Luke 1:35
We can only guess as to the age of Mary
at the time of Jesus’ birth, but all indications are that she was very, very
young. She was a very remarkable girl. The weight of the sin of the universe
would fall on the shoulders of the child in her womb, and the shadow of that
weight would fall on her. Her whole world revolved around Joseph, the man to
whom she would devote her life. To him, she had been and always would be true.
He was the love of her life.
Then, suddenly, on that unsuspecting day, an angel from heaven would drop a providential knife of temporary separation between Mary and the man of her life. This separation is recorded for us in that action of Joseph to “put Mary away privately.” Love and its warm fuzzies suddenly turned into doubt, confusion, and pain.
The shadow of the loneliness cast over our Savior on the cross was long enough to extend to His mother’s life in the solitude of the announcement night. When Mary put her head on the pillow that night, she was in solitary confinement. Nobody on earth knew what she knew. Nobody would believe what she had to say … most importantly, not even Joseph. All of the exclamation points of excitement and anticipation were instantly bent into a thousand answerless question marks.
We cannot speak for certain on how Mary’s
emotions were mixed: with fear and joy? with excitement and dread? The
Scriptures are silent here, but they do indicate emotion strong enough for the
young mother-to-be to push over hills and valleys to her cousin’s house. There
she would possibly be able to find someone who could understand.
Mary must remain for us a figure shrouded in mystery.
Certainly, she was not the mother of God. The early church pushed her to an
inappropriate height of adoration, and perhaps since we have dropped her into
an inappropriate depth of obscurity. A balance must be sought. She was special.
She was tough. She remains a jewel, sparkling in the pages of history.
With no sound of hesitation in her voice,
she responded: “… be it done to me according to your word” (Lk.1:38). With more
questions than answers, this feminine voice speaks loudly and clearly. As she
steps into a bright light that will make her the envy of all other godly women,
she wonders about money, human relationships, potential shame, as well as a
thousand other questions that line the hallways of uncertainty. However, for
the God-selected one, there is no sign of hesitation.
The infinite hands of the Creator were
coming to her womb in the form of the finite hands of a tiny baby. It is
evident from the text that Mary “pondered” (Lk.2:19) she was holding something
too big for full comprehension. There is a time to understand; there is a time
to postpone understanding. There is a time to explain; there is a time to
experience. This was a time for the latter.
Luke 1:35
I. Mary’s Question
A. The answer
B. The evidence
C. The review
II. Mary’s Decision
A. The identification
B. The surrender
C. The isolation
III. Mary’s Determination
A. The journey down
B. The joy
C.
The journey up