A popular Christmas carol asks, “Mary, did you know?” Some people declare, with no small amount of consternation, that the song and the question it centers on are theologically incorrect. The answer, they say, is, obviously, yes, she did know.
Of course, the song itself never states that Mary didn’t know something—it simply poses questions to ponder. These don’t have to be rhetorical questions, nudging the reader toward a certain (negative) answer. On the contrary, they can be considered a good starting point for meditative prayer.
Even people who take issue with “Mary, Did You Know?” can’t claim that every line is wrong. Indeed, the very first line presents a fact that, at the time she gave birth to her Son, Mary did not know: “that your baby boy would one day walk on water.” It is clear from the Gospel of Luke that Mary knew that her Son was a Divine Child and the promised Messiah. But we are nowhere told that she had any foreknowledge of specific miraculous occurrences. Is it possible that the Lord revealed specific future events to her? Sure. But we can’t declare with authority that she knew of any particular future events.
Overall, the song presents a variety of queries—some that we can say with certainty Mary did know the answer to (“your baby boy would save our sons and daughters”), some we cannot, and even some we can reasonably confidently say she did not know (“your baby boy would calm the storm with His hand”).
Ultimately, it’s the Gospel of Luke that provides us with the definitive answer to all these questions and the correct approach to this hymn: “And Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
“Mary, Did You Know” invites its listeners to ponder, as Mary did, the miraculous conception of her Child, His mission, and her role in it.
So, take the lyrics and ponder each of the questions in your heart with the guidance of Scripture. Ask the Lord to use these meditations to increasingly reveal Himself to you, as He did to Mary. And enjoy this beautiful Christmas carol.