We don’t know much about the Mary in Acts 12. But we do know about her son, John Mark, or better known as Mark to many Believers.
John Mark was the writer of Mark, the shortest of the four gospels, and is also mentioned as a ‘worker together’ with Paul in his letter to Philemon.
Mary from Acts 12 might not be as well known as some of the other Marys, but her motherhood says it all.
What motherhood might look like for Mary in that first century Christianity is not accessible to us, but we can speculate that since the church was in a difficult time as at that time, passing on the faith to your children may also be a bit difficult as it is for many of our persecuted Christians today.
Despite the difficulty, Mary laboured hard to raise her son in the way of the Lord, not only by sharing scriptures with him, taking him to church, but also by living an exemplary life before John Mark.
Mark saw the dedication of her mother to the Lord in prayer and in the Word. He probably saw how his mother pursued personal holiness. He also saw how his mother made their home an home church for those in the body of Christ at that time, that they could gather in her home to pray for believers that were struggling, or facing any kind of opposition just like Peter. All these put together helped the faith of John Mark.
How are you living out the faith life before your children? What can your children say about your christian life behind the scene? Mary’s contribution to the church, though a hard time for Believers was second to norm. Persecution was growing, James had been martyred, and Simon Peter had been imprisoned. In a situation like this, it’s easy to give up and abandon church and faith. But not for Mary. She contributed her home for prayers, and she contributed her son to the Lord and to the edification of the body of Christ. Her son Mark gave us the Gospel of Mark, an account of the earthly life of Christ, what a privilege.
May you also be challenged and rise up beyond your circumstance to grow in your faith and to pass on the Biblical baton to your children.
Mary though an unsung hero, yet, her works is still praising her today across the world as the Gospel of Mark is read.