(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)
The angel’s message to Mary in Luke 1:35 was profound:
...the angel...said to her, “The Holy Spirit will
come upon you, and the power of the Highest will
overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who
is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
We are examining the modern classic by written by Mark Lowry, “Mary, Did You Know…? ” The lyrics are also profound, in light of Old Testament prophesies and New Testament fulfillment!
Here are the lyrics:
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered
Will soon deliver you!
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You've kissed the face of God!
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see!
The deaf will hear!
And the dead will live again!
The lame will leap!
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb!
Mary did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding
Is the Great I Am!
Oh, Mary, did you know?
The third stanza is different from the first two and the fourth. There are several prophesies implied, and most of them are in one section of Scripture in Isaiah 35! Let’s look at verses 1, 2, 5, 6, and 10 (Easy-to-Read Version):
The dry desert will rejoice. The desert will be glad
and blossom. It will be covered with flowers and dance
with joy....This will happen because all people will
see the Glory of the LORD.... Then the eyes of the
blind will be opened so that they can see, and the
ears of the deaf will be opened so that they can hear.
Crippled people will dance like deer, and those who
cannot speak now will use their voices to sing happy
songs....The LORD will make his people free...Glad-
ness and joy will fill them completely. Sorrow and
sadness will be far, far away.
The entire chapter of Isaiah 35 is a prediction of the Millennial Kingdom – when Jesus Christ returns to earth as King and Judge, and will rule the world from Jerusalem! But during His first advent Jesus began His ministry by preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Now you can’t have a kingdom at hand without a King also at hand! So during His three plus years of His first advent, Jesus proved He was the coming King by manifesting several of the miracles described in Isaiah 35! So let’s consider what is described in this third stanza of “Mary, Did You Know…?”
- Mary, did you know? The blind will see!
We covered the blind being healed in “Mary Did You Know?” – II.
✡ The prophesy (one of several in the Old Testament)
is mentioned in the above passage in Isaiah 35:5,
“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened so that
they can see....”
But healing in John 9 of the man born blind is an especially amazing miracle! Here are verses 1, 6, and 7:
Now Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from
birth....He spat on the ground and made clay with the
saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with
the clay. And He said to him, “Go wash in the pool of
Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and
washed, and came back seeing.
✞ John 9:18 – The Pharisees found out about this mir-
acle, but would not accept the man’s testimony that
Jesus miraculously healed his blindness!
✞ John 9:20, 21 – So they called in the man’s parents
and questioned them: “We know that this is our son,
and that he was born blind. But by what means he
now sees we do not know....He is of age, ask him.”
➔ They deferred from answering the question
concerning their son’s healing because “...
they feared the Jews. For the Jews had a-
greed already that if anyone confessed that
He [Jesus] was Christ, he would be put out
of [excommunicated from] the synagogue.”
(John 9:22).
➔ According to Vincent’s Word Studies, being
“...put out of [excommunicated from] the
synagogue...”
...was called thrusting out, and lasted
for thirty days at least...The excommun-
icated person would not be admitted into
any assembly of ten men, nor to public
prayer. People would keep...the distance
of four cubits from him [even his wife!],
as if he were a leper. Stones were to be
cast on his coffin when dead, and mourn-
ing for him was forbidden...so...the pen-
alty which the blind man's parents feared
was probably separation from all religious
fellowship, and from ordinary intercourse
of life for perhaps thirty days.
✞ John 9:30 through 33 – The man healed of blindness
was not so timid! He boldly stated to the Pharisees:
Why this is a marvelous thing, that you do
not know where He is from, and yet He opened
my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear
sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God
and does His will, He hears him....If this
Man were not from God, He could do nothing.
✞ John 9:34 – This enraged the Pharisees, and they
“...answered and said to him, ‘You were completely
born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they
cast him out.”
✞ John 9:35 through 38 – Later, Jesus
...found him [and]...and said to him, ‘Do
you believe in the Son of God?’ He answered
and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may be-
lieve in Him?’ And Jesus said, ‘...it is I
who is talking with you.’ Then he said,
‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him.
Yes, Mary, the blind will see!
- Mary, did you know? …The deaf will hear!
✡ Again, the prophesy is in Isaiah 35:5: “...and
the ears of the deaf will be opened so that they
can hear.”
✞ The fulfillment is exemplified in Mark 7:31 through
35 – Jesus came to the southwestern shore of the
Sea of Galilee
...they brought to Him one who was deaf and
had an impediment in his speech....And He
took him aside...and put His fingers in his
ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.
