Yes, Mary Did Know

Yesterday, Peter Hollens posted a beautiful a cappella rendition of Mary, Did You Know? As we were listening to it together, my mom said that she thought that Mary had known what made her child so special, and now that I've taken a moment to think about it, so do I.

When Gabriel told Mary that she was going to have a baby, he made it very clear who her child was going to be.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Luke 1: 31-33

If Mary was at all familiar with the prophesies concerning Jesus Christ, and she probably was, she would have recognized that description. If not, this experience would certainly have piqued her interest in any talk about revelations about "Jesus," "the Son of the Highest." If she hadn't already known, it wouldn't have taken her long to find out that her child was the prophesied Messiah.

In fact, Mary knew the prophesies of the Messiah better than I do, so I'm not sure how much she knew. While she probably didn't know the specific miracles Jesus would perform, like calming the storm or walking on water, she almost certainly knew He would perform miracles, and though she probably didn't know how He would do it, she knew He would deliver mankind from their sins. While the details may have been a bit fuzzy, I think it's safe to say that, for all intents and purposes, Mary knew exactly who her child was.