Lives of Scripture

Mary was a young, unmarried woman of Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph, when the angel Gabriel announced she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear the Son of God, though she had never been with a man (Luke 1:26-38). Facing the risk of scandal under the law for apparent unfaithfulness, she answered simply, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word," and praised God in the song known as the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). She traveled to Bethlehem while pregnant, gave birth to Jesus among animals because there was no room at the inn, and treasured these events in her heart (Luke 2:5-19). She and Joseph fled to Egypt to escape Herod's massacre of infant boys (Matthew 2). At Cana, she prompted Jesus's first miracle, telling the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:1-5). She bore other sons and daughters with Joseph after Jesus's birth (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3). Years later, she stood at the foot of the cross as Jesus died, and He entrusted her care to His disciple John (John 19:26-27). After the resurrection, she joined the apostles in prayer awaiting the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14) -- her story is one of costly, uncertain obedience to a promise she could not fully understand.