What did Mary know?
Vern Peterman · Dec 24, 2017
Specials
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926611328162

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. We like to wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas. We have a little bit of an unusual set of things on the schedule here. And so anyway, brace yourselves. We've got the lyrics just like you saw it on the screen here for Mary Did You Know written by Mark Lowry. And if you're not familiar with that name, it's kind of amazing. This is a great modern classic Christmas carol. If you want to have a laugh for an hour or two or three, look up on YouTube Mark Lowry. He also does a bunch of comedy routines, just phenomenal stuff. But the music was written by Buddy Green.

But the reason I would bring it up here is we want to ask the question, what did Mary know? And obviously he's got a series of questions here, so we're going to be taking a look at that. So, when he asked the question here, what did Mary know, it turns out that Dr. Luke wrote more about Mary than all the rest of the New Testament combined. And by that I mean the Gospel of Luke includes her side of the account for the Nativity and also all the way into Acts chapter 1 which records the first or the last instance rather of Mary's name being mentioned in the New Testament. In Luke 1 26 through 56 that Courtney just read for us here, we read about the angel Gabriel and what the angel told Mary and then what Mary said to Elizabeth there in the next part of it. So Mary makes an appearance just a few more times in the subsequent pages of the Gospels, and we'll take a brief look at those as well to know what Mary knew.

First of all, just to summarize what Gabriel told Mary, she was told that she would bear the Messiah. The angel Gabriel told her that this Messiah would be the descendant, the long-promised descendant of King David. who would reign forever over the people and nation of Israel.

He was particularly focused, as he said it, over the people and nation of Israel. He also said to name the child Jesus, which would be in the culture and language of the time, Yeshua, or Joshua, as we kind of carry it over. This baby, it says twice, slightly different form, but twice, Gabriel told her that this baby would be the Son of God. So he would be a man and deity. He would be a human being. Gabriel also told her that she, a virgin, would conceive the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And as you can imagine, if you put yourself in Mary's place, would you have a lot of questions? I think so, you know. And I'm sure she thought of all of them in the days and weeks that followed. Oh, I should have asked this and should have asked that. It's kind of tough to... Gabriel, Gabriel, is that you? Yeah? Have I got the right number? Right? Or text him, right? That would be nice. But no, she couldn't do that.

Then once Gabriel had appeared to Mary, Mary just hustled it to the hill country of Judea. and met her relative Elizabeth, and we find out what Mary told Elizabeth there. Elizabeth herself had a few things to say quickly. Mary said that her heart exalts and rejoices in the Lord God, who is her Savior, and that's one thing, is she does notice that God is her Savior. She recognizes her need for a Savior. Mary also told Elizabeth that she was highly honored by the Lord, in being selected to bear this Messiah. She also saw that God was a God of justice, and she made several statements to that effect, and his ability to execute justice was not limited. Finally, the last thing, she saw that God was faithful to his promises to Abraham. What's interesting is that the angel Gabriel had talked to her about promises to David and the fulfillment of that. Here, it is what she tells Elizabeth has to do with the promises to Abraham. So, amazing.

She's thinking big picture here and thinking all the way back into Genesis. So, as the story goes on, the time has come for her to go to Bethlehem, because that is where she's going to have the baby, because of the census that is required. Now, imagine thinking, she could have thought, hey, wait a minute, this traveling to Bethlehem thing while I'm pregnant?

I mean, any day! And she could have said, well I didn't sign up for this. I want out. Which is a little tough to do at that stage. So she and Joseph go down to Bethlehem, and by the way, will all the pictures and the postcards and everything show her on a donkey? The Bible doesn't describe a donkey, and as a matter of fact, it's quite likely that they couldn't have afforded one. She probably, in spite of all the drama and the postcards and everything else, she probably walked.

Okay? Alongside Joseph. But it looks great, and this kind of has a little bit more of a dramatic look, and so that's the way it's pictured. So here they go. They travel through, you know, probably down the Jordan Valley, come up through Jericho, a steep, windy place, and then go from Jerusalem, about six miles to the south, there to Bethlehem.

So that night, she goes into labor, and There in Bethlehem, in the place just like it was foretold in Micah 5.2, there she has Jesus, the infant.

Now, also as it so happens, Here are some shepherds. Imagine shepherds. Shepherds most of the time don't have a lot to get their attention at nighttime. They do have to have somebody kind of keep an eye out for predators and things like that. But most of the time things are pretty quiet, a little bit of bleating here and there, you know, and that's about it. I've never spent the night with the sheep, which you're probably glad to hear. Anyway, but I have I have spent some time with the sheep, both during the day and the night, and most of the time, unless the sheep get excited for no particular reason at all, it's a fairly calm, quiet thing.

