Women of the
New Testament
A study of any
portion of God’s Word is profitable, for, it is breathed upon by the Holy
Spirit, and it is designed to communicate the love, and instructions of God to
mankind.
The goal of these studies is to meet
the individual women mentioned in the Gospels, to learn more about each woman
as a person, so that we might gain insights into our own lives and callings.
Who are the women of the Gospels
we need to visit? Taken in the likely order of their first contact with Jesus,
the women we will consider in this study are:
Study One: Mary
of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. (Part Four)
Bible readings will be from:
Matthew 1; 2; 12:46–50; 13:55; Mark 3:31–35;
Luke 1; 2; 8:19, 20; John 2:1–11; 7:5; 19:25–27; Acts 1:14, and other readings.
“These all continued with one
accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and with His brothers” Acts 1:14.
3. Mary: A close view.
Even as a young girl Mary showed
herself to have great faith. Her response to God was immediate and selfless,
and her words of praise reveal an appealing simplicity. Mary did love God, and
what pleased her was to do God’s will.
At the same time Mary was human.
As her family grew, Mary loved her husband and mothered her boys and girls. She
must have thought often of the strange events that marked her oldest, Jesus, as
special. Yet she mothered Him as she did the others, and He submitted to her
parental authority.
Mary’s days were filled with the
typical task of first-century housewives: grinding grain, cooking meals,
weaving cloth, directing her children’s activities, talking with her husband.
In this she was impossible to tell apart from other women in her village. She
was undoubtedly known as warm and friendly, a good friend and a caring person.
Even Jesus Himself during these years seemed no different than others.
When Jesus began His public
ministry, Mary seems to have been puzzled. She was as amazed as others were at
His teaching and healings. Knowing her natural humility, we can be sure Mary
never postured or bragged of being the mother of the Man all
In the end, after Jesus rose and
His identity as God’s Son was no longer in any doubt, Mary took her place with
the others who believed in Him. And that place was on her knees.
Here, as in every glimpse of Mary
that Scripture provides, we see her as a model believer. The Mary of Scripture
is an example of faith in God. Mary is a sister in Christ to be admired,
appreciated, and honoured. Mary is a woman whose example all are honoured to
follow.
4. Mary: An example for today.
A. Every believer should have a faith like Mary’s.
Each day we should pray, “Behold the (servant) of the Lord! Let it
be to me according to your word” Luke 1:38. This is a simple prayer of
faith and submission to God’s will.
B. Mary valued her commitment to God far above others’
opinions.
Rather than hesitate to accept
the angel’s commission because of what others might think, she chose God’s
will. It is not what people think of us that counts but God’s assessment.
C. Even Mary did not understand fully the import of Jesus’
teachings.
She had been inseminated by the
Holy Spirit and visited by an angel telling her to name her son “Jesus” (Saviour). She had also been
told that the “Holy One who is to be
born will be called the Son of God” Luke 1:35.
So, it should not surprise us if
we don’t understand the plan God has for our children and us.
D. Mary’s life reveals meditative wisdom.
Mary remembered the wise men’s
words and “pondered them in her heart” Luke
2:19. After finding the boy Jesus in the temple debating with the sages,
Mary “kept all these things in her
heart” verse 51. There are special incidents that we may not fully
understand, but, like Mary, we should store them in our hearts until God
provides further insights.
E. Mary kept herself sexually pure.
Before marriage, in fact until
after the birth of Jesus, Mary had no sexual relations with her husband. She
continued to be a faithful wife to Joseph and a celibate widow after her
husband’s death. God’s best for every man and woman is to live a sexually pure
life.
Conclusion:
I do hope we have learnt something in looking
at the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus.
This is the last
part of our study of Mary the mother of Jesus.
