A LESSON FROM THE STORY OF MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS

THE POWER OF PURITY

by

Beverly LaHaye and Janice Crouse

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,

Whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;
If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
Think on these things.
Philippians 4:8

In ancient times St. Augustine of Hippo offered the intriguing idea that Mary first conceived

Christ in her heart by faith before conceiving Him in her womb. The heart, of course, is the source of

who we are. Only God knows our hearts – our inward thoughts and feelings. Scripture reminds us, “Man

looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”i Doubtless, as God looked for the

virgin who could give birth to the Son of God and nurture Him as the Son of Man, He looked for

someone with a pure heart.

In common parlance, the word “pure” means to be free of dirt and foreign matter. It can also

mean to be clean and free of filth and iniquity. Either meaning carries the implication that nothing is in

the mix that shouldn’t be there. In the beatitudes, God says that those who are pure in heart – pure, not

just on the surface, but all the way through to the depths of their hearts – are blessed. He found that kind

of single-minded devotion in Mary, the mother of Jesus. While Scripture does not deify Mary, she was

unusually worthy of honor and respect. The fact that she was chosen for this awesome responsibility

means that her devotion to God and the purity of her attitudes and behaviors are an example that we

should study and emulate.

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 At first glance, God’s choice of Mary seems an odd one. She was young. She had not had time to

mature -- to gain experience and develop wisdom. She was from humble circumstances. Mary lived a

very ordinary life in common surroundings. A closer look, though, reveals that Mary had the qualities of

heart and spirit that made her ideal for the high honor and calling to be the mother of Jesus. The pure in

heart, we are told, desire God’s presence in their lives. They have heard and understood the words of the

psalmist: “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has

clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false . . . ,” Their response with

David is, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”ii

Let’s begin by looking at Mary’s reaction to that momentous night when Gabriel visited and

announced that she was to be the mother of the Messiah, the Son of God.

A Servant’s Heart

Some depictions of Mary’s encounter with the angel place emphasis solely on the elements of

spiritual ecstasy. Yet Mary’s reaction throughout was also characterized by clear reason and solid logic.

We can compare Mary’s encounter with the angel to that of others in the Scripture who interacted with

angels such as Moses, Jonah, and Jacob. We can see that none of them was so overpowered that they

were incapable of reasoning, even arguing – or as in the case of Jacob, wrestling – over the instructions

that were given to them. Neither was Mary.

Mary was lucid enough in the presence of the heavenly being to understand what she was being

told and to ask legitimate and reasonable questions. For instance, she asked the most basic question: How

she, as a virgin, could have a baby. When we read her conversation with the angel, it sounds as coherent

as that between any two humans. The type of questions she asked revealed her simple trust in and reliance

upon God. It was obvious that, to her, God’s goodness was so complete that she just expected Him to

provide all that would be needed. She didn’t have to ask further questions or try to negotiate any

conditions before accepting His plan.

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 Hers was a simple trust that flowed from a pure heart and from a knowledge of God. She stated

plainly and without any apparent reservations, “I am the Lord’s servant… May it be to me as you have

said.” (NIV) Her response provides us with a perfect example of what it means to be purely and

completely devoted to God.

This is not to say that Mary understood all that was involved in God’s plan, that she didn’t have

questions about how things were going to work out, or that she never had to struggle or face the

temptation to doubt. After all, uncertainty and temptation are part of the human condition. Even her

divine Son, Jesus, was tempted in the wilderness and had to contend with the half-truths of the enemy

who tried to ensnare Him and derail Him from the mission given to Him by the Father.iii

But when Mary needed assurance, God provided the witness of Elizabeth to strengthen her for the task

that lay ahead. Her expectation that God would supply everything she needed was fulfilled completely.

Unlike Moses, whose reply to God – when he encountered Him at the burning bush iv– was, “Not me

Lord,” Mary’s answers to the angel’s words was, “I am the Lord’s servant.” The response tells all. She

had a right conception of God. She understood – as well as a human being can – who God is. By

knowing who God is, it was plain to her who she was created to be: the servant of the most high God.

From her understanding of who she was in the light of who God is, the second half of her answer

logically follows: “May it be to me as you” – the angel messenger from God – “have said.” What it took

years for Moses to achieve – the role of “servant of God” – Mary purposed to be from her youth. Like

Samuel, who became one of the mightiest prophets in the Old Testament, Mary had learned in her youth

to say, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.”v Mary was so totally devoted to God that she did not

hesitate as Moses did. Her highest goal was to always do the things that pleased God.vi

If we put ourselves in Mary’s place, what would our reaction have been? Joy? Uncertainty? Fear?

Indecision? There are several issues that come to mind when we consider Mary’s encounter with the

angel. What questions would we have asked? What objections might we have raised? What conditions

might we have stipulated before agreeing to God’s plan?

