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches embrace these doctrines, while most Protestant churches do not. However, in all cases, Mary is a revered character in Christian tradition who is believed to represent goodness, innocence, and profound commitment to the ways of God.
- Mary does not play as high a profile in the Gospels as one might expect. The Gospel writers attempted to emphasize Jesus' divine origins at the expense of deemphasizing the importance of His mother.
- The Gospel of John presents women in an essential place in the public ministry of Jesus, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, functions in such a role. In John 2:1-11, Mary's presence at Jesus' first public miracle of changing water to wine at the marriage at Cana underscores, in a profound manner, that Jesus' destiny challenges all norms, including that of immediate family relationships.
- The recurring Johannine theological theme of Jesus' "hour" being divinely directed is pointedly made by Mary's presence in the episode (compare Mark 3:31-35; Luke 11:27-28). Mary's presence at the foot of the cross (found only in John 19:25-27) highlights the mother's love.
- Acts 1:14 indicates that Mary was present, along with other hero figures of early Christianity, in the upper room scene in Jerusalem.
Wayne McCready
