Mary: A Woman Favored by God

KEY VERSE: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” —Luke 1:38

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:26-38

MARY, the mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Heli. (Luke 1:26-38) In the genealogy given by Luke he lists Joseph, Mary’s husband, as the son of Heli. However, M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia, Volume III, page 774, states that “in constructing their genealogical tables, it is well known that the Jews reckoned wholly by males, rejecting where the blood of the grandfather passed to the grandson through a daughter, the name of the daughter herself, and counting that daughter’s husband for the son of the natural grandfather.” (Num. 26:33; 27:4-7) It is undoubtedly for this reason the historian Luke says that Joseph was the son of Heli.

As the daughter of Heli, she was of the tribe of Judah and a descendant of David. It was because of this that the angel could say to Mary, “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:32,33) Mary was undoubtedly aware of the many prophecies concerning the advent of Messiah. One of these was the wonderful prophecy recorded in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” And again, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting.”—Mic. 5:2

The enthusiasm with which Mary responded to the announcement by the angel seems to indicate an awareness of the prophecies and a great appreciation for the wonderful privilege that had been given her. The text reads, “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38) To strengthen her and her faith in the power of God to accomplish this miracle, the angel revealed to her that by God’s power Elisabeth, the cousin of Mary, who being in her old age, was with child. “Behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.”—Luke 1:36

The promise to Mary that her miracle child, Jesus, would receive the throne of his father David had its roots in a promise long held dear to the children of Israel. David was Jesus’ father in the sense that Mary—from the standpoint of the flesh—was David’s descendant. But it was God who caused Mary to bring forth the child, and because of this Jesus was also the Son of God. When David was king, he desired to build God a house (II Sam. 7:1-17) but he was instructed, through the Prophet Nathan, that it was not God’s will for him to do this, but rather that God would build David a house. The account states, “He [God] will make thee [David] a house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my Son.”—vss. 11-14

This promise that from the line of David would come he who would deliver Israel from her enemies and establish a kingdom of righteousness which would bring blessings to Israel and subsequently to all the families of the earth, is the great theme of the Bible. For the promise of this blessed seed was given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

One of the wonderful promises familiar to most Christians, but little understood, is found in Isaiah 9:6,7: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

The kingdom of this prophecy will be a real kingdom established here on the earth and will be in answer to the Lord’s Prayer.—Luke 11:2-4

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