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 God had the angel tell Mary what He was going to do. In addition, He explained how He was

going to accomplish it. But to the amazement of the natural human mind, Mary did not ask why. Nor did

she say, “Okay, Lord, I’m completely supportive of what You’re planning to do here, but there are one or

two minor adjustments in the plan I’d like for You to consider before we finalize this arrangement. Like,

first, how about if we just wait a few days until the ink is dry on the marriage license. Don’t you think it

would really make things a lot simpler for everybody?”

Here we see how Mary’s right conception of God – and in turn her relationship to the Most High

– comes to bear. Most of us would have had the temerity to demand that the all-wise God justify His

plans to us, to demand that the Author of all that is good defend to our satisfaction the worth and validity

of His intentions. Not Mary. She had a right understanding that God was the Good Creator and she was

His creature. God had made her with the freedom to choose, and she chose to be the Lord’s servant.

Had we been there, and able to think as clearly as Mary in the terrifying, awesome presence of the

angel, we would have wanted to know how to explain this to Joseph. We would have wanted to know

how we were supposed to cope with the embarrassment of people believing we had been impure. We

would have asked how to deal with the scorn of the hometown folks who would be counting on their

fingers when it became known that we were pregnant. We would have wanted to know what to do about

our parents’ embarrassment. With the benefit of hindsight, we know that God provided for the problem

with Joseph by sending an angel. It is beautiful to think that the angel’s message to Joseph included the

same instructions regarding the infant’s name as the angel’s instructions to Mary, so that when the two of

them got around to discussing this matter, they would receive yet another confirmation that they were a

part God’s unfolding plan. vii

In hindsight, we also know that the scorn of the local town folk was not going to turn out to be

the problem Mary might have expected. Through the means of Caesar Augustus’ decree that dictated

there be a census taken,viii God was going to get Mary and Joseph out of Nazareth and on to Bethlehem in

time for the birth. After that, He was going to send them to Egypt to get them away from Herod’s

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murderous rampage.ix Everything would be done to completely fulfill all of the prophecies about Christ.

By the time they returned to Nazareth, the length of time between their marriage and the date of Christ’s

birth was no longer a relevant issue.

But we know all these are all things, of course by looking back. They are not things Mary could

have known when she was talking with the angel. From our perspective today, it seems remarkable to

think that Mary with her limited years of experience and without the advantage of hindsight, believed so

completely in God that she knew without any doubt that He is totally reliable and that He could be trusted

to work out all the details of His good plan--, indeed His perfect and astonishing plan.

Most of us would have asked God to explain why He hadn’t considered using Plan B! All

through the Old Testament, we see one example after another of God speaking to one of the prophets who

then tells the king or announces to the people “this is the word of the Lord.” Most of us in Mary’s

situation would have said to God, “Don’t You think people would connect with this whole Messiah idea

better if You gave a message to a prophet or a priest and have them announce in front of everybody that

You are going to give me – still a virgin – this miracle baby, one who is not going to have a human father.

That way, God, I won’t be embarrassed, my parents won’t be embarrassed and everyone will understand

this whole deal a lot better. Don’t You see, God, that we are accustomed to having You speak through

prophets? After all, that’s the way You’ve always done it!”

Some might want to argue that Mary’s limited response to the angel does not indicate a high

degree of trust in God as much as it shows that she was simply a very passive person. There is just one

problem with this view of Mary’s personality. We have evidence that it is not true.

Consider the situation about 30 years later when Mary, along with Jesus and his disciples, are

invited to a wedding. When the host ran out of wine, Mary approached her Son with the problem. Now

notice that when Mary learned of this problem she did not passively accept the looming embarrassment of

the host who likely was a close friend or perhaps even a relative. Then consider what followed next.

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Jesus’ first response to his mother’s suggestion that He provide a solution to the problem was to say,

“Why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.”

Do we see Mary passively accepting her Son’s attempt to deflect her request for Him to get

involved? Hardly. While she does not urge Him to reconsider, that doesn’t necessarily mean she didn’t

give Him the “look,” the one that says: Hello, this is important to me . . . this is Your mother here, the one

who changed Your diapers, remember. Whatever the case may have been, despite having received no

words of encouragement from Jesus that might cause her to proceed further (we can’t even guess what she

might have seen in His face), she turned to the servants and instructed them, “Do whatever he tells you to

do.” With the servants eyeing Him for instructions, Jesus set in motion the steps by which He turned

upwards of 180 gallons of water into wine!x (All of this was done so unobtrusively that the servants were

the only ones who knew how the supply of wine was replenished.) Score an A+ for Mary’s persistence.

As this incident clearly shows, Mary was definitely not a passive person. We are not told how she

knew, but it is quite evident she understood something of her Son’s capabilities (Though we have to

wonder if she was expecting Him to go to such lengths in remedying the problem). Moreover, she was

prepared to push Him when, in her judgment, the situation warranted His attention. The picture we see of

Mary in this story is certainly not that of someone with a passive personality. That being the case, the

only viable explanation we have so far for Mary’s response to the angel is that she was devoted to God

and trusted in His goodness.

