The next entry for my Blog is Mary, Did You Know, which was written by Buddy Greene and Mark Lowry. It was first recorded in 1991 by Michael English. Michael English and Buddy Greene were part of the Gaither Vocal Band. A link to Pentatonix performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.
Mary, Did You Know?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you
Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb
Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
That sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know?
Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Mary did you know? Oh
Mary did you know?
I believe most parents have big dreams for their children, and when a child does accomplish great things; the typical parent says they knew their child was going to do great things. Imagine if you are told by a messenger from God that the accomplishments of your child would surpass all expectations and that you are told this before your child is even born! Let’s bring Mary on stage, she is the only person told by God that their child would be the son of God and change the world. Take a look at Luke 1:26-35, “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”
I am convinced Mary was the most honored woman in history, but I am not sure she really understood the magnitude of the gift that God had given to her and to the world. Based on the culture of the time, it is most likely that Mary was in her early teens when she was engaged and that she was in her early teens when she conceived Jesus. I can’t even comprehend the emotions she was going through after she got this message. I am sure she had lots of questions going through her mind regarding what it really meant to be the mother of the son of God. Please note that I am not minimizing Mary in any way, I am just thinking about the human side of what a teenage girl was experiencing. Little did Mary know about the true greatness of her child, yet she accepted the task her Lord had given her.
I wanted to share the thoughts above to sort of lay the groundwork for the song. The song references some of the many miracles performed by Mary’s son Jesus and are probably miracles most of us are familiar with and understand at some level. Mary would not have seen these type of miracles in the past, but would have at least understood the concept, even if she didn’t understand the how. The miracles I am referring to, which are in the song, are Jesus walking on water, calming the storms, giving sight to a blind man, bringing the dead back to life, and healing the sick. We have a good understanding of what each of these mean, even if we don’t understand all of the circumstances surrounding each event nor do we always fully understand why these people were called out. The above are just a few of the many miracles performed by Jesus.
I believe the actions Mary would struggle to understand prior to the ministry of Jesus are more challenging to comprehend since there never was and will never be another Jesus. The religious faithful knew that God would send a Savior one day, but once the Savior arrived; they didn’t initially completely understand his role. Jesus came to save us from sin as well as our sons and our daughters and all future generations. He saved us from an eternity in hell and guaranteed us eternity in heaven as long as we accepted him as our personal savior. In the case of Mary, she too would become a new person with an eternal life as she accepted her son as her personal savior. For most/all of us, this idea is hard to get our arms around, the very child that we raised becoming our savior, taking away all of our sin, and preparing a place for us in heaven. As I referenced above, we all have great dreams for our children, but I don’t believe any of us could envision our babies becoming our saviors.
As we dig in a little deeper into what else Mary and all of us need to understand, it is important to realize that the essence of Christ was in heaven. Christ was there at the time of creation, he walked in heaven with the angels, and he was already the king of kings before he even arrived on this earth. When God sent Christ to earth to be born of Mary, he came without any sin and was the perfect gift for this world. No other being on the earth since its creation had been sinless until Christ came. He is the king of kings today just as he was some 2000 years ago. We indeed have and have had our earthly kings during all generations, but none have had the power of Jesus. Our king has the power over life and death, power over the wind and seas, and the power to give eternal life; no earthly king can do this.
I saved the most overwhelming action confronting Mary, and that is every time she kissed her baby; she was kissing the face of God. Wow, think about that for a while. I think of Moses as he trembled when he confronted God in the burning bush and on holy ground. Yet the child of this same God, had come as a baby for Mary to love and protect. Think about balancing motherhood, worship, adoration, reverence, and knowing that you are holding and kissing your son, the son of God.
Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus and she overcame all of the above challenges. I am sure she did not fully comprehend what was happening to her, what the future held for her, nor the true power of her son. Has God given you a challenge that appeared to be too big and too overwhelming? If so, did you accept the challenge or tell him that you are not able to take this burden? Think about what Mary did and what she faced from the day she found out that she was to be the mother of the son of God. Can your challenge possibly be greater than what this teenage girl faced so many years ago?
We don’t know what the future brings, but we must all trust Christ to lead us through the life he has chosen for us. He will take us safely through the life he chose for us, just as he led Mary. Maybe there are times in our lives when we need to look back and compare what we know now compared to what we knew then, this will help us better understand what God has done in our lives. We will be able to better understand the question of Mary Did You Know, as posed in this song.