Mary Did You Know?

The story of an epic journey and the first Christmas song.

Music and songs are a big part of the celebration of Christmas. Have you ever wondered about the very first Christmas song? What if it was sang months before the baby Jesus was even born? It’s a beautiful possibility that we will explore in this special Christmas message.

In the first century a girl named Mary set out on a long and potentially dangerous journey. At that time, Jewish girls were often betrothed shortly after reaching puberty, around the age of 12 or 13. Mary couldn’t have been much older than her early to mid teenage years when she set out on her trek.

The course of the trip would have her descending over a thousand feet into a river valley, crossing the river once or twice and then following a narrow winding road up a steep mountainside, climbing from below sea level to over two thousand feet above it. The journey would take about 9-10 days to cover more than 80 miles.

She likely went with a caravan of people and probably traveled most of the way on foot. Making the trip even more difficult, Mary was pregnant, but she didn’t dare let anyone know it. If people found out it would cause too many questions that she didn’t want to answer.

An unmarried woman with child in those days was a grievous sin. Her travelling companions would have been obligated by their religious laws to kill her. In fact, a big part of the reason she was taking the trip was probably so she could be with the only person on earth that she knew would understand her predicament, her cousin Elizabeth. Mary had recently found out that her elderly cousin was also pregnant.

Elizabeth’s pregnancy was a bit of a miracle and mystery similar to Mary’s. She was far past the age where she should have even been able to conceive. An angel had told her husband Zachariah that she would become pregnant and give birth to a Holy man who would become a powerful preacher and prophet.

When Mary finally arrived at Elizabeth’s house in the rugged hill country outside of Jerusalem, she called out to her. Upon hearing Mary’s voice Elizabeth’s baby jumped for joy inside of her and somehow, she instantly knew Mary’s baby also had a divine destiny even greater than her own child. She showered Mary with praise and blessings.

Even though she must have been hungry and exhausted, Mary spontaneously responded with a song that has been passed down through the ages. Today in church liturgy and doctrine we know it as The Magnificat or The Prayer of Mary. The words of her song are written in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel.

Mary glorifies God and praises Him for the mercy and grace He is about to bestow on all believers in the world. She speaks of how he will bring justice and redemption through fulfillment of His promises. And she humbly thanks Him for the role He has let her play in His magnificent plan. The archangel Gabriel had already told Mary that her son would be the offspring of the living God and also quite a bit about what He would do with His life.

Can you imagine how she must have felt? No wonder that a song for the ages erupted from her that day. Even though it was months before a star would rise over Bethlehem, or an army of angels would light up the night sky in song, there is little doubt that Mary knew what was about to happen and who she was bringing into the world.

Almost two thousand years after Mary sang the first song about the meaning of Christmas, gospel singer Mark Lowry wrote a song about Mary. In 1984 he composed the lyrics as part of the script for a play at a church. A few years later, after it was set to music, it became a modern Christmas classic that has been performed by many different artists. I’m sure you have heard the hauntingly beautiful song "Mary Did You Know?"

The words of that song pose a series of questions that people today might have asked Mary as she held her newborn baby on that first Christmas morning. Questions like if Mary knew that her Son had come to save humanity, did she know that she was giving birth to the Son of God? The Bible tells us that she did, and I don’t think that the song suggests otherwise.

Lowry’s song looks back on the wonder of the first Christmas in a unique and beautiful way. Mary’s song looks forward to the same glorious day.

Chances are you will hear the song “Mary Did You Know” sometime in the coming week, maybe streaming on the Internet or as part of a TV Christmas special. Christians living in the 21st century are blessed to be able to answer every question in that song with a resounding yes. We can celebrate the fact that we know what Mary knew and so much more.

Thank the Lord that we not only know and believe but also that we live in a place where we are free to celebrate our faith and proclaim it during this Holy season every year. May the fire of the Holy Spirit within you light the world around you in celebration of our Lord and Savior this Christmas.

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