Who Was Mary, Mother of Jesus? The Story of the Lord's Servant

Mary, the mother of Jesus, is one of the best-known women in history. Her name is found in churches, songs, paintings and prayers all over the world. But when you open the Bible, the portrait you find is surprisingly simple: an ordinary young woman from a small town who heard an impossible promise and answered with faith.

The Gospels do not tell us everything about her. They tell us what matters. Mary appears at the angel's announcement, at the birth of Jesus, in his childhood, at his first miracle, at the foot of the cross and, finally, praying with the church after the resurrection. Each of these scenes carries a lesson about faith, humility and trust in God.

In this guide you will see who Mary was, what happened at the annunciation, what her "yes" means, what Mary's song says, what her life beside Jesus was like, why she stood at the foot of the cross and what her story teaches today.

Who Was Mary? The Short Answer

Several women in the Bible are named Mary. This Mary should not be confused with Mary Magdalene, the first witness of the resurrection, or with Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. When the Gospels speak of "the mother of Jesus," they mean Mary of Nazareth, the subject of this article.

A Young Woman from Nazareth

Luke introduces Mary in just a few words. The angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth, "to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary" (Luke 1:27). Nazareth was an unimportant village, never mentioned in the Old Testament. God chose a girl from a place nobody noticed.

Mary was "betrothed," that is, promised in marriage. In Jewish custom this commitment was as binding as marriage itself, but the couple did not yet live together. That is why Matthew says that "before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). The Bible does not give her age. Based on the customs of the time, many scholars assume she was quite young, but the text does not say.

We also know very little about her family. Luke tells us that Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, was her relative (Luke 1:36). Beyond that, Scripture is not concerned with Mary's background. The focus is on what God did through her.

The Annunciation: The Angel Gabriel's Visit

The scene that tradition calls "the annunciation" begins with an unexpected greeting: "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" (Luke 1:28). Mary did not feel important. She "was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be" (Luke 1:29).

The angel calmed her: "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:30). Then came the news: "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus" (Luke 1:31). That child "will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High" and would receive "the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32). To learn more about the messenger who brought this news, see angels in the Bible.

Mary's question was honest: "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34). She was not doubting God. She wanted to understand how it would happen. The answer pointed to the Spirit: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35). Read more about him in who is the Holy Spirit.

As a sign, the angel told her that Elizabeth, old and considered barren, was six months pregnant. And he ended with a sentence that runs through the whole Bible: "For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).

"Behold, I Am the Servant of the Lord"

Mary's answer is one of the most beautiful sentences in Scripture: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). She did not ask for guarantees, did not negotiate terms and did not wait to understand everything. She simply placed herself in God's hands.

That "yes" came at a price. A betrothed girl who turned up pregnant risked public disgrace in front of the whole village. Joseph himself, "being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly" (Matthew 1:19). He changed his mind only when an angel told him in a dream: "do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20).

Mary said yes without knowing how Joseph would react, what the neighbors would say or how it would all end. That is faith: trusting God when obedience is costly. To understand this kind of trust better, read what is faith according to the Bible.

The Visit to Elizabeth and Mary's Song

Soon after, Mary "went with haste into the hill country" to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39). When she arrived, the baby leaped in Elizabeth's womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" (Luke 1:42). She called Mary "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43).

Elizabeth also pointed to her relative's faith: "blessed is she who believed" (Luke 1:45). What made Mary blessed was not only the privilege of being the Messiah's mother, but the fact that she trusted God's word.

Mary answered with a song of praise known as the Magnificat (its first word in Latin): "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:46-47). Notice that she calls God "my Savior." Mary knew that she, too, needed God's grace.

The song is full of echoes from the Old Testament, especially Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2. Mary says that God "has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). And she celebrates the way God acts in history: "he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate" (Luke 1:52). It is the prayer of someone who knew the Scriptures and turned them into personal praise.

The Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem

A Roman census forced Joseph to go to Bethlehem, the city of David, "to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child" (Luke 2:5). There the time came for her to give birth, and the scene has nothing glamorous about it: "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7).

Matthew sees in this birth the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (Matthew 1:23), which means "God with us." Paul sums up the mystery in one sentence: "God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law" (Galatians 4:4). The eternal Son of God received from Mary a true human nature. To understand who this child is, read who is Jesus Christ and is Jesus God?

After the shepherds' visit, Luke records Mary's response: "But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). She did not understand everything, but she forgot nothing. She treasured and pondered.

A Sword in Her Soul: The Years of Jesus' Childhood

Mary and Joseph were faithful Jews who kept the law of Moses. Forty days after the birth, they brought Jesus to the temple and offered "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons" (Luke 2:24). That was the offering allowed for families who could not afford a lamb. The Messiah's mother was poor.

