What did Mary know?

The song "Mary Did You Know" has become one of recent history's most popular Christmas songs. The song's author began composing the lyrics in 1984 while mulling over questions he would have asked Mary. Finally, after seven years of fine-tuning, music was written, and the first recording released. Since then, the song has been sung in numerous churches and recorded by hundreds of artists.

The premise of what did Mary know is an interesting question. The truth is, this side of heaven, we will not know all that Mary did know. We do know from the gospel of Luke though who Mary knew. Mary knew the Lord, evident by her act of faith and song that she sang.

Mary demonstrates that faith does not demand complete understanding. When the angel Gabriel tells Mary that God has looked upon her, and she will bear a son conceived by the Holy Spirit within her womb and that the son will be Immanuel, which means God with us, she wonders how this could happen. Tim Keller points out how often our first barrier to faith as modern people is a rejection of the supernatural. For Mary, her barrier was that God could become human. "So, though they are different, the barriers she faced against belief in the Christmas message were every bit as big as the barriers you may be facing."

The angel gave her the sign that her relative Elizabeth, who was much older than her, beyond natural childbearing years (Luke 1:7), was in her sixth month of pregnancy. Receiving word, Mary acted in faith by quickly traveling the hundreds of miles to see Elizabeth. Entering the house, she greeted her from the doorway. The baby within Elizabeth leaped for joy at the sound of Mary's voice. Elizabeth praises the Lord and celebrates Mary for "believing the Lord would do what he said." (Luke 1:45, NLT) Affirmation of an act of faith.

The Christmas story prompts us to possess a faith that welcomes uncertainty because of the foundation of promises. No one is encouraging a "blind faith," but one that does not demand all barriers removed and all questions answered. Mary acted on what she knew. More importantly, whom she knew. You can know Him too.