![\"Marko](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Marko-Marina-Author-Bart-Ehrman.png\" "\\"Marko")
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Written by Marko Marina, Ph.D.<\/a><\/p>\n Author | \u00a0Historian<\/p>\n Author |\u00a0 Historian | \u00a0BE Contributor<\/p>\n Verified! \u00a0See our guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n Verified! \u00a0See our editorial guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n\nDate written: November 12th, 2025\n\nDate written: November 12th, 2025\n Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. – Dr. Bart D. Ehrman<\/p>\n The relationship between the Virgin Mary<\/strong> and my Croatian culture is so pervasive that almost no wedding can pass without a traditional song that begins, \u201cHail Virgin, Queen of the Croats.\u201d This small example captures something much larger, the extraordinary power of Mary, mother of Jesus, to shape not only religious devotion but also art, music, and collective identity across centuries.<\/p>\n From the Adriatic coast to the Andes, she stands as one of the most enduring and beloved figures in the history of Christianity.<\/p>\n Few women in world history have been remembered, celebrated, and reinterpreted as much as the Virgin Mary. For two millennia, she has inspired painters, poets, theologians, and ordinary believers. Her image appears in cathedrals and chapels, in the prayers of the devout and the lyrics of folk songs.<\/p>\n Yet for all the beauty and reverence surrounding her, Mary\u2019s historical story<\/strong> begins in an unassuming setting, among the villages of Galilee, within the narratives of the earliest Christian writings.<\/p>\n The fascination with the blessed virgin Mary didn\u2019t end with the New Testament; it only began there. Over the centuries, Christians sought to understand her role more deeply (as a mother, disciple, and model of faith) and to explore what her life revealed about God\u2019s action in the world.<\/p>\n Our aim in this article is to trace that journey: from the historical glimpses we find in the earliest sources, through the rich imaginative traditions of the early Church, to the living devotion that continues to define Catholic spirituality today.<\/p>\n But before we begin, I\u2019d like to invite you to explore Bart D. Ehrman\u2019s fascinating course,<\/strong> The Unknown Gospels<\/a>. In this carefully designed 8-lecture series, Dr. Ehrman offers a compelling scholarly perspective on the origins of the New Testament and a critical look at the sources that lie at the heart of the Christian faith. If you\u2019re interested in discovering how historians distinguish historical truth from later tradition in the Gospels<\/strong>, this course is the perfect place to start!<\/p>\n The New Testament writings were never intended<\/strong> to be objective, journalistic reports of historical events. Rather, they are theological reflections shaped by faith, memory, and the distinct perspectives of their authors.<\/p>\n For instance, each Gospel writer sought to interpret Jesus\u2019 significance for his own community, weaving together oral traditions, scriptural allusions, and personal convictions.<\/p>\n As Bart D. Ehrman explains in Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium<\/a>:<\/p>\n (Affiliate Disclaimer: We may earn commissions on products you purchase through this page at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our site!<\/em>)<\/p>\n These reports are not, as we have seen, disinterested accounts by impartial observers, written near the time of the events they narrate. They are all\u2026 provided by Jesus’ own followers, who had a vested interest a<\/strong>in what they had to say about him, and who were writing a long time after the fact (thirty-five to sixty-five years).\u201d<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean the Gospels are historically useless, but it does mean that they must be read as theological narratives rather than modern biographies.<\/p>\n Within this context, the figure of Mary (later venerated as the blessed virgin Mary) appears only occasionally. Even though she would later play an enormous role in Christian devotion and Catholic theology, her presence in the New Testament is surprisingly limited.<\/p>\n Stephen J. Shoemaker, in his study Mary in Early Christian Faith and Devotion<\/a>, notes the contrast between her later prominence and her early obscurity:<\/p>\n Mary is almost invisible <\/strong>in the earliest Christian writings that we possess, the letters of Paul. Paul mentions Mary just once and in the vaguest possible terms: without naming her, he remarks that \u2018God sent his Son, born of a woman\u2019 in his letter to the Galatians (4.4), written sometime in the early 50s CE. Here, Mary is little more than a biological fact, albeit an important one that guarantees the humanity of Christ for Paul and thus the reality of the Incarnation. But Mary herself has no broader significance and is not sufficiently important to merit even a name, let alone any interest in the details of her life or person.