Except for this one night, and that's this night when the angel shows up, and by the way, all the songs and everything talk about the angels singing. The Bible doesn't say that. The angels didn't sing, it says, but they said, And in the Bible, by the way, it's more generally the saints who sing rather than angels. But that's not as poetic, and it doesn't make for... sing and king, those rhyme, I mean, what are you going to do with that, you know?

The shepherds go in and imagine there's all kinds of people, because the shepherds weren't told that here's exactly the place to go, right? They didn't have a star guiding them to that particular house. So you imagine all the people, you know, the shepherds are knocking at the door, is this where the baby is? And everybody's going, whoo, shepherds, whoo, go away, you know. Finally, they arrive at the right place. So here's Mary and she sees all this, you know, the shepherds tell them what the angel said and that there was this incredible myriad of angels. And so she treasures up this whole thing and considers that and ponders that in her heart.

It's interesting. I'm wondering how Luke got this information. Did he have a chance to talk with Mary? Possible. Possible, but it's interesting because this isn't the only place we're going to see this But that she just kind of pondered it and thought about so somehow that got across to dr. Luke not just here But one more place we're going to look at Now, Mary also appeared elsewhere in the Gospels, certainly in the Nativity. Luke's Gospel has got, by far, the most about Mary. But there are a few other places, and Mary and Joseph are there when they finally find Jesus in the temple, when Jesus is about 12 years old.

And now, let's think about what this looks like. So they go for the Passover, then they're heading home, and what do they do? They travel about 20 miles as a typical day's travel. 20 miles before they figure out Jesus isn't with us. Uh-oh. Right? And so they got to go back, and by the way, it's a steep, windy hill. And it's dangerous if you're alone, too. This is where the parable of the Good Samaritan You know, it takes place. So a steep, windy hill, they go back up to Jerusalem.

Do you know how long it took them to find Jesus? Half a week. Meanwhile, they must be going nuts trying to find this. Can you imagine them just going out of their minds thinking, I've lost the Son of God! You know, it makes me think about You know, here's a story I was told that one day I was standing next to my mom in the bank when I was about two years old and all of a sudden she looked down and I was gone.

Nowhere to be found. You looked up and down the street. Nowhere, you know. And finally after looking everywhere they could think of and looking up down the street and getting everybody looking around, they finally found me at the police station. And the police said, yeah, they found him wandering around down at the railroad switching yard. And apparently I'd heard a train, and that was it. I was gone.

But that was only for a few hours. This was for a few days. Can you imagine the panic? And they're like, we've lost the Son of God. This must have really gotten them. So, Mary's also there when Jesus turns the water into wine, and basically Jesus has to kind of half-correct her in her thinking and direction.

Mary tries to get Jesus' attention in the middle of a crowd, and instead of Jesus immediately jumping to Mary's call, he says, you know, You folks are my mother and sister and brother, right? Those who listen to me. And finally Mary is present for Jesus' crucifixion alongside Jesus' disciple John, the brother of James. And so we have those, you know, gospel appearances there. So then As we go through these, we just ask the question, what does Mary know? What does she understand?

Here's Luke 2, 48-51, and this is when they had lost track of Jesus, okay? And so Luke 2, 48-51, and when they saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, Son, why have you treated us this way? So this is kind of the closest she comes to You know, being unglued, but you can understand it. Losing track of the Son of God for half a week. That's really something. Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you. And I bet they were. And he said to them, why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my father's house?

And verse 50, look at this, and they did not understand the statement which he had made to them. So what did Mary know? Apparently not very much, especially right at this moment, right? And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and he continued in subjection to them. And here again we have what's Mary's response?

And his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And apparently even a few days of having lost him, right? She treasured it all in her heart. If we look at the song then, and we have a chance to kind of go one question at a time, and you have this on the front of your handout, Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?

So we have that reported in three of the Gospels. And did she know that? No. She really did. She had not a clue. I mean, there's a whole bunch of things you can imagine her saying, you know, where's this in the manual, right? And just wondering, you know, what was going to happen. So not a clue probably about this, you know, walk on water. Yeah. Here's one of the things I think to think about as she would hear about things because a lot of the time she wasn't there.

As she would hear about things, she'd probably go nod her head and say, yep, yep, that doesn't surprise me too much. The next part, Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters? Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you've delivered will soon deliver you.

You think about this, there is an awful lot of this that she probably really had no idea, at least not as to the specifics of what was going to happen. Yes, perhaps if she studied Isaiah 53, and by the way she didn't have a chapter number by that designation, If she studied that, then she might have had some clue, but actually many of the Jews did not understand what that meant until afterwards.

And so 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4 is one of the very many places that summarizes what that means. To save our sons and daughters, 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and 4 says, Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins. was buried and rose again. That is what is to be believed in order for a person to be saved. And so that would be the next question that you'd have there in the last part of that verse.

