What Did She Know and When Did She Know It?

The message circulated strongly around the time of the birth of our Savior - angels visited a number of characters in the Christmas narrative, including His earthly mother and father. In Matthew chapter 1, we can read:
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Joseph, as we see in verse 20, was a man of careful thought, it seems.  He received an angelic visitation, in which God revealed His plan for Mary and him.  The choice of a virgin to bear the Christ child is yet another fulfillment of prophecy, which we find not only in the 1st chapter of Matthew, but in Isaiah 7.  God took great care to tell His story and to orchestrate events according to His plan.  We can be confident in His ability to govern our lives, as well.

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In the 1st chapter of Luke, we get a glimpse into the announcement that the angel Gabriel made to Mary, as he told her about God's call upon her life to give birth to His Son. We can read his words:
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

Perhaps you had the chance to catch my conversation with noted Christian comedian and singer Mark Lowry recently.  You can find it on the Faith Radio website and app. He talked about not only his on-demand, "live" Christmas variety show, but we also discussed the song for which he wrote the lyrics, Mary Did You Know.  This is the 30th anniversary year of that song and he shared a bit about the background.

A ReligionNews.com story that has appeared on other sites featured the song, its history, and Mark's response to criticism that he had received about the song. The story notes:

The idea for the song dates back to conversations the 63-year-old had with his mother about Jesus and Mary. Most revolved around the question: What was it like to raise the son of God?

“Literally, what was it like teaching the Word of God to talk,” he said, referring to a title used for Jesus in the Gospel of John. “What was it like to give him a haircut? Did she ever walk into his room and say, ‘clean this mess up’?”

He added that most of the questions he had did not make their way into the song — only the ones that rhymed made it.

The story relates that material was incorporated into some "short monologues" that were incorporated into a Christmas concert at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA back in 1984.  He showed the lyrics to Buddy Greene, who was, like Mark, touring with the Gaithers at the time. The collaboration resulted in the song in 1991, that was first recorded by Michael English in 1992.

But, the song has not been without its criticism that was noted in the article.  Seems the critics felt like that perhaps Mark was selling Mary short, and that she perhaps really did know some of the things that Mark put in the form of questions in the song. 

And, you could make the case that she knew quite a lot. Mark talked about his perspective as he wrote the lyrics:

While writing lyrics, Lowry said he imagined himself as an overly enthusiastic angel who showed up at the manger during the Christmas story and was filled with questions. He used the phrase, “Did you know” to express that enthusiasm — as if the angel was bubbling over with joy for what the birth of Jesus meant. The questions in the song are the questions Lowry would have asked if he had been there.

Religion News states:

Lowry is pretty good-natured about the criticism of the song. He’s quick to admit it has shortcomings — which he thinks are more evident to his fellow Christians who are more familiar with theology than the average person who hears the song. The last thing he wanted to do was to insult Mary or anger his fellow believers.

“I never meant for it to start a war or irritate people,” he said. “I definitely didn’t want that.”

He says: “I hope the song makes people think about the baby Jesus,” adding, “I hope it sends them running to Luke 1 to find out what Mary knew.”

What did Mary know? She was convinced by the angel's pronouncement to the extent that when he told her about the child, she responded, according to Luke chapter 1: "Let it be to me according to your word."  Her monologue, known as the Magnificat, later in the chapter, showed that she knew that her son would the fulfillment of God's promise; she said:

54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever...

I sense that Mary knew a lot, and while we could speculate at what she really knew, we can also enjoy and be inspired by Mark's song, that not only includes questions, but gives us insight into some of the dynamics of Jesus and His ministry.  The question for each us can be: "what do we know?"  And, are we acting according to the knowledge God has given to us?

The Christmas season can be a catalyst for us to grow in what we know.  And, to grow in our relationship in the coming year.  Jesus came to be our Savior; He came so that we might be made right with Him, that we might be saved and be a living witness of what He has done.