Dear Friends,
“Mary, Did You Know?” is a Christmas song with lyrics written by Mark Lowry and music by Buddy Greene. The following link is a powerful rendition of the song showing scenes from the movies, The Passion of the Christ and The Nativity Story. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ecIXyYRnoo There is a lot of theology and Christology in this song and I thought it would be helpful and edifying to show the Scripture references for the various verses and/or phrases in the song.
“Mary, did you know….” What did Mary know about her Baby Boy? “The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30-35) Mary knew Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah and yet, as other Scriptures show us, she did not fully grasp how God’s plan for Jesus would unfold. (See Luke 2:41-51; Mark 3:31-36)
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water?” “And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.” (Matthew 14:25)
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?” “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) In the Greek, Jesus is Iēsous and means “Jehovah is salvation.” “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].” (Acts 4:12)
“Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.” Scripture says that all human beings have sinned and need a Savior and this includes Mary. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24) Mary acknowledged the Lord as her Savior. In Luke 1:46-47, Mary says, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” Mary physically delivered Baby Jesus the Man and Jesus spiritually delivered Mary from sin and made her new. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he (she) is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man?” “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God.” (Luke 18:41-43) This is just one account of many where Jesus healed a blind man.
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand?” “And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.” (Mark 4:37-39)
“Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod? “When He (Jesus) had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He (God the Father) ever say, “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And again, “I will be a Father to Him And He shall be a Son to Me”? And when He again (at the second coming) brings the firstborn (means first in position/rank) into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.” (Hebrews 1:3-6)
“When you kiss your little Baby you kiss the face of God?” You may have heard this saying, “Jesus is God with a Face.” Scripture supports this saying. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory and majesty of God [clearly revealed] in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6) There are multiple verses in Scripture that affirm the Deity of Jesus as God the Son. And Christianity is the only religion that affirms this truth.
“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.” Although Jesus healed the blind, deaf, dumb and lame during His first advent and pointed to this as a proof that He was the promised Messiah (Matthew 11:2-5), we know there are still many afflicted today with these maladies. But in the Millennial Kingdom, when Jesus rules the world during His second coming, all will be permanently healed as spoken of by Isaiah: “The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; The Arabah (desert) will shout in exultation and blossom like the autumn crocus. It will blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the majesty of [Mount] Carmel and [the plain] of Sharon. They will see the glory of the Lord, the majesty and splendor of our God. Encourage the exhausted, and make staggering knees firm. Say to those with an anxious and panic-stricken heart, “Be strong, fear not! Indeed, your God will come with vengeance [for the ungodly]; the retribution of God will come, but He will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.” (Isaiah 35:1-6)
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation?” “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 3:15-17)
“Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations?” “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)
“Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? “The next day he (John the Baptist) saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) The unblemished sacrificial lamb is first seen in Exodus 12:1-13 as Moses tells the people how to prepare for Passover. John calls Him the Lamb of God and Paul calls Him “Christ our Passover.” (1 Corinthians 5:8)
“The sleeping Child you’re holding is the Great I Am.” “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8:58) This is Jesus’ claim to Deity by calling Himself by the sacred name of God (ego eimi). C.S. Lewis described the inherent foolishness of claiming Christ as nothing more than a good teacher in his book Mere Christianity. “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” The question that Jesus asked His apostles is the most important question Jesus asked and the answer Peter gave is the most important answer: “Who do you say that I am? “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (See Matthew 16:13-16)
O come let us adore Him,
Len and Kristen