Professor‘s Corner: Christmas & Mary’s Humility

This is a brief Christmas study on an important subject: humility, specifically the humility exhibited so clearly and so profoundly by Mary. It is my prayer that each one of us will receive the true spirit of Christmas this year much in the same humble manner as Mary received the news about the first Christmas in Luke 1:26-56, here from the beautiful text of the old King James Bible:

KJV Luke 1:26-56 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34  Then said Mary unto the

angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37  For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38  And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. 39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said,

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53  He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. 54  He hath holpen his

servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; 55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

Isn’t that a beautiful passage, spell-bindingly beautiful? And don’t these verses immediately transport us from our everyday lives into the midst of traditional Christmas? While the Lord Jesus was most probably not actually incarnated on December 25th  (I humbly [get it?] believe it is more likely that Christ was born in the fall – September or October – during the Jewish festival of Succot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles), this is the time, of course we set aside to honor especially His birth.

“Mary” in Greek is Μαρία (Ma-ree-a), or sometimes spelled Μαριάμ (Ma-ree-am)… The Greek word is derivative of the Hebrew “Miriam,” which in turn comes from the Hebrew word

hr’m’ (ma-rah), meaning, interestingly, bitter or obstinate. Mary was neither. From what is

strongly implied in the text, she was sweet, humble, and deeply committed to God.

Humility may be defined as “the quality of being free from arrogance and pride and having an accurate estimate of one’s worth.” – Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary

 

Continuing the thought of her humility, from the biblical text we can ascertain that Mary came from a poor background. The poverty of Joseph and Mary is alluded to in the mention of their offering of two pigeons instead of a more expensive and thereby more valued lamb in…

KJV Luke 2:22-24 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him (Jesus, of course – TAR) to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

Sadly, mainly owing to the false teachings of the Catholic Church, there is much misunderstanding about Mary today. I think we could agree there are two evident extremes. It is probably accurate to say most people’s views range somewhere in between one of these two polarities:

1. The Roman Catholic View – To many Catholics today, Mary is – or should be – accorded the status of “Queen of Heaven,” that is, assigned a level of divinity all but equal to Jesus Christ Himself. If you think that is exaggerated or unfair, I would encourage you to study this point more completely on your

1. The Evangelical View – To many evangelicals and fundamentalists today, Mary is little more than a minor figure in the Bible, a name and image to be considered only at Christmas time when the Christmas story is read, portrayed, or displayed in a nativity scene. Her name is only mentioned 3 times in Scripture beyond the pages of the Gospels. Paul briefly mentions Mary in Romans 1:3 and Galatians 4:4, and then there is the unforgettable scene of the disciples praying after the Ascension of Jesus back to heaven:

ESV Acts 1:14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

Even though Mary is not mentioned after this verse, it may accurately be said that, as the mother of the second Person of the Godhead, she is the most important woman in the Bible and, therefore, no less than the greatest woman who ever lived.

Mary was not, however, a sinless saint as Catholics claim and certainly not to be thought of as being the fourth person of the Trinity as, incredibly, some Catholics strive to make her. The Scriptures clearly tell us that Mary was a sinner, just like every other human being. Mary was a descendant of Adam like you and I, and as such, she was born in sin (cf. Psalm 51:5l; Romans 5:12, and 3:10, 23). Mary herself confessed her need for a savior:

KJV Luke 1:46-49 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

In closing, one more verse from Luke 1, which I have always thought to be one of the most beautiful verses of all of Scripture. You could even say without exaggeration that it is the prominent statement of humility in all of the Bible, though there are numerous others similar to it (e.g., John 3:30)…

KJV Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…

The Greek word for “handmaid” is δούλη (doo-lay). A better translation would be “slave” (the ESV has “servant,” the NKJ “maidservant,” and in my opinion the most lexically and contextually accurate, the NAS “bondslave”). All these good translations clearly point to humility before God.

I would like to suggest in this modest study that Mary’s words here would make an ideal thought for us to meditate upon, not only this Christmas but throughout our entire lives. “Be it unto me according to Thy Word.” Would not this be an excellent thought with which to begin each day? “As a willing slave of Christ, I humbly pray, “Be it unto me, O Lord, according to Thy Word.”

“Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Tine own way! Thou art the potter, I am the clay! Mold me and make me After Thy will, While I am waiting, Yielded and still.” – Hymn

“The Virgin Mary’s young heart showcased the characteristics essential for all who would experience the birth of Christ in their lives. Mary was a living beatitude, and her soul was a blessed model for all who would humbly and obediently desire to cultivate the life of Christ in their hearts.” – Hughes/TAR

Mary was an unforgettable example of humble faith and obedience from whom all Christians can learn a great deal. This Christmas we do well to studiously and prayerfully reflect upon Mary.

– Professor Thomas A. Rohm