Mother of Jesus Christ
c. 18 BC – c. AD 41 · New Testament
The young woman of Nazareth chosen by God to bear his Son — whose 'Be it unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38) made her the model of faithful submission to God's calling.
Mary appears throughout the Gospels as the mother of Jesus. She was a young Jewish woman from Nazareth, engaged to Joseph, a descendant of David (Matthew 1:16, 20). The angel Gabriel appeared to her with the announcement that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear the Son of God (Luke 1:26-38). Her response — 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word' (Luke 1:38) — is one of the great submissions in Scripture. Visiting her cousin Elisabeth (Luke 1:39-56), Mary sang the Magnificat — 'My soul doth magnify the Lord' — one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible. Joseph, considering quietly putting her away, was told by an angel in a dream that the child was 'conceived in her... of the Holy Ghost' (Matthew 1:20). They were married. Mary traveled to Bethlehem with Joseph for the census, where Jesus was born in a stable (Luke 2:1-7). Shepherds came; she 'kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart' (Luke 2:19). The wise men came (Matthew 2:11). Herod sought to kill the child, and Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). After Herod's death, they returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:23). Mary appears at key moments of Jesus' ministry. At age 12, Jesus was found in the Temple; Mary said 'thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing' (Luke 2:48). At the wedding in Cana, she told the servants 'Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it' (John 2:5) — leading to Jesus' first public miracle. During his ministry she sometimes sought him (Matthew 12:46-50). At the cross, she stood with John and others (John 19:25-27). Jesus gave her into John's care: 'Behold thy son... Behold thy mother.' After the resurrection, she was with the disciples in the upper room (Acts 1:14) — present at Pentecost. After this, Scripture is silent about her. Christian traditions differ on Mary. Catholic and Orthodox traditions honor her with titles like 'Mother of God' (Theotokos) and 'Blessed Virgin.' Protestant traditions affirm her uniqueness as mother of Christ and as a model of faith, while not honoring her with the elevated titles of Catholic Marian dogma.
Gabriel announces Jesus' birth
"My soul doth magnify the Lord"
"There was no room for them in the inn"
Escaping Herod
He was 12 years old
"Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it"
Given into John's care
Last NT mention
Mary's significance: (1) She is the chosen mother of the Messiah — fulfilling the long line of Genesis 3:15 (the seed of the woman) and Isaiah 7:14 (the virgin shall conceive). (2) She models humble submission to God's will — 'be it unto me according to thy word.' (3) She is the first 'disciple' in some sense — first to believe in Jesus' divine identity. (4) She pondered God's work in her heart (Luke 2:19) — a pattern for all believers. (5) She points to Christ — 'Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it' (John 2:5) is her enduring counsel.
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”— Luke 1:38
“My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”— Luke 1:46-47
“Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”— John 2:5
Mary was a young Jewish woman from Nazareth, engaged to Joseph, when the angel Gabriel announced that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear the Son of God (Luke 1:26-38). Her response — 'be it unto me according to thy word' — is the model of faithful submission. She was at Jesus' birth, his ministry, his cross, and Pentecost. After Acts 1:14, Scripture is silent.
The Magnificat is Mary's song of praise upon visiting Elisabeth (Luke 1:46-55), beginning 'My soul doth magnify the Lord.' It echoes Hannah's prayer (1 Samuel 2) and celebrates God's faithfulness to his promises, his exaltation of the lowly, and his fulfilling Israel's hope. It is prayed in Christian liturgies — Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox — daily.
Christian traditions differ. Catholic teaching holds the Immaculate Conception — Mary was preserved from original sin from her conception. Eastern Orthodox theology has its own view (avoiding the Western framing). Most Protestant traditions affirm Mary's uniqueness as mother of Christ and her holiness, but hold she was a sinner saved by grace like other believers — she herself called God 'my Saviour' (Luke 1:47).
Scripture mentions Jesus' 'brethren' and sisters (Matthew 13:55-56) — James, Joses, Simon, Judas, and unnamed sisters. Christians interpret these differently: (1) Protestants generally see them as Mary and Joseph's later children; (2) Catholic and Orthodox traditions hold the perpetual virginity of Mary, seeing them as cousins or children of Joseph from a previous marriage. The Greek word 'adelphoi' can mean either.