<\/p>\n When we turn to the Gospels, Mary\u2019s appearances vary widely, reflecting each author\u2019s distinct theological focus. In the earliest Gospel, Mark<\/strong>, she is mentioned only briefly, and not always positively. At one point, her family tries to restrain Jesus, thinking he has gone out of his mind (Mark 3:21).<\/p>\n When told that his mother and brothers are outside, Jesus redefines family in purely spiritual terms: \u201cWhoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.\u201d<\/p>\n The author of Matthew\u2019s Gospel,<\/a> writing a decade or two later, expands Mary\u2019s story by introducing the miraculous conception. Here she fulfills Isaiah\u2019s prophecy<\/a> that \u201cthe virgin shall conceive and bear a son,\u201d linking her to Israel\u2019s history and divine providence. Yet Joseph, not Mary, dominates the narrative; she remains a silent participant in God\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n Luke\u2019s Gospel<\/strong>, by contrast, places mother Mary at the very center of the story. His account of the Annunciation, where the angel Gabriel greets her as \u201cfavored one,\u201d presents her as the model believer who accepts God\u2019s will in faith.<\/p>\n Her song, the Magnificat<\/a>, echoes the prayer of Hannah in the Old Testament and celebrates the reversal of worldly power. Luke\u2019s portrait of Mary as a contemplative, faithful disciple who \u201cponders these things in her heart\u201d profoundly shaped later Christian reflection.<\/p>\n The Gospel of John<\/strong>, meanwhile, portrays her in more symbolic terms. She appears only twice (at the wedding in Cana and at the foot of the Cross). Yet, both scenes are highly theological. At Cana, she initiates Jesus\u2019 first \u201csign,\u201d revealing his divine glory. At the Cross, Jesus entrusts her to the beloved disciple, creating a new spiritual family that symbolizes the birth of the Church.<\/p>\n Finally, in the Acts of the Apostles<\/a>, Mary appears one last time, praying with the disciples after the Ascension (1:14).<\/p>\n What can we say, then, about the historical Mary <\/strong>behind these portrayals? Most scholars agree that she was a Jewish woman named Mariam (the Hebrew form of Mary), from the small Galilean village of Nazareth in Roman-controlled Palestine.<\/p>\n She was likely young at the time of her betrothal to Joseph, perhaps in her early teens, as was customary for Jewish women of the period.<\/p>\n Her family would have lived a simple, agrarian life under difficult economic conditions. Joseph is described as a tekton (a craftsman or builder) and their world was one marked by political instability and heavy taxation under Roman rule. It\u2019s also probable that Mary, like most women of her class, was illiterate but deeply shaped by the rhythms of Jewish piety and family life.<\/p>\n Beyond these sparse details, the New Testament offers little historical information. There is no mention of her age at Jesus\u2019 death, no record of her later years, and no account of what happened to her afterward. This leads naturally to the question: How did Mary die<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bible itself says nothing about her death or burial. From a historical standpoint, we simply do not know. What we do possess are later theological traditions, stories that emerged from the second century onward and would profoundly shape Christian imagination.<\/p>\n To those traditions we now turn. Beyond the New Testament, early Christian writers and communities began to expand upon the biblical portrait, weaving a tapestry of stories, doctrines, and devotions that would transform Mary from a humble Jewish mother in Galilee into one of the most enduring symbols of faith in the Christian world.<\/p>\n However, before we embark on this fascinating journey through the world of early Christian literature, we decided to pause for a moment and look back at the biblical roots of the devotion to St. Mary. The following table <\/strong>highlights the key New Testament passages <\/strong>that mention or involve the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n![\"Virgin](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Virgin-Mary.png\" "\\"Virgin")
<\/p>\nMary in the Bible<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quote-down.png\" "\\"quote")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quote-up.png\" "\\"quote")
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![\"Mary](\"https:\/\/www.bartehrman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mary-mother-of-Jesus.png\" "\\"Mary")
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