Then...He sighed, and said to him, “Ephpha-
tha,” that is, “Be opened.” Immediately his
ears were opened, and the impediment of his
tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.
Yes, Mary, the deaf will hear!
- Mary, did you know? …the dead will live again!
✡ While there is no direct prophesy in the Old Test-
ament concerning the Messiah raising the dead,
Isaiah 26:19 tells us this:
Your dead shall live; together with my dead
body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you
who dwell in the dust; for your dew is like
the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast
out her dead.
Nine of the seventeen translations I have in my Bible study computer application link “...together with my dead body...” with the first part, “Your dead shall live....” For instance, the Lexham English Bible (a quite literal translation of original Hebrew/Greek /Aramaic texts) translates the first part of Isaiah 26:19 as, “Your dead shall live; their corpses shall rise.” So while there may not be a direct prophesy here concerning the Messiah rising from death, there certainly is the implication!
✡ Isaiah 26 is a poetic song about the coming king-
dom and the attending blessings – a kingdom over
which the Messiah will reign!
✞ We know Jesus is the Messiah! He even welcomed
Peter’s confession in Matthew 16:16, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.”
➔ ‘Messiah,’ according to Strong’s Hebrew
Dictionary means “...anointed; usually a
consecrated person (as a king, priest, or
saint); specifically the Messiah.”
➔ ‘Christ,’ as in Peter’s confession, also
means, “anointed, that is, the Messiah,
an epithet of Jesus....” (Strong’s Greek
Dictionary)
✞ So if Isaiah chapter 26 refers to the coming king-
dom, over which Jesus, the Christ will reign...
➔ ...then I Corinthians 15:20 comes into
play: “But now Christ is risen from the
dead, and has become the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep.”
❏ Firstfruits were brought from the
first of the harvest as an offering
signifying an expectation of a com-
ing (large) harvest! (see Proverbs
3:8, 9).
❏ The risen Jesus Christ is the first-
fruit of a vast number (harvest) of
believers whose bodies will be raised
to life at His Second Coming!
➔ ...then Isaiah 26:19 is a prophesy of Jesus’
resurrection, as well as that of Christians!
There are other resurrections in the Bible that are prophetic and show fulfillment:
✡ Three in the Old Testament are prophetic:
➔ I Kings 17:17 through 24 – Elijah the pro-
phet stayed at the widow of Zarephath’s home
during a great famine in Israel. He sustain-
ed her, her son, and himself by miraculous
provision. But her son became sick and died.
And he said to her, “Give me your son.”
So he took him...to the upper room where
he was staying....And he stretched him-
self out on the child...and cried out
to the LORD...“O LORD my God...let this
child’s soul come back to him.” ...and
he revived. (Verses 19, 21, and 22).
➔ II Kings 4:18 through 37 – A wealthy Shune-
mite couple hosted Elisha the prophet as he
passed through Shunem. He prophesied the
woman would have a son, which came to pass.
As the boy grew, he suffered what seems to
be heat stroke and died. Laid on the pro-
phet’s bed, Elisha laid on the child, “...
and the flesh of the child became warm...
then [he]...sneezed seven times, and...open-
ed his eyes.” (Verses 34 and 35).
➔ II Kings 13:21 (Contemporary English Version):
Once, while some Israelites were burying
a man's body, they saw a group of Moab-
ites. The Israelites quickly threw the
body into Elisha's tomb and ran away. As
soon as the man's body touched the bones
of Elisha, the man came back to life and
stood up.
✞ Six more resurrections in the New Testament (besides
Jesus) fulfill the prophsies – three by Jesus, one
by the Father and Holy Spirit, and two by the apos-
tles:
➔ Luke 7:11 through 17 – The widow of Nain’s
son!
➔ Luke 8:49 through 56 – Jairus’ daughter!
➔ John 11:1 through 44 – Lazarus of Bethany!
➔ Matthew 27:50 through 54 – The saints of
Jerusalem just after Jesus died!
➔ Acts 9:36 through 42 – Peter raised Tabatha
(Dorcas) from death!
➔ Acts 20:7 through 12 – Paul raised Eutychus
from the dead after the young man fell from
a window!
Mary, be assured,
…the dead will live again!
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We have not yet completed the third verse of “Mary Did You Know…?” And this Gem has taken much longer to research and write – about ten to twelve hours! I already missed my deadline of publishing this at 8 AM on Saturday, so I will publish this Gem on Tuesday at 8, and continue from there. Thank you in advance for your patience!