The popular song “Mary did you know,” asks whether Mary knew everything that would happen to Christ. We are somewhat in the realm of speculation, but we can come to some conclusions. For instance, the song asks if Mary knew that “[her] Baby Boy would one day walk on water?”
Did Mary know that Jesus would perform miracles? Being a pious Jew, she knew the prophecies of the coming Messiah and the signs and actions that would accompany him. She knew that the Messiah would perform miracles: cure the blind, heal the sick, have dominion over the powers of nature. The prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel and other prophets helped teach the Jewish people what to look for when the Messiah would come. Hence, very often in the Gospels we hear people acclaim, “we have found the Messiah.”
The song asks: “Did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters?” Mary knew from the revelation of the angel Gabriel that Jesus would be the Messiah, the incarnate God, the savior of the world who would die for our sins. The angel told her: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High…” Elizabeth greeted her with “the mother of my Lord” which refers to Jesus’ divinity. She also knew the Suffering Servant prophecy of Isaiah: “But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep. Like a lamb led to slaughter…” Simeon confirms this: “and you yourself a sword will pierce.” God revealed to Mary everything she needed to know. He does the same for us.