Preparation for Purity

But what of God’s actual plan as compared to our hypothetical “this-is-the-way-we’ve-always-

done-it” plan B? Why did God change course and speak directly to Mary rather than through some

prophet as He had done so often in Old Testament times? At first glance it does seem as though it would

have made things easier on Mary. Easier, but not better. That is the problem. There is something in our

nature that finds the easier solution, more appealing. Usually, easier just seems better to us. But since

when has our experience shown us that anything of great value can be obtained without great effort?

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 No athlete builds strength by doing easy things. True, athletes engage in some easy stretching at

the outset of a workout to maintain flexibility, but then they move on to exercises that involve sweat and

strain. These are the indispensable ingredients for building strength. Though “easier” is more attractive to

us, it is not better for us because it does not produce growth, increase strength, or prepare us for the trials

yet to come.xi

Had plan B been the way God operated at the outset of this drama, then Mary and Joseph would

not have been prepared to receive and act upon further messages from God. Some time after the birth of

Christ an angel appeared unto Joseph in a dream and instructed him to get up immediately and flee to

Egypt to keep Herod from murdering the baby Jesus. Another time, an angel appeared to Joseph to tell

him that it was time to return to Israel. A third time, Joseph was warned to go to Nazareth in Galilee

rather than return again to Judea where Archelaus, Herod’s son was now ruling.xii

Another aspect of Mary’s purity was her willingness to confirm God’s message to her through

those who were more mature. She went to Elizabeth, someone of deep and abiding faith who knew her,

understood her, and had her best interests at heart. Mary’s action was not that of a person who doubted

God. Her heart understood what her eyes couldn’t see and her mind couldn’t grasp. Her desire for

confirmation was the action of someone who trusts God with deep reverence, but was wise enough to

know that human interpretations are vulnerable to the influence of our own wishes and desires and hence

should be handled with care to ensure that we are not simply hearing what we want to hear.

Mary understood accountability and recognized that God promised to give wisdom generously.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it

will be given to him.”xiii Mary knew the Scriptures and the prophecies. Her mind and heart were filled

with God’s words. She worshipped God with her whole heart.

In the first chapter of Luke, we find Mary’s song that describes her adoration of her God who is

mighty and strong, holy and merciful, who cares for the needy and empowers the lowly, who is the Savior

and Lord. The description of Mary in every specific indicates that she was a young woman who was

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willing to be used by God in any way He deemed best. She was pure in heart and bowed in reverence and

obedience to God.

The Path to Purity

In the beatitudes, Jesus says that the pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God. If

seeing God is the height of blessedness, then keeping a pure heart should be a high calling for every

Christian. Some of the ancient philosophers thought that the pure in heart were able to see the spiritual

world more clearly than those less pure whose view was limited to the physical world. Perhaps the pure

in heart see God more clearly because that is where they focus their attention. And, in the light of God’s

holiness, our own unworthiness is made plain. As C.S. Lewis once wrote: “To know God is to know that

our obedience is due Him.”xiv Meekness and the fear of the Lord are, then, natural results of seeking the

Lord with all our heart and mind.

Mary’s purity reminds us that when we clothe ourselves in God’s righteousness rather than

relying on our own strength and wisdom, we become conformed to the image of His Son. The apostle

Peter called us, as the children of God, to “participate in the divine nature” of God so that we can “escape

the corruption in the world caused by evil desire.” Mary serves to remind modern women that it is

possible to put on the spirit of Christ, that God promises that we can participate in His divine nature. The

apostle Peter admonishes us that we need to make very effort to add to our “faith, goodness and to

goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to

perseverance, godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love.” Peter

added, “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being

ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”xv

We inevitably end up focusing our lives on some set of ideas or principles. The ultimate irony is

that even those who think they are creating their own way, their own truth, their own life, experience the

greatest bondage: addiction and enslavement to their own urges and the chaos that are the wages of sin

and disobedience. Paul admonished the Romans: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to

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someone to obey him as slaves, you are slave to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin,

which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness?”xvi Mary’s life shows us how much

better that it is to serve our heavenly Father, who knows our frame and holds our best interest in His

hands.

Faithfulness to Christ beings wonderful freedom in our lives – the freedom that comes from a

pure heart. And, in the end, we can say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the course,

I have kept the faith.”xvii

i
I Samuel 16:7
ii
From Psalm 24:3-4 and 51:10
iii
Luke 4:1-13.
iv
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and,
behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:2)
v
I Samuel 3:9-10.
vi
Jesus speaking to the Pharisees said, “And He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do
always those things that please Him.” (John 8:29)
vii
Matthew 1:20-25.
viii
Luke 2:1.
ix
Matthew 2:1-17.
x
John 2:3-10.
xi
God put this issue in slightly different slant when he says (loosely translated) to Jeremiah, “If you have raced with
foot soldiers and they have worn you out, how do you expect to be able to compete against horse drawn chariots?
And if you stumble in safe, familiar country, how will you manage in thickets of the Jordan in flood tide? (Jeremiah
12:5)
xii
Matthew 2:13-23.
xiii
James I:5
xiv
C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, London, 1955, p. 34.
xv
II Peter 1:4-9
xvi
Romans 6:16
xvii
II Timothy 4:7