In the second verse, Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? It is apparent when she has Jesus, you know, do something about this water and wine situation here. We've got plenty of water, not anywhere near enough wine, and here we are in some little village called Cana, right? And where are we going to get enough in the middle of this thing? And so Jesus, do something, right? So, I have a son who will fix this. That was kind of her thoughts in the middle of this thing. And Jesus says, hey, wait a minute. I'm not under your direction here, lady. So he kind of has to correct her thinking on that.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man? So here's John chapter 9. In John chapter 9, the entire chapter basically is dedicated to this blind man being healed and all the events that follow along with it. That one particular instance, that case was one that we saw the site for at the exit from Hezekiah's tunnel and on into, there's the pool of Siloam, right there. This is where that healing took place. And so there's one instance, but was that the only instance of giving sight to a blind man? No, it's just one where you particularly happen to know some details, quite a bit of detail, and even the location of where that took place.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would calm a storm with his hands? And Matthew and Mark both record this event where they're out in the Sea of Galilee and a storm came up. Storms can come up rather suddenly in the Sea of Galilee. As a matter of fact, when we were over there, we were having a hard time finding a place when things were calm, calm enough for the boat to feel confident going across. But Jesus just simply calmed the storm, just indicating He is Lord of everything. Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod? Ooh, now that's different. Angels trod? Now, has walked where angels trod? Where's that? This is in heaven. Your baby boy has been in heaven where the angels walk.

Hebrews chapters 1 and 2 talks about the relationship between Jesus and the angels. And so this is a huge, huge question, right? And quite possibly, the answer that she has is, yeah, she probably knows something about it, right? And when you've kissed your little baby, you've kissed the face of God. Now think about that. Was Mary actually kissing the face of God? man, right, the human being part, right, of Jesus who was fully God and fully man. But so in a manner of speaking, you can say he kissed, she kissed the face of God and she knew that he was deity by the angel Gabriel twice telling her, yes, this Jesus is deity.

Yep, I believe she knew that. You can imagine what was going through her mind. I imagine she had more of this to ponder and to treasure in her heart as well. Rather an amazing thing. Then it asks, and by the way, this B is bridge. It doesn't mean it's time for me to be belligerent or anything else, right?

So, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again, the lame will leap, the dumb will speak. The praises of the Lamb. So we have multiple places where Jesus healed a blind man, including the one we made reference there in John chapter 9 at the Pool of Siloam. And there are other instances where he did that, and so we list a few and then say at all and others. Jesus healed those who were deaf, those who were unable to speak, And he raised someone from the dead on more than one instance.

We have the widow of Nain. That's one instance. Another one would be the daughter of Jairus. And another one would be Lazarus. So we have several different instances where Jesus would raise the dead. We have those who were lame. And this would be by the pool of Bethesda. Which, by the way, he did on the Sabbath. You know that. He did that on the Sabbath. And why did he do it on the Sabbath? Because he knew that would get him really, really upset. Right? That's why he did it on the Sabbath.

Now, actually, you think about it. So here's this guy, and according to this sort of legend, if the water gets stirred, There's probably just bubbles coming up. But if the water gets stirred, and if you hurry in, the first one in is supposed to get healed. That's the way the legend went. And so here's this guy.

He's there on the Sabbath. Now, here's the way that the laws worked. According to Jewish law, two people could take this guy to the edge of this pool on the Sabbath, and that was okay. But for Jesus to heal the guy on the Sabbath, that was not okay. That's not on our list of exceptions.

Right? And for Jesus to heal the guy and then tell him to pick up your bed and walk. You see, the thing is, for two guys to take him there because he's lame, that's okay. But once he's healed, to tell him to take up his bed and walk, that's not okay. Right? So it's a really amazing thing, but that's what he did. And, do you think Mary knew that in advance? Probably not.

And finally, that bridge ends up with the praises of the Lamb. Now think about this. Christ is called the Lamb in the Gospel of John, twice in the first chapter, and a number of times in the book of Revelation, starting in Revelation 5-6, going all the way to chapters 21 and 22, where Christ is the Lamb seven times. Did she understand that her son was going to have to die, especially in the way that he did, for people?

Not necessarily. If she put it together, then yeah. Frankly, very few Jews did. They didn't understand. Even when Jesus told the disciples repeatedly, starting from the beginning of his ministry all the way to the end, they didn't understand. So it's quite likely that Mary really didn't understand all that was going on here.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation? It is quite possible that she did because twice the angel Gabriel said you will give birth to the Son of God. Colossians 1 15 through 20 puts Christ as Lord of all creation. Certainly that was written afterwards. So possibly eventually she had a more full understanding, but at least she had some understanding, no? I'm giving birth to the God-man. The man who is fully God. The man who is fully God and fully man. Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?

