Douglas Jacoby Podcast

NT Characters: Mary

Episode Summary

Douglas continues his new series on New Testament Characters today looking at Mary. Douglas shares what we learn from the mother of Jesus.

Episode Notes

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Birth & marriage

• We have information on her over a period of some 36 years.
• Birth
  • We know nothing of her family, though there is a tradition that her parents were Joachim and Anne.
  • She was named after Miriam (prophetess, leader, singer, sister of Moses).
  • Birth year around 20 BC.
• Marriage
  • Betrothed (Luke 2:5) -- nearly as binding as a marriage, though the relationship was not consummated until after the wedding.
  • Probably married between age 12 and 14.
  • Conception
    • Virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14).
    • 'almah (Hebrew) / parthenos (Greek)
    • But did not remain a virgin (Matthew 1:25), despite later traditions.
• Poor family
  • "No room in the inn" (Luke 2:7). (The word for inn may also mean upper room.)
  • Firstborn cradled in a food trough.
  • Sacrifice of birds at her purification (Luke 2:24; see Leviticus 12:8).
• Large and religiously observant family.
  • Had at least 8 children (Matthew 13:55-56).
  • In Jerusalem for the feasts (Luke 2:41).
  • Circumcises Jesus on the 8th day (Luke 2:21).
  • Offers the required sacrifice for birth of firstborn (Luke 2:24).

A speculative reconstruction of Mary's life

• 20 BC - born in Bethlehem
• 7 BC - engaged to Joseph
• 7 BC - miraculous conception of Jesus
• 6 BC - birth of Yeshua (Jesus), family moves to Egypt
• 4 BC - Death of Herod the Great; return from Egypt; family relocates to Nazareth
• 3 BC - Birth of Ya‘aqov (James)
• 1 BC - First daughter born
• 2 AD - Yosef (Joseph) born
• 3 AD - second daughter born
• 5 AD - daughter born (lives only a few days)
• 7 AD - Luke 2 visit, when Jesus is 12
• 9 AD - third (surviving) daughter born
• 12 AD - Yehudah (Judah) born
• 14 AD - Shimeon (Simon) born
• 20 AD - Joseph dies, Jesus now the male family head and Mary a widow.
• 22 AD - James' first child is born; Mary becomes a grandmother. Many more grandchildren follow.
• 30 AD - Jesus executed 7 April. Mary (now age 49) & the siblings join the apostles in prayer.
• 40 AD - Mary moves away from Palestine, possibly to Ephesus.
• 53 AD - Mary dies, age 72

Character

• Faithful: "How will this be?" (Luke 1:34 [cp. 1:18, Zechariah], 1:38ff).
• Slow to realize identity of her son (Mark 3:20-21). This doesn't mean she was faithless; even faithful people need time to mature, and to reach conclusions esp. where the implications are significant.
• Controlling (John 2:3-4)? Or too eager? Difficult to tell, given the cultural and chronological gap.
• Mobile -- travels for census in Judea; to see Elizabeth; to flee Herod to Egypt; to Nazareth; perhaps to Ephesus.

How Jesus' death may have affected Mary

• Mary is in her late 40s. She has already suffered great loss (husband, children), though not to a degree unusual for women in Palestine.
• "The scandal (stumbling block) of the cross (1 Corinthians 1:23) has nothing to do with the degree of pain, but the shame of the event. For this execution was normally reserved for slaves, never for Roman citizens (except perhaps those guilty of treason). The shame of crucifixion—if we are seeking a modern stigma as degrading and shameful—might be on a par with registration as a pedophile. Even if the accused were innocent, all would naturally assume they must have done something to deserve the label, nor would they easily lose the stigma. (How would you feel about attending a church where the preacher had been tried for pedophilia?) No wonder the cross was foolishness to Greeks and a stumbling block—scandalous nonsense—to the Jews." -- excerpt from A Quick Overview of the Bible (2012)
• She continues to build relationships with Jesus' followers (Acts 1:14); she does not pull back.

Lessons for us:

• Faith
  • When young and life is (relatively) simple, but also
  • When things are disappointing, complicated, painful.
• Flexibility
  • Mobility -- new places
  • Open to relationship -- new friends (Joanna, Susanna, Maria Magadalena, the apostles...)
• Perseverance through hardship (Luke 2:34-35)
  • Suspicion, false accusation / innuendo
  • Loss of husband
  • Probable loss of infant children
  • Loss of firstborn
  • “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” -- Kahlil Gibran (1883-1931)

Mariology

• Terms
  • Mariolatry
  • Mariology
  • Marian
• Historical developments
  • 2nd-3rd centuries AD -- increasing premium placed on virginity
  • 431 -- declared Mother of God at Council of Ephesus
    • And again in 449 (Ephesus) and 451 (Chalcedon)
    • She's mentioned 16x in the NT, 32x in the Qur'an (600 years later), but then 1000s of times! -- through images of her (icons, frescoes, reliquaries, etc) and in songs and prayers.
  • 533 -- declared a perpetual virgin
  • 1050 -- Ave Maria
  • 1854 -- Immaculate Conception
  • 1950 -- assumption of  Mary into heaven (Catholic; Orthodox believe her "dormition" preceded her assumption)
• Queen of Heaven
  • Revelation 12
  • Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17-19,25.
• There is thus no biblical basis for later, fanciful understandings of Mary as the Perpetual Virgin, or the Queen of Heaven.