In the temple, the elderly Simeon blessed the family and spoke a prophecy directly to Mary: "a sword will pierce through your own soul also" (Luke 2:35). Being the mother of Jesus would not bring only joy. It would also bring deep sorrow.

The sorrow started early. Herod wanted to kill the child, and an angel warned Joseph: "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt" (Matthew 2:13). The family lived as refugees until the king died and then went back to Nazareth.

When Jesus was twelve, the family went to Jerusalem for the Passover and, on the way home, realized he was not with them. After three days of searching, they found him in the temple. Mary spoke like any distressed mother: "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress" (Luke 2:48). Jesus answered: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49). They did not understand, but once again "his mother treasured up all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51).

Mary During Jesus' Ministry

Mary's first appearance in Jesus' adult life is at a wedding feast in Cana. The wine ran out, and she went to her son: "They have no wine" (John 2:3). Jesus replied: "Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4). Calling his mother "woman" was a respectful form of address in that culture, but the sentence shows that the timing of Jesus' hour would be set by the Father.

Mary did not insist or argue. She turned to the servants and said: "Do whatever he tells you" (John 2:5). These are her last recorded words in the Bible, and they are excellent advice for anyone. The water became wine, and "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee" (John 2:11).

The Gospels also show that Jesus' family did not always understand his ministry. At one point his relatives even said: "He is out of his mind" (Mark 3:21). When his mother and brothers came looking for him, Jesus looked at those listening to him and said: "whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother" (Mark 3:35).

On another occasion a woman in the crowd called out: "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!" (Luke 11:27). Jesus answered: "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28). This does not diminish Mary. On the contrary, that is exactly who she was: someone who heard God's word and kept it. What made her blessed was faith, and that path is open to everyone. See also what does obedience to God mean.

At the Foot of the Cross

The sword Simeon foretold arrived at Calvary. When nearly all the disciples had fled, Mary was there: "standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother" (John 19:25). None of her words are recorded at that hour. She simply stayed.

From the cross, in the middle of his agony, Jesus took care of her. Seeing the beloved disciple there, he said: "Woman, behold, your son!" (John 19:26). And to the disciple: "Behold, your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home" (John 19:27). Read that disciple's story in who was John the apostle.

Mary watched the son she had carried in her arms die like a criminal. To understand the meaning of the death she witnessed, read why did Jesus die on the cross.

With the Church in Prayer

The last time Mary appears in the Bible is right after Jesus' ascension. The disciples returned to Jerusalem and gathered in an upper room: "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" (Acts 1:14).

It is a striking scene. Jesus' brothers, who earlier had not believed in him (John 7:5), were now there. And Mary, who had seen everything from the beginning, was in the middle of the newborn church, praying as one more disciple, waiting for the promised Holy Spirit.

After that, the Bible says nothing more about her. There is no biblical record of how or when Mary died. The traditions about the end of her life, such as the one linking her to Ephesus, where John is said to have lived, or the one placing her in Jerusalem, came centuries later and are not found in Scripture.

How Christians See Mary

Mary said that "all generations" would call her blessed (Luke 1:48), and every Christian tradition honors her. But there are important differences. The Catholic Church teaches doctrines such as perpetual virginity, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, and asks for Mary's intercession. The Orthodox Church has a similar devotion, with some doctrinal differences. Evangelical churches honor Mary as the mother of Jesus and a model of faith, but they do not accept those doctrines because they do not find them in the Bible, and they direct their prayers to God alone, through Christ.

This article focuses on what the biblical texts say about Mary's life. For a respectful comparison of the two positions, read Catholics vs Evangelicals: what the Bible says, which covers the role of Mary and the saints.

What Mary's Life Teaches Today

Mary's story shows that God often chooses ordinary people to do great things. She had no status, wealth or fame. She had an available heart. And her life leaves us some very practical lessons.

• Say yes to God even without understanding everything

  Mary did not know how things would end. Even so, she answered: "let it be to me according to your word." Faith does not require having all the answers.

• Nothing is impossible with God

  The same promise the angel gave Mary applies to the situations in your life that seem to have no way out. Read the promises of God in the Bible.

• Treasure and ponder what God does

  Mary treasured things in her heart. Set aside time to remember what God has already done and to meditate on his word.

• Turn Scripture into prayer

  Mary's song is full of phrases from the Old Testament. Pray using the words of the Bible. See how to turn any psalm into personal prayer.

• Do whatever Jesus tells you

  Mary's advice at Cana is still current: "Do whatever he tells you." Obeying Jesus is the path to true blessing.

• Stay faithful in sorrow

  Mary stood at the foot of the cross and later devoted herself to prayer. True faith does not abandon God in the hardest hours.

If you want to start your day with a word from God, ask for a verse and a prayer in the verse and prayer generator on the home page. And if you want to follow Mary's advice and get to know her son better, read how to follow Jesus today.