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Issue link: http://magazine.kcm.org/i/1359586
Many of us were deeply affected a number of years ago by the movie “The Passion of the Christ.” Though I am sure no man could ever fully capture the scope of His suffering, the vivid images of Jesus paying the price for our sin will forever be imprinted on my mind. For me, telling the story primarily through the eyes of His mother greatly deepened the emotional impact. I could identify with a mother’s love—something all of us relate to on one level or another. I became hungry to know more about her and exactly what her life speaks to us today. What I discovered was that Mary’s life is a divine example of the goodness of God, not only to her but to us all. She was so right when she declared in Luke 1:46, “My soul magnifies the Lord” ("New King James Version"). Many Unfavorable Circumstances It didn’t take much effort to learn about Mary’s life and the circumstances surrounding it. I don’t know why I hadn’t heard more about her before. We so often focus on the glory of the angel’s visit and forget there were nine months between that day and the delivery of her Child. There were many unfavorable circumstances surrounding Mary’s life that might have caused a weaker, less-devoted woman to crumble. The Galilee area was then, and had for a long time, been a hotbed of revolt against the Roman government. Mary had most likely been witness to some very violent situations. The pressure and probable persecution from family and community concerning the suspicious timing of her pregnancy may have stayed with her even into Jesus’ childhood. The dangerous journey to Bethlehem in the final days of her ninth month was, at best, harsh on both body and soul. There were phenomenal events surrounding Jesus’ birth that she didn’t understand and prophecies she couldn’t interpret. But through it all, she was unmoved, never complaining or giving voice to question the plan of God. She never gave her mouth to words of doubt or fear. Instead, she pondered those things in her heart and pressed forward, obviously raising Jesus in the fear and admonition of the Lord. That is, until Jesus’ ministry began to challenge the hypocrisy of the synagogue leaders. At that point she and Jesus’ brothers would no longer attend His meetings but would call to speak to Him from “without” (Matthew 12:46-50; John 7:1-9). It would be easy to criticize her for those actions and indeed she should never have backed away from Jesus’ ministry. On the other hand, she was probably under a kind of pressure few of us could ever relate to. The social as well as religious implications were hard to reconcile as part of the plan of God that she had so long envisioned. Instead of Jesus embracing the religious community, He was challenging it head-on. It’s possible that there is no further record of her presence in His ministry because she just couldn’t bear to face what she could not understand. But then, glory to God, there she is at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25-27)! She was no doubt there for Him, loving Him and letting Him see that she had not abandoned Him. What she most likely did not know was that she was there for herself as well. Surely what she saw that day still did not fit the picture of God’s plan that she had imagined. But then, maybe the word of Simeon the prophet came back to her: “A sword will pierce your very soul” (Luke 2:35, "New Living Translation"). Maybe those words comforted her that somehow, in a way she could not yet comprehend, this was part of God’s plan. But whatever her thoughts that day, the important fact is that she was at the Cross and she was in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. She was one of the 120 who were filled with the Holy Spirit. She staggered into the streets of Jerusalem with the others, drunk on new wine. No doubt, the Day Star dawned in her heart that day, and the plan that had been hidden from her for all those years suddenly became clear. History tells us that she actually became part of Timothy’s church in Ephesus. I can picture the young women gathered around her time and again pleading with her to tell the story once more. How glad she must have been to recount the glories of God and His work of grace that rested on her life. How thankful to God she must have been that she had finally seen the plan of God, not only for herself but for all mankind. 18 : BVOV