The Journey in Gray, TN

Mary, the Helpless One December 13, 2006

1.    Let’s see, Mary had an angel visit her without her permission.  Luke 1:26   In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

2.    She had the Holy Spirit overshadow her after his request. Luke 1:35   The angel answered,  “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

3.    Dirty, mangy shepherds showed up out of nowhere right after the baby was born. Luke 2:16   So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

4.    She and her husband with the tiny baby raced for safety in Egypt and had to live there for two years until King Herod died. Matt. 2:13   When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.  “Get up,” he said,  “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

5.    She and her husband had to make the grueling trip to Bethlehem a six day journey while she was eight months pregnant all because the law told her she had to. Luke 2:1   In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)  3 And everyone went to his own town to register.

6.    She did not give permission to her son to stay behind in Jerusalem at the age of 12 for four days without parental supervision Luke 2:43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.

7.    Two Messiah Stalkers ambushed her in the temple when Jesus was only 8 days old. Luke 2:33   The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.  34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother:  “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

8.    She and Jesus went to a wedding feast in Cana and the party ran out of wine. She watched her son do his first miracle, kind of like watching a child take his first step. John 2:1   On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,  2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him,  “They have no more wine.”

9.    She helplessly watches her son stirring up trouble in the neighboring villages so she tied to convince him to come home and stop making trouble.  Mark 3:31   Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.  32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him,  “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

10.  She heard her son announce that he was the chosen one of God, then watched helplessly as the towns’ folk tried to throw him over a cliff. Luke 4:28   All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.  29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.

11.  She watched her son die helplessly on a Roman cross. John 19:25   Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

12.  She heard that her son’s body had been stolen from his borrowed tomb.

13.  She then heard that he had showed up mysteriously alive.

14.  She then watched him rise up off the earth and go into the clouds to disappear from sight forever.