Two Mary's of the New Testament

Extraordinary Women of the Bible

Women in The Early Years of the Church

Two Mary's of the New Testament

Mary: Mother of James and John

Mary: Mother of John Mark

The Two Mary's: "They labored with and for Jesus."

 

Key Scripture: Matthew 27:56, 61, 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47, 16:1; Luke 24:10, John 19:25; Acts 12:12.

 

Point of Interest: Appearing as it does in fifty-one passages, "Mary" is used more frequently than any other woman's name in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is not used at all, though the sister of Moses and Aaron was named Miriam, which is the old form of Mary. It is no wonder that the Crusaders brought the name Mary back from the Holy Land, for the New Testament Mary's all six of them, represented the six Bible Mary's.

 

Pre-Story: The two Mary's that we are learning about today, first, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Mary, the mother of John Mark.

 

Her Story: The first named Mary has often been confused with other women. This Mary who "followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him" (Matthew 27:55-56), this Mary who "stood by the cross of Jesus"(John 19:25), this Mary who "bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him" (Mark 16:1), this Mary who "in the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week," came to see the sepulcher" (Matthew 28:1), this Mary "which told these things unto the apostles" (Luke 24:10).

This Mary, we are assured, served Jesus in every hour of His greatest need, until the end, with those other faithful few she was there when the risen Savior appeared. We can be sure she was a woman who was generous, faithful, loving, true, and brave. We can also be sure that she stood for the best type of motherhood, for her sons James and Jose became worthy sons of a worthy mother. James the less, meaning the younger, was one of the apostles of Christ. He has been named as a possible author of the Epistle of James. He is the brother of Jose.

Following this Mary's certain footprints go all the rugged way to the cross and then to the place of burial on the morning of the Resurrection, also the footprints of her sons, who helped to establish the new Church, we know she was a godly woman who embodied all the qualities of the good wife spoken of in Proverbs 31:10-31.

Another Mary here is Mary, the mother of John Mark. Only one passage appears about her, but because of it she has come down to us as one of the Mary's of the New Testament.

Acts 12:12 reads; "And he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying." What greater biography of a woman could be written in twenty-eight short words. First, lets look at this mother through her younger son John Mark, who wrote the Book of Mark, also served as a companion to the Apostle Paul in his missionary work and later assisted Peter in Rome. Peter referred to him as "Marcus my son" (1 Peter 5:13). Mary was said to have been on the south end of the western hill of Mount Zion, a residential section in the time of Jesus. This is where the Passover may have taken place. (Acts 2:1).

In Acts 12:13 it appears that Rhoda was only one of the maids of Mary, mother of John Mark. This suggests a household of considerable size. We can also assume that Mary was generous, sharing her home with early Christians. She must have been a woman of some means, one who had real-estate holdings in her own name. At this time she was no doubt a widow. It was her home that Peter came after he had escaped from prison, and found the group praying for him. Usually these rooms reached by an outside stairway leading up from a walled court. It was enough to know that how beloved and consecrated this Mary was, who would shelter a prayer group in her home. It is no doubt but that Mary's home was a well-known center of Christian life and worship.

Also, it is evident that this Mary was closely related to Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), a prophet and teacher in the primitive church at Jerusalem. She was believed to be either the sister or aunt of Barnabas. As the mother of one of Christ's apostles and aunt or sister of another who worked so faithfully in the early Church, she held distinction.

 

Like all the other Mary's of the New Testament, she has not a single blot on her character,. And, like the mother of James and Jose, she was a great woman. The memorial of these two Mary's is an imperishable one, when we know that they, along with the other four Mary's of the New Testament, labored with or for Jesus.

Her Place in God's Divine Plan: As always, every story in the Bible has a Divine orientation. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30). God does have a Divine Plan. His Plan affords the greatest protection we could ever hope for. His Plan is absolutely certain to come to pass. And His Plan is for the ultimate purpose of His own glory.