“The Mary of the Bible has been hijacked by theological controversies” (3).

Protestants have been known to ignore Mary, the mother of Jesus, in order to steer clear of Catholicism. For many, the fear of giving Mary too much honor has resulted in a failure to honor her at all.

Thankfully, the tide is turning. Scot McKnight’s new book, The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus, is an attempt to rescue Mary from the realm of controversy through a thorough analysis of the Gospels. When this is done, we discover that Mary is “an ordinary woman… with an extraordinary vocation (being mother to the Messiah) who learned to follow this Messiah Jesus through the ordinary struggles that humans face” (4). McKnight argues that Protestants should not fear that focusing on Mary will lead to error, for “the real Mary always leads us to Jesus” (6).

When we extract Mary from the mire of controversy, we discover a woman of great courage and faith. This is apparent from our introduction to Mary when the angel Gabriel announces that she would conceive a child out of wedlock. Mary’s “may it be” response conveys her great faith, but even more, her profound courage. Her reception of God’s plan placed her at odds with Jewish law and society’s expectations. She would be a suspected adulteress and possibly subjected to a humiliating trial, depending on Joseph’s reaction. Furthermore, “[s]he knew that villagers would taunt and ostracize her son. He’d hear the accusation that he was an illegitimate child (in Hebrew, a mamzer) and that he would be prohibited from special assemblies (Deut. 23:2). She knew as well that Joseph’s reputation as an observant Jew would have been called into question” (12).

Yet, in spite of all the humiliation, suffering, and pain it would bring, Mary consented to God’s plan. McKnight concludes, “Mary, in faith, began to carry a cross before Jesus was born. Mary began to suffer for the Messiah before the Messiah suffered” (13).

Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) reveals the depth of her faith. In this song, her desire to see corrupt government and oppressive systems overturned by the justice of God is robustly expressed. McKnight states that “her song belongs… on the shelf with socio-spiritual songs of protest against unjust rulers” (20). It is an ancient version of “We Shall Overcome.” The Magnificat reveals Mary’s profound faith in God and belief that God’s Messiah would triumph over the powers of evil. Mary’s revolutionary faith earns her the title, “a woman of danger.”

Mary was also a woman of witness. She was the first person to tell the gospel story about Jesus to Elizabeth.

Like a good mother, Mary treasured her son. And, no doubt, she shaped and influenced Jesus. But, over the course of her life, her understanding of the nature of the Messiah’s reign changed: “In the simplest of terms, Jesus neither acted like the Messiah they expected nor taught what Mary and his disciples expected” (42). Mary’s first clue that her expectations needed adjustment came when she heard Simeon speak of how “the future king’s glory would come through sorrow and suffering” (48). Jesus would “be rejected and maligned and made a center of controversy” (48). Because of this “a sword would pierce even her own soul” (Luke 2:34-35).

Over time, Mary grew in understanding. Through her experiences of Jesus as a boy at the Temple (Luke 2:41-51), the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11), and Jesus’ teaching on the new family of disciples taking precedence over his nuclear family (Matthew 12:46-50), Mary’s relationship to Jesus slowly shifted from mother to disciple.

At Calvary, we find Mary standing at Jesus’ cross while her son was tortured before her very eyes. We often forget that Mary experienced the cross in a way that no other could. We “remember, sometimes only romantically, what God did for us. But, the real Mary heard the thud of pounding nails and the sounds of piercing pain. Mary barely comprehended that it was for her that her son died. But she stood near the cross as an act of faithful allegiance to her son, and the real Mary embraced the real cross – as her son writhed on it” (88).

At the cross, Jesus affirmed Mary as mother and disciple (John 19:26-27).

By failing to give Mary proper honor, we lose a beautiful and inspiring example of faith, courage, devotion, and love. Like any good mother-son relationship, Mary had a positive influence on the spiritual formation of her son. Like a good witness of Jesus, Mary most likely influenced the shape of the Gospel narratives: “There are good reasons for Luke to tell us that Mary spent significant time pondering the story of Jesus. There are good reasons for us to think that Mary not only pondered that story but also passed it on” (107).

We should not fear that an accurate portrayal of the biblical Mary will ever undermine our faith in Jesus. On the contrary, when we study Mary – the real Mary – we find that she points us to Jesus and gives us a wonderful example of faith!

You can read the first two chapters by clicking HERE. Also, a study guide is available HERE.

Quotes excerpted from The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus by Scot McKnight
© Richard J. Vincent, 2006