In our studies of people who are mentioned in the Qur’an and also in the Bible, we have considered the lives of several men of God. Today we will speak of a woman. The Qur’an speaks of the wife of Noah, the wife of Lot, the queen of Sheba and other women found in the pages of the Bible, but except for Eve, the first woman, the only one whose name is mentioned in both books is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her name appears often in the Qur’an, and there is even a surah which is entitled “Maryam,” or “Mary.” (It would be helpful, by the way, to note that there are other women in the New Testament who are named Miriam or Mary. This was also the name of Moses’ sister who lived fifteen centuries before the time of Jesus.)
The term Muhammad used most often when speaking of Jesus was “son of Mary.” The Qur’an asserts that she was still a virgin when she gave birth to the Messiah and curses those who harm Mary’s reputation with false accusations of impurity. Now let us see what the Bible tells us about this exceptional woman.
The Announcement Made to Mary
We will begin in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1:
“In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, ‘Rejoice, favored woman! The Lord is with you.’ But she was deeply troubled by his statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be.
Then the angel told her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the House of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.’
Mary asked the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
The angel replied to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.’
‘I am the Lord’s slave,’ said Mary. ‘Let it be done to me according to your word.’ And the angel left her.” (Luke 1:26-38)
This passage resembles what is written in the Qur’an on the same subject. In the thirtieth surah, we read:
“The angels said, ‘Mary, God has selected you and purified you. He has selected you over [all] the women. O Mary! Remain truly devout to your Sustainer, and prostrate yourself in worship, and bow down with those who bow down [before Him].’ This is an account of the unseen, which We reveal to you. You were not with them when they drew lots as to which of them should be Mary’s guardian and you were not with them when they disputed with one another. When the angels said, ‘O Mary, your Lord gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honored in this world and in the next and one of those who are granted nearness to God. And he shall speak to men in his cradle, and as a grown man, and shall be one of the righteous.’ ‘Lord,’ she said, ‘how can I have a child when no man has touched me?’ [The angel] replied, ‘Thus it is: God creates what He wills: when He wills a thing He need only say, “Be,” and it is.’” (ayat 42-47)
Notice that neither the Bible nor the Qur’an mentions sexual intercourse between God and Mary. Far be it from us to entertain such a thought. This is not an idea taught by Christians. God did not have sexual relations with a human being, much less with a woman who was already engaged or formally promised to someone. Yes, Jesus was born in a miraculous way—like no other child has ever entered the world. Mary was still a virgin when her first child was born. She had not had sexual relations with anyone—not her fiancé, nor another man, not God.
We know that Muslims find the expression “Son of God” offensive and blasphemous, but they need to understand this, at least: this expression does not in any way suggest that Christ is the product of a sexual liaison between God and one of His creatures. And Mary was a creature like the rest of us. The Bible NEVER uses titles like “Mother of God” or “Queen of Heaven.” When the angel Gabriel finished giving the message from God, Mary said simply and humbly, “I am the Lord’s slave. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
The Announcement Made to Joseph
In the Gospel according to Matthew, we learn that the angel Gabriel later went to Joseph, the man who would take Mary in marriage.
“The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to name him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.’
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘See the virgin will become pregnant, and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel,’ which is translated ‘God is with us.’
When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.” (Matthew 1:18-25)
Other Events in the Life of Mary
After the birth of Jesus, we have some other glimpses of Mary in the New Testament. There are, of course, the shepherds and later the wise men, who came to honor the baby Jesus. In the temple of Jerusalem, the elderly Simeon and the widow Anne, who by the Holy Spirit, drew the attention of people to the baby Jesus whom they identified as the Messiah the Jewish people had waited for. Later there was the story of how, at the age of 12, Jesus astonished the scribes and doctors of the Jewish law with his intelligence and the answers he gave to their questions. The Bible says that Mary “kept all these things in her heart” (Matthew 2:52).
