Anyone who has come into contact with the life story of Jesus Christ knows her: Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is venerated by people of many religions all over the world. Who is this saint woman and why do they call her the Mother of God? What does the Bible say about her? What is her position in Christianity?
According to tradition, Mary came from Jerusalem, but grew up in Nazareth, Galilee. We don't find much information about her in the Bible, but there is some.
Mary in the Bible and in non-biblical writings
So, we don't know much about Mary's origins and youth from the Bible. In the New Testament, her name appears in the Christmas story of the evangelists Matthew and Luke. Acts of the apostles, which are also attributed to Luke, are often called Mary "the mother of Jesus."
The words of the angel Gabriel in the Gospel of Luke, in verses 28 to 31 of the first chapter, testify to her important position:
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus."
In the Gospels we find Mary, in addition to the event of Jesus' birth, in other events: for example, in the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple on the 40th day after his birth, then in the escape to Egypt and then in the event when the 12-year-old Jesus stayed in the temple in Jerusalem. We find another mention in the Gospel of John when he describes how Jesus was with his mother at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. And then we meet Mary at the cross of Jesus.
More reports on the life of the Virgin Mary can be found in non-biblical writings - in the apocryphal books, which were written later and their historical authenticity is questionable. They should therefore not be understood as factual reports. An example is the Protoevangelium of James from 2nd century, which refers to the Gospels. In it, we learn, among other things, that Mary's parents were named Joachim and Anna, and that Joachim was the owner of the herd. Since the Bible tells us very little about Mary, many legends and myths have arisen around the Mother of God.
Mary and Jesus
The character of the mother of Jesus is impossible to avoid, especially during Christmas events. No nativity scene is complete without the figure of the Mother of God, who gave birth to the Son of God and Saviour in perfect purity. After giving birth, she had to escape to Egypt to save her new born son from the persecution of Herod. Upon their return, they settled in Nazareth, where little Jesus grew up. His relationship with his relatives did not seem to be without tension - the relatives probably did not always have enough understanding for his words or deeds. The Gospels even suggest that relatives thought Jesus had gone mad. Mary only accepted many events in her life in silence, and as the evangelist writes, she "pondered them in her heart".
It was most important for Jesus to fulfill his mission. However, Mary remained faithfully by her son's side. In fact, she became his first disciple and experienced his most difficult hours - torture and death on the cross. After Jesus' death, she lived for some time in Ephesus with the Apostle John. There are several traditions about the place of her death. According to some, she died either in Ephesus, according to others in Jerusalem, in the Cedron Valley, where she was buried according to Christian tradition. However,
Christians celebrate the feast of her Assumption because they believe that Mary's body was taken to heaven after her death.
