Bible Character Explorer
New Testament • c. 20 BC to after AD 30
Mary, Mother of Jesus
Favored of GodThe young woman chosen to bear the Son of God and who pondered his life in her heart
"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour."
Luke 1:46-47 (KJV)
Overview
Mary is introduced in the Gospel of Luke as a young virgin from Nazareth who was betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David. She is the woman chosen by God to bear his Son in human form. The biblical record of Mary is characterized by faith, pondering, presence, and worship. She was present at the annunciation, the birth, the presentation in the temple, the wedding at Cana, the cross, and the upper room at Pentecost. She is not presented in Scripture as a mediator or object of prayer but as a believer and a model of humble obedience to God.
Gospel Connection
The gospel could not have come without the Incarnation, and the Incarnation required a human mother. Mary's yes to Gabriel was her participation in the greatest event in human history. The Magnificat she sang contains within it a declaration of the gospel before a word of Jesus's public ministry had been spoken: God has scattered the proud, cast down the mighty, exalted the humble, filled the hungry with good things. This is the upside-down kingdom Jesus would proclaim in his Sermon on the Mount. Mary understood it from the beginning. Her last recorded words in Scripture, spoken to the servants at Cana, are a perfect summary of the entire Christian life: 'Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.'
Discover More
See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.