Mary, the Mother of the Lord
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5 NKJV)
Mother’s Day
This date on the calendar is reserved for Mothers. Unfortunately, not much is done for those who want to be mothers but for one reason or another, have not had the privilege or perhaps the calling to have children. But because of Mother’s day, I have thought a lot about what it must have been like to be the mother of the Lord Jesus.
Mary was Privileged
Mary was indeed privileged, but with that privilege came a lot of responsibility. She had other children (in spite of what some churches maintain), but this One must have been different. I wonder if she could have said, “Whatever he says to you do it” with regard to her other children? We know that all of Israel was waiting for their Messiah to come, but of course they thought He would come to reign and not to suffer. But Mary may have understood that the Lord was going to suffer because of what Simeon said when they were fulfilling the Jewish ceremonies for a newborn in the temple. He said, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against “(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:34-35 NKJV).” If her inner being was going to be pierced, it doesn’t appear that she was going to be a Queen Mother sitting on a throne with her Son. And yes, this was fulfilled, since she was at the cross when the Lord was crucified.
His First Public Miracle
Now the passage being quoted is the beginning of the LORD’s miracles or signs that should have convinced the Jews that He was the Messiah. However, I would like to suggest that this was the beginning of His public signs since Mary was convinced that He had the power to do whatever needed to be done at that wedding. I think she knew that the Lord could produce wine miraculously. Nothing else would have met the needs of those at the feast. She had already gone to the Lord and said, “They have no wine.” I suspect she had seen some miraculous things in her home that gave her the confidence to say, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” From the age of twelve until the age of about thirty, we do not have a record of what happened. We know that when HE reached the age of twelve, He made it clear that He was marching to the tune of another drummer. His first priority was His Father, but we do read that He was subject (or obedient) to His earthly parents.
Proper Training
In Proverbs we read a somewhat troublesome verse. It says “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it( Proverbs 22:6 NKJV).” The verse is probably not saying that a child raised in a Christian home will become a committed Christian. But what it does seem to be saying is that parents should not make children train for the kind of adulthood and careers that the parent thinks is best for them, but they should know their child well enough to help the child develop the God given talents that the Lord has given them. The Lord was a carpenter, the son of a carpenter which is the way society at that time worked. Children were trained in the occupations of their parents, but that was not always the calling of God. I think Mary helped the Lord as He grew up to fulfill His calling which was to be the Messiah and the Savior of the world.
It is a good mother that can help a child develop the skills or talents or abilities that God has given him and who does not force a life on the child for which they are not fitted. It is a good mother that allows her child to develop in such a way that she can confidently say, “Whatever he says to you, do it!”
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of May 11, 2025
If you would like further conversation about the issues in these meditations, contact me at collinsbd@yahoo.com and I will try to accommodate you with a virtual Bible Study.