If she had read through the Old Testament, the answer would be yes. We have from Psalm chapter 2 that the Messiah will rule over the nations. He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. This is made clear certainly in the book of Revelation, but of course by the time that was written, Mary was almost certainly gone home.

Then, so did you know that your baby boy was heaven's perfect lamb? And we come back to the title lamb again. And she may have understood this, possibly and especially if she understood Isaiah 53. But it's not certain that she really did have much understanding of that. And finally, the song goes, this sleeping child you're holding is the great I Am. Isn't that amazing? Jesus was probably somewhere in the neighborhood of maybe a five-pound baby, given what would be typical baby sizes in those days.

But he's also fully God, the I Am. In the Gospel of John, Christ makes seven statements of I Am that are matched up with some sort of a metaphor. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. I am the gate or the door. I am the good shepherd. And so those are all statements of deity. He made other statements of deity as well. Before Abraham was born, I am, John 8, 58. And so multiple statements. Did Mary understand that? Perhaps not the full depth of it, but at least she had some inkling. She was told again by Gabriel. This will be the Son of God that you are bearing.

Exodus 3.14 in the Greek Old Testament has precisely the same language that Jesus used when he said, I am the door, I am the good shepherd. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

Exodus 3.14, here is Moses who asks of the burning bush, you know, who should I say has sent me? And it's the same Ego Emi in the Greek Old Testament, the exact same thing. It is a claim to deity.

So in Acts 1.14 we have the last mention of Mary by name. So it's rather astounding. She kind of disappears from the pages of scripture.

By the time you get to Galatians 4.4, she's referred to as just the woman, born of a woman. At this point here in Acts chapter 1, she's gathered with the disciples who are soon to be apostles, appointed and sent. Among the other followers of Jesus including her sons which who by the way are all brand-new believers They did not believe this is we know from John chapter 7. They did not believe prior to this time of Christ's resurrection, but here they are gathered with Mary and That I'm sure was something that she really rejoiced in and welcomed It appears, because of what we read there, that Mary lived on into the beginning of the church. So what does that mean? Does Mary have an exalted position, spiritually speaking? Her position, spiritually speaking, is the exact same as yours. That's something to ponder.

So here's the last mention of Mary in Acts 114. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer along with the women, Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers, that is James for example among them. Four brothers that we have by name and two sisters that he also had. Now, so I've written a fourth verse for this song. Now, I'm cautioning you on this. I did not go through, I just asked questions. Don't try to sing this. Don't try this at home or anywhere else. I didn't do anything to make the meter match, so it'll sound terrible. So, just so you listen, I'm just adding questions. There's a fourth verse.

Mary, did you know that you'll be identified with your son, lowercase s, the son, uppercase S. Mary, did you know that you'll be in the Son who was once inside of you? That you'll be spiritually in the Son who was once physically inside of you, right? Mary, did you know that you'll be crucified with the Son you'll see crucified? Isn't that an astounding revelation? Mary, did you know that your baby boy will be called the Lamb for all eternity.

So it's an amazing thing to ponder. Here is Mary who would give birth to Jesus only in being a believer there on the day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts chapter 2, to be identified with the son that she bore, spiritually speaking, in his crucifixion and death, his burial, his resurrection, and his ascension and seating. Isn't that an astounding thing to ponder?

Mary, just like you and me, needed to be crucified with Christ. Mary, just like you and me, is seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This is great stuff. It is Amazing, astounding to see what God has done. And just to be clear, this is not what we mean by seated with Christ in the heavenlies, okay? We, in fact, every believer here today is seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and so was Mary. And she is there now. This is amazing, astounding stuff.

One more thing, Mary will be a part of the Bride of Christ that is called up to meet the Lord in the air, raptured to be with Him just like you and me. And guess what? This is a very special thing about the rapture. A lot of people are saying, I hope I'm included. Guess what? You won't miss it, right? And neither will Mary.

So this is a wonderful thing to ponder on Christmas Day. We sing this great song, Mary did you know. There was a lot that she didn't understand. As a matter of fact, there's a lot that she didn't understand that the apostles themselves didn't understand there on the day of Pentecost that we can rejoice in now because it's been revealed. But so now does Mary know?

Yeah. I think we can say yes. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for what you revealed to Mary. Thank you for the things you reveal over time. And even more so, we thank you for the things you've revealed to us and that we can share in because you love us, because you care for us. And you did that by, showed that by sending your son to be a babe so that we could not only have the benefit of his death for our sins, but our death with him, to end up seated with him in the heavenlies. Thank you for that great and blessed hope that we have. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.