Mary

As a young virgin who had never been married, Mary lived in a rough town called Nazareth. This was definitely not a prestigious address. In fact, there was a saying at the time that summed up popular sentiment toward the town: "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"

Mary was approached by the angel Gabriel who told her she would be the mother of the promised Messiah. She would be given the privilege craved by every Jewish woman for generations. But there was a catch: she wouldn’t conceive the normal way. What Gabriel was describing sounded impossible. Not just that, it sounded scandalous. She was going to get pregnant without being married. She would conceive because of the Holy Spirit.

Although first Mary and then her fiancé, Joseph, were obedient to God and followed His will, it could not have been easy. They had to live with the fact that those around them would likely never believe their stories about why Mary was pregnant before marriage.

Mary and Joseph got married and then had to travel to Joseph's hometown of Bethlehem to be registered for a Roman census. As they arrived, the town was filled with visitors and no guest accommodation was available. Mary was heavily pregnant and there wasn't even a comfortable room for her delivery. She had to give birth in a highly unsanitary, smelly, shed intended for animals.

As a first-century Galilean Jewish woman who did not come from privilege, Mary did not live a life of luxury. But giving birth in these conditions must have felt extreme. It must have tested the faith of this young, incredibly faithful Bible hero.

We know from Scripture that shepherds visited Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus. They were later visited by wise men, also known as Magi, who came from the East bearing gifts. Though this must have encouraged Mary, the next plot twist in her little family's life was downright cinematic.

King Herod was alerted to the birth of Jesus by the Magi who had visited him, asking about the baby's whereabouts. “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him,” said the ruler to the wise men.

Of course, Herod had absolutely zero intention of worshiping the baby he saw as a rival to his throne. An angel warned the Magi not to return to Herod who, realizing he had been outmaneuvered, ordered the killing of all baby boys in the region.  Mary and Joseph had to flee with Jesus to Egypt until Herod passed away.

Mary raised Jesus well. After leaving Egypt, the family settled in Nazarus.

We are told Jesus “grew in wisdom and favor” with God and humans. Mary did her part in raising Jesus to be an appreciated, respectable young man as He prepared for His public ministry.

Mary did not always understand what her Son was called to do. She was upset with Jesus when she and Joseph lost track of Him on the returning leg of a Passover trip to Jerusalem when He was 12.

After frantically searching, she and Joseph found him in Jerusalem with the teachers of the law in the temple. Overcome with emotion, Mary questioned her son, asking him why he'd disappeared on her and Joseph.

Mary asked Jesus, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

Even at a young age, we get a glimpse of Jesus sense of mission in his reply to Mary:

“Why were you searching for me?” Jesus asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

The Bible says Mary and Joseph "did not understand what he was saying to them."

Despite not always understanding her Son, there was no doubting the love Mary had for Jesus. And the love Jesus had for His mother was crystal clear.

The first miracle Jesus performed was turning water to grape juice at a wedding feast. He did it because his mother turned to him asking him to help avert the disaster as wine ran out at the wedding.

Toward the end of his ministry, Mary experienced crushing sadness as her Son changed the world yet suffered execution. Yet even then, Jesus remembered his mother. From the cross he felt Mary’s pain and turned to his disciple John.

“Woman, here is your son,” Jesus said to Mary.

“Here is your mother,” Jesus then said to John, entrusting her care to his trusted follower.

Her Son's resurrection gave Mary and the other followers of Jesus hope and the strength to share His gospel.

Mary had heard Jesus speak of His imminent death. This pained her and she wanted to show Jesus how much she loved and respected Him in a special way. Using a large sum of her money, Mary bought an alabaster box of "ointment of spikenard, very costly," with which to anoint Jesus.

Mary was overcome by emotion as she poured the very expensive perfume on Jesus' head and feet, all the while kneeling and crying. She then dried His feet with her hair. Mary had witnessed firsthand Jesus’ pure and righteous nature, and this was her way of showing how much she loved and respected Him.

Mary tried to be discrete, not wishing to be noticed by anyone, but the scent of the perfume filled the room and soon everyone realized what she had done.

The disciple Judas became angry, saying that the money spent on such expensive perfume could have been put to better use for the poor. What he probably meant was that he could have put the money to better use. Judas was treasurer for the disciples and embezzled their money.

Jesus saw Mary’s embarrassment and distress and told the guests to leave her alone. He knew that she was just expressing her love for Him and desire to live a better life. Jesus forgave Mary's sins and accepted her show of devotion.

Jesus also blessed and dignified her act of love by proclaiming that “wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her” (Matthew 26:13).

It was no coincidence that Mary Magdalene was among the first group of people to find Jesus’ empty tomb after His death and resurrection. Early on Sunday morning Mary, together with some other women, hurried to Jesus’ tomb. They took spices and herbs to properly prepare His body for burial.

The women who came to Jesus’ tomb that Sunday morning had come from different directions. Mary Magdalene was the first to reach the place; she saw the stone had been rolled away and left to find Jesus' disciples.

Meanwhile, the other women arrived. They saw an angel who looked like lightning and whose clothes were white as snow. The angel told them not to be afraid and that Jesus had risen and was no longer in the tomb. The angel invited them to look inside the tomb and see for themselves. Then he told them to go and tell the other disciples that Jesus was alive and would meet them in Galilee. Though still afraid, they were full of joy and ran to tell the others.

Mary had not heard the good news but returned to the tomb still weeping because she didn't know where Jesus’ body was. She then saw the two angels but was so distraught and overcome with tears she didn’t recognize them for what they were. Just then Jesus approached her, but she thought the man was only the gardener.

Mary asked Him to tell her where Jesus’ body was, saying that if He had put it somewhere else, she would take it. Jesus had been buried in the borrowed tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

All Jesus had to do was say her name. Even if her eyes were unable to see Him through her tears, her ears recognized His voice. He told her to go and tell the others what had happened. Through this experience, Mary had the distinction of being the first person to see the risen Jesus. This alone qualifies her as a true Bible hero.