Christmas Perspective: In Defense of "Mary, Did You Know?"

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In Defense of "Mary, Did You Know?"

And [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7 (NRSV)

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Will one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy

Is Heaven's perfect Lamb?

This sleeping child you're holding

Is the great I Am

From "Mary, Did You Know?" by Mark Lowry

Now that Black Friday has passed, we are well into the Christmas shopping season.  By now you've doubtlessly started to hear Christmas music wherever you go.  One song you've probably heard at least a few times is "Mary, Did You Know?" in which the vocalist rhetorically asks Mary, the mother of Jesus, how much she knew about how her Son's life would unfold.  The lyrics to the song were written in 1984 by Mark Lowry, and they were set to music seven years later by Buddy Greene.¹  Since then, this song has been performed by numerous recording artists.

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding this song in recent years.  Some find it condescending, suggesting that, for some reason, the vocalist feels the need to tell Mary things that she already knows.  Some have said that the song smacks of biblical ignorance, suggesting that the Magnificat, the song of praise Mary sings when she is pregnant with Jesus, indicates that Mary did, in fact, know.²

Mark Lowry wrote the lyrics to "Mary, Did You Know?" while he was preparing a Christmas program for his church.  He thought about Mary and sincerely began to wonder how much she knew, as a new mother, about who her Son was and what He would grow up to do.  Lowry once said in an interview,
I started thinking and wondering if Mary realized the power, authority, and majesty that she cradled in her arms that first Christmas.  I wondered if she realized those little hands were the same hands that scooped out oceans and formed rivers.  I just tried to put into words the unfathomable.  I started thinking of the questions I would have for her if I were to sit down and have coffee with Mary.  You know, "What was it like raising God?" "What did you know?" "What didn't you know?"³

When Mary learned that she would soon give birth to a Son whom she would name Jesus, the angel told her, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."⁴  Basically, the angel told her that her son would be the Messiah, the long-awaited descendant of King David who would save her people and usher in an age of peace and prosperity.  Afterward, Mary demonstrated, when she sang her song of praise, that she knew her son will be the fulfillment of God's promises to her people.⁵

When we read the Gospel, we can see that, as my pastor noted last year, "Mary had more than an inkling about who Jesus was going to be."⁶  As an expectant mother, she knew that Jesus was destined to save His people.  That said, I find it hard to believe that she could foresee every detail of His life mentioned in "Mary, Did You Know?" - that He would give sight to the blind, heal the lame, raise the dead, calm a storm, or walk on water, or that He was actually God Incarnate and the Second Person of the Trinity.

As we read onward in the Gospel story, we see there is a bit of pondering, amazement, and even perplexity on Mary's part.  After Mary had given birth, some shepherds arrived and told her what the angel of the Lord had told them about her Son.  "Mary," we read, "treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart."⁷  When Mary and her husband Joseph presented Jesus at the temple months later, an old prophet named Simeon took the child in his arms and described Him as "[God's] salvation," "a light for revelation to the Gentiles," and "glory to [God's] people Israel."  Mary was amazed by what Simeon said about her Son.⁸  When, at twelve years of age, Jesus was separated from His family after Passover, Mary and Joseph found Him at the Temple of the Lord.  Jesus asked, "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"  Mary was perplexed by His words.⁹

Mary wasn't clueless.  She knew from the beginning that her baby boy would grow up to fulfill a very important purpose.  That said, it is apparent that there were still many surprises in store for her.

Over time, many people came to believe, like Mary, that Jesus was the Messiah.  People had certain expectations about who their Messiah would be and what their Messiah would do, but Jesus did not come to meet any of these expectations.  The people expected a savior who would come bearing a sword.  Jesus came bearing a cross.  I don't think that anyone knew exactly what kind of Savior Jesus is until after He was crucified and resurrected.  A crucified and risen Savior, I suspect, was a surprise to everyone.

Ultimately, the point of the song "Mary, Did You Know?" is not to tell Mary anything she may or may not have already known about her Son.  Mary lived nearly two thousand years before the song was written, and there's no doubt that, by the end of her life, she knew everything the song tells us about Jesus and then some.  The point of the song is to remind us, the listeners, of who Jesus is and what He did.  The Nativity is not just a cute story we remember at Christmas, and Jesus is not just a baby who was born in a stable, wrapped in cloths, and laid in a manger.  Jesus is the Son of God, the Victor over sin and death, and the true Lord of this world.

As you hear "Mary, Did You Know?" and other Christmas songs this season, may you, dear reader, be reminded of who Jesus is and what He did.


Notes:

1. From Mark Lowry's interview with Martha Lyon for AbsolutelyGospel.com
2. Wikipedia: "Mary, Did You Know?"
3. Lowry and Lyon
4. Luke 1:30-33 (NRSV)
5. Luke 1:54-55
6. Jonathan Tompkins.  "Mary, Did You Know?"  Travelers Rest United Methodist Church, 12/02/2018.
7. Luke 2:15-19 (NRSV)
8. Luke 2:22-33 (NRSV)
9. Luke 2:41-50 (NRSV)

Natività was painted by Carlo Maratta in 1655.