What was the history of Mary the Mother of Jesus?

Answer 1

Mary (Aramaic, Hebrew: מרים, Maryām Miriam; Arabic:مريم, Maryam), usually referred to by Christians as the Virgin Mary or Saint Mary, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament[Mt. 1:16,18–25] [Lk. 1:26–56] [2:1–7] as the mother of Jesus Christ. Muslims also refer to her as the Virgin Mary or Syeda Mariam, which means Our Lady Mary. The New Testament describes her as a virgin (Greek παρθένος, parthénos).[3] Christians believe that she conceived her son miraculously by the agency of the Holy Spirit. This took place when she was already the betrothed wife of Saint Joseph and was awaiting the concluding rite of Jewish marriage, the formal home-taking ceremony. Roman Catholics believe that Mary was conceived and born without the stain of Original Sin, thereby making her sinless, eternally perfect, divine and immaculate from all forms of evil. In Islam she is regarded as the virgin mother of the prophet Jesus. She is described in the Qur'an, in the Sura Maryam (Arabic: سورة مريم‎). The New Testament begins its account of Mary's life with the Annunciation, the appearance to her of the angel Gabriel heralding her divine selection to be mother of Jesus. However, early non-biblical writings state that she was the daughter of Joachim and Saint Anne. The Bible records Mary's role in key events of the life of Jesus from his virgin birth to his crucifixion. Other apocryphal writings tell of her subsequent death and bodily assumption into heaven. A number of important doctrines concerning Mary are held by Christian churches. Primary among these is that, as mother of Jesus, she became Theotokos, literally, the "God-bearer", or "Mother of God". This doctrine was confirmed by the First Council of Ephesus in 431. Christians of the major ancient traditions including the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe that Mary lived a sinless life, offer prayers to God through Mary and venerate her as intercessor and mother of the church. Many Protestants, however, do not follow these devotions.

The New Testament tells little of Mary's early history. Her parents are not named in the canonical texts; however, apocryphal sources, widely accepted by later tradition, give their names as Joachim and Anne. Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, wife of the priest Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah, who was herself part of the lineage of Aaron and so of the tribe of Levi.[Lk 1:5] [1:36] In spite of this, some speculate that Mary, like Joseph to whom she was betrothed, was of the House of David and so of the tribe of Judah, and that the genealogy presented in Luke was hers, while Joseph's is given in Matthew.[4] She resided at Nazareth in Galilee, presumably with her parents and during her betrothal – the first stage of a Jewish marriage – the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the mother of the promised Messiah by conceiving him through the Holy Spirit.[5] When Joseph was told of her conception in a dream by "an angel of the Lord", he was surprised; but the angel told him to be unafraid and take her as his wife, which Joseph did, thereby formally completing the wedding rites.[Mt 1:18–25]

Since the angel Gabriel had told Mary (according to Luke)[1:19] that Elizabeth, having previously been barren, was now miraculously pregnant, Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth, who was living with her husband Zechariah in a city of Judah "in the hill country".[Lk 1:39] Once Mary arrived at the house and greeted Elizabeth, Elizabeth proclaimed Mary as "the mother of [her] Lord", and Mary recited a song of thanksgiving commonly known as the Magnificat from its first word in Latin.[Lk 1:46–56] After three months, Mary returned to her house.[Lk 1:56–57] According to the Gospel of Luke, a decree of the Roman emperor Augustus required that Joseph and his betrothed should proceed to Bethlehem for a census. While they were there, Mary gave birth to Jesus; but because there was no place for them in the inn, she had to use a manger as a cradle.[Lk 2:1ff] After eight days, the boy was circumcised and named Jesus, in accordance with the instructions that the "angel of the Lord" had given to Joseph after the Annunciation to Mary. These customary ceremonies were followed by Jesus' presentation to the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem in accordance with the law for firstborn males, then the visit of the Magi, the family's flight into Egypt, their return after the death of King Herod the Great about 2 or 1 BC and taking up residence in Nazareth.[Mt 2] Mary apparently remained in Nazareth for some thirty-four years. She is involved in the only event in Jesus' adolescent life that is recorded in the New Testament: at the age of twelve Jesus, having become separated from his parents on their return journey from the Passover celebration in Jerusalem, was found among the teachers in the temple.[Lk. 2:41–52]

After Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist and his temptations by the devil in the desert, Mary was present when, at her intercession, Jesus worked his first public miracle during the marriage in Cana by turning water into wine.[Jn 2:1–11] Subsequently there are events when Mary is present along with James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, called Jesus' brothers, and unnamed "sisters".[Mt 13:54–56] [6:3] [Ac 1:14] This passage is sometimes introduced to challenge the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary, however both Catholic and Orthodox churches interpret the words commonly translated "brother" and "sister" as actually meaning close relatives (see Perpetual virginity). There is also an incident in which Jesus is sometimes interpreted as rejecting his family. "And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent in a message asking for him[Mk 3:21] ... And looking at those who sat in a circle around him, Jesus said, 'These are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.'"[3:31–35]

Mary is also depicted as being present during the crucifixion standing near "the disciple whom Jesus loved" along with Mary of Clopas and Mary Magdalene,[Jn 19:25–26] to which list Matthew 27:56 adds "the mother of the sons of Zebedee", presumably the Salome mentioned in Mark 15:40. Mary, cradling the dead body of her Son, while not recorded in the Gospel accounts, is a common motif in art, called a "pietà" or "pity". In Acts (1:26, especially v. 14, Mary is the only one to be mentioned by name – other than the twelve Apostles and the candidates – of about 120 people gathered, after the Ascension, in the Upper Room on the occasion of the election of Matthias to the vacancy of Judas. (Though it is said that "the women" and Jesus' brothers were there as well, their names are not given.) From this time, she disappears from the biblical accounts, although it is held by Catholics (as well as other Christian groups)[who?] that she is again portrayed as the heavenly woman of Revelation.[Rev 12:1] Her death is not recorded in scripture; however, tradition[6] has her assumed (taken bodily) into Heaven. Belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is universal to Catholicism, in both Eastern and Western Churches, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Answer 2

AnswerNothing is known of Mary, mother of Jesus, outside what is in the gospels. And the gospel accounts are confusing and contradictory.

Both Matthew and Luke say that Mary became pregnant while still a virgin, but betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter. According to Matthew, her home town appears to have been Bethlehem, but the young couple had to flee with the baby Jesus to Egypt, because King Herod feared that Jesus would usurp him as king. Matthew says that, after Herod's death, Mary and Joseph returned with Jesus to Judea, but turned aside and migrated to Galilee. On the other hand, Luke says that their home was in Galilee, but that the were forced to travel to Bethlehem during Mary's pregnancy, for a census. In Bethlehem, they stayed in a stable, because there was no where else for them to stay. After the birth and circumcision of Jesus, they returned peacefully to Galilee.

Mary appears during the ministry of Jesus, having two more sons, James and Jose, as well as daughters. She seems to have been very critical of Jesus for being a travelling preacher.

Little more about Mary is told in the synoptic gospels. However, John's Gospel has her standing with "the disciple whom Jesus loved" at the foot of the cross, when Jesus told the disciple that the disciple must now look after his mother. If John's Gospel is the most correct account, this would imply that Joseph was already dead and therefore Mary was now a widow.

Because Luke's genealogy of Jesus is so different from that in Matthew's Gospel, some think that Luke's genealogyis that of Mary. However, the author of Luke's Gospel makes it quite clear that he intended this to be the genealogy through Joseph, not Mary.

Answer 3

Mary and Joseph were Jewish people, Joseph was a carpenter and Mary a housewife.