Honors to Mary
The next time we see Mary is the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. He already had some disciples who followed him, but he had not yet done miracles. We read in John 2:
“On the third day, a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus and His disciples had been invited to the wedding as well. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother told Him, ‘They don’t have any wine.’
‘Woman, what do I have to do with you?’ Jesus asked. ‘My hour has not yet come.’
‘Do whatever He tells you,’ His mother told the servants.”
Jesus intervened by doing a miracle of compassion for the young newlyweds. Discreetly, he transformed water into wine for the guests so that hosts would not be put to shame. (We should point out in passing that the Greek word for wine does not specify whether the drink referred to is unfermented juice or a drink containing alcohol.)
It is too bad that some believers cite this story to promote the idea that today we can go through Mary to obtain favors from Jesus. Some point out that in this story, the bridal couple have a problem and that it is Mary who takes the problem to her Son, who cannot refuse to do what she asks. They believe that even today, Mary serves as our mediator. If we tell Mary what we need, she will talk to her Son Jesus. Because she is his mother, it is certain that he will grant the favor.
But let’s not rush to conclusions. First let’s study the passage. The first thing that strikes us is the manner in which Jesus addresses Mary. Instead of calling her “my mother,” he says, “Woman, what do I have to do with you?” This seems disrespectful, especially to his own mother. In reality, the Greek expression was not impolite, but it was not a term usually used when referring to one’s mother. Jesus used it often when he spoke to other women.
To cite just two examples, there is in Matthew 15:28 the Canaanite woman who asked Him to heal her daughter and, in John 4:21, the Samaritan woman from whom Jesus asked water to drink. In addressing His own mother in this way, Jesus may be indicating that He wanted to eliminate the mother and son aspect of his relationship with Mary now that He was beginning His ministry. In calling His own mother “Woman,” Jesus did not treat her with contempt, but he did not accord her more honor than He did to other women. There is a clear impression that rather than accentuating the mother-son relationship, Jesus was minimizing it.
The same can be said of two other passages. In Mark 3:31-35, we read:
“Then His mother and His brothers came, and standing outside, they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was standing around Him and told Him, ‘Look, Your mother, Your brothers and Your sisters are outside, asking for You.’
He replied to them, ‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’ And looking about at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.’”
The relationship which every believer can have with Jesus by virtue of our obedience to the Word of God is more important than the relationship between the biological mother and brothers of Jesus could claim because of their physical connection with Him. They did not have particular privileges. They did not have a greater right than others to the attention of Jesus.
The only passage in the Bible where we see Mary exalted in some manner is found in Luke 11:27,28. Notice the reaction of Jesus:
“As he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!’
He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it.’”
Now let’s return to the story of the miracle where Jesus changed water into wine. In reading this passage, we are also struck by the phrase Jesus spoke to Mary: “Woman, what do I have to do with you?” My hour has not yet come.” Actually the sentence “What do I have to do with you?” generally serves to tell someone his or her involvement in a matter is unwanted. We see as the story develops that Mary did not interpret this as a categorical refusal to help in this situation. It seems that Jesus is telling Mary that she does not have to tell Him when or how he should exercise his ministry or when to employ his miraculous ability.
Far from justifying the idea of those who think that in calling on Mary, they can obtain what they want from Jesus, we see that Jesus put a certain distance between Himself and the one who gave birth to Him. Jesus intervened to resolve the problem, as Mary had apparently hoped He would, but it seems she also understood the gentle rebuke that Jesus had given her. There are no other incidents where she attempted to guide Jesus or suggest works He should accomplish. Other women would be with him and assist him (Luke 8:2,3), but we see no more of Mary except at the foot of the cross.
Having said that the time had not yet come to manifest his identity, Jesus performed the miracle in a way that only his disciples and the servants knew about it.
As the Qur’an says, God had elected Mary over other women. He gave her an unimaginable honor—that of being the mother of Jesus. But let’s not exaggerate that. Let’s not give her a glory that the Word of God does not accord to her. Instead of fixing our attention on Mary, we would do better to follow the words that Mary spoke to the servants about Jesus that day in Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.”