Mary: What Did She Know and When Did She Know It?
A Journey Through the Questions Mary Might Have Wondered - Advent II
"Mary, Did You Know?" is a popular contemporary Christmas song by Mark Lowry, written in 1984. Christian and crossover recording artists have covered it over 400 times. The song is as beautiful as it is stirring.
One of the reasons "Mary, Did You Know?" is so popular is its ten intriguing questions. They raise the mysterious issues of Free Will, God's Providential Plan, and motherhood.
Let's look at each question from the song and provide answers from Scripture.
1. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water?"
YES. Mary knew her child would be divine. The angel Gabriel said the child would be called "the Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:32). Mary, like all women in her day, would have wanted it to be so.
Most women wanted to be the bearers of the Messiah, which is why childlessness was so devastating for married couples. Mary may not have known about the Lord’s ability to walk on water, but it would not have surprised her.
2. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?"
YES. She would have known this, too. At least in part. The angel had told her to name Him Jesus (Luke 1:31), and Joseph was told explicitly that "he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). The shepherds proclaimed Him as Savior (Luke 2:11). And as mentioned, the hope for the coming Messiah was in everyone’s heart. Finally, Mary’s expectation for her son was even more electric because Elizabeth told Mary she was the mother of the Lord! (Luke 1:42)
3. "Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?"
YES. Here, we touch on a disputed topic: Mary, though blessed, needed salvation as much as anyone.
We cannot agree with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters that Mary was born into a sinless state. The Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is not a biblical belief. There may be a theological need for a doctrine like it—that God needed Mary to be a sinless vessel for the Lord—but this doctrine is a bridge too far.
We can say this: Mary knew she needed a Savior. The Magnificat (next week’s post) shows her understanding of this need, rejoicing in "God my Savior" (Luke 1:47). She knew her son would bring transformation.
"This child that you delivered will soon deliver you."
While this is not a question, it is part of the previous one and deserves a response. This single line is a beautiful and balanced paradox. As she nursed Him and cared for His daily needs (Luke 2:7), she cared for the One who would provide for the ultimate care of her soul—deliverance. This could explain her confidence and courage as one of the few disciples who stood with Jesus at the Cross.
4. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?"
YES. The healing miracles of Jesus fulfilled Isaiah's messianic prophecies about the blind and the lame (Isaiah 35:5, 61:1). When Jesus stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and read from Isaiah (Luke 4:18-19), He claimed these prophecies for Himself.
Remember, she and Joseph taught Jesus the Scriptures. His parents helped the Lord read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest Isaiah 61 and set his heart toward performing the miracles he did.
5. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy would calm a storm with His hand?"
YES. We know Mary knew about Jesus' identity and His divine nature. So, God’s command over the weather, first mentioned in the opening verses of Genesis, would not have surprised her. Also, from Simeon's prophecy, she knew her son would be great (Luke 2:34-35), though watching Him command the wind and waves would bring a new understanding of that power.
6. "Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?"
NO. Gabriel's announcement made clear Jesus's divine origin (Luke 1:35). Yet, the complete mystery of the Incarnation--that her Son had existed eternally in the heavens before taking human form (John 1:1-2)--is a concept no human mind can ever grasp. It is akin to understanding the Holy Trinity. Ineffable.
"When you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God."
This sentence is not a question but deserves a response. Mary experienced the infinite God in the most intimate way possible: by bearing Him, delivering Him, breastfeeding Him, and caring for Him.
What a beautiful portrait! Mary gave life to an infant who grew into a child and matured into a man, who then offered her—and all humanity—the gift of eternal life. This is stunning; we should consider it for the rest of Advent.
There's a moving quote from Saint Augustine that captures this relationship beautifully:
"Mary gave birth to her Son, who was also her Maker... She carried Him in whom we are carried... She fed our Bread." —Augustine, Sermon 185
7. "Mary, did you know? The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the dead will live again. The lame will leap, the dumb will speak the praises of the Lamb."
This section of the song is more of a bridge than a verse, allowing us to address an issue we should not miss. The Christmas story has two levels; the first is the “Bible Story,” which features the characters in the standard children’s Christmas Pageant in the local church. We know that story well.
But there is another level to the story—a deep level surrounded by mystery. Something is happening on Earth and also in the heavenly realm, and that part is shrouded from us. This level—the spiritual level—has animated poets, songwriters, and believers for 2000 years. It is where hope is.
8. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?"
YES. As we have said, Gabriel's announcement that He would be called "Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:32) would have told Mary that her child was divine. Yet comprehending Him as Lord of all creation (Colossians 1:15-17) would have been too much for her to grasp fully. As was true for the disciples, His identity would unfold for her as she witnessed His ministry.
9. "Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?"
PROBABLY. Mary, like her husband Joseph, was a devout Israelite. She knew her Scriptures well. She would have known that Psalm 2:7-9 describes God saying to the anointed one: "You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance."
She knew Isaiah 9:6-7: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders... Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom."
She would have lived with the anticipation described in Daniel 7:13-14, which speaks of "one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven... He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away."
We can say this much: to the extent she trusted Gabriel’s announcement, and to the extent she believed what she said as an answer—“Let it be to me…” —to this extent, she knew he would rule the nations.
10. "Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?"
I HOPE NOT. As she held her child to her breast in a cave near Bethlehem, she would have heard the bleating of the sheep across the hillside tended by the shepherds. She would have known these sheep were sacrificed at the Temple in Jerusalem, a short walk away. Did she tie these images together: that her son would become the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world?
This last question of the song would be the hardest for Mary to bear. Though Simeon would warn Mary in a week that her son would cause the rising and falling of many and that it would be like a sword piercing her soul (Luke 2:35), imagining her son becoming the sacrifice for humanity's sins (John 1:29) would test her faith to its limits.
"This sleeping child you're holding is the Great I Am."
The song's final line is a perfect example of the mystery I mentioned earlier. How can we begin to fathom that a sleeping child in the arms of a teenage virgin is the Great I Am, which Moses heard from a burning bush? The divine name revealed to Moses (Exodus 3:14) was now incarnate in her arms. The truth of this great mystery is too much to hold in our minds. We must store it in our hearts. Which is where Mary held all these treasures. (Luke 2:19)
St. John Chrysostom directly addresses this paradox:
"He who sits at the right hand of the Father is held in a mother's arms. The One whom the heavens cannot contain is confined in an infant's body. He who is infinite is made finite; He who made the heavens lies in a manger."
IN ADVENT, AS WE REFLECT on the questions from the song and the answers from the Scriptures, we see that Mary's journey of discovery mirrors our own. We begin with a limited understanding but, over time, grow in knowledge and faith through experience. Mary teaches us that saying "yes" to God doesn't require complete understanding--it requires trust. She shows us her questions, worries, and concerns—how will this happen—are not signs of a faltering faith. Questions are often the vehicle through which faith deepens. Frederick Buechner said it memorably: Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.
This Advent season, we should follow Mary's example of pondering God's mysteries in our hearts (Luke 2:19). We can learn to trust even when we don't fully understand and remain open to a new depth of trust in God's work in our lives. Like Mary, we are all on a journey to discover that Jesus of Nazareth is who Isaiah said He was: Emmanuel—God with us.
The Rev. David Roseberry, an ordained Anglican priest with over 40 years of pastoral experience, offers leadership services to pastors, churches, and Christian writers. He is an accomplished author whose books are available on Amazon. Rev. Roseberry is the Executive Director of LeaderWorks, where his work and resources can be found.
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