The Virgin Mary, Mary the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven, or simply Mary the mother of Jesus: she is arguably the most famous and most revered woman in history. Yet most people know very little about her. They might know what the church has taught them, but early on Mary was turned into a semi-divine angelic being, with a miraculous birth of her own, a sacred life and then an assumption into Heaven. Is that what the Bible actually teaches? Is that realistic? Is there another way to know Mary? Who was she, really?
Professor (retired) James Tabor has tackled this question in his latest book: The Lost Mary, Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus (Alfred A. Knopf, 2025). Dr. Tabor taught for many decades including regular trips to Israel for study and archaeological digs. He has a special interest in the family of Jesus. Of course you know of Jesus. His brother James was apparently the leader of the early church in Jerusalem (see Acts 12:17, 15:13, 21:18 and Galatians 2:9, 12), as was his brother Simon after James (per early church tradition). Dr. Tabor points to Mary as not just the mother of Jesus but the matriarch of the family, who molded her sons for leadership, and herself played a significant role in the early church.
The Bible, specifically the gospels tell us very little about Mary. However, legendary stories soon developed about her: she herself had a miraculous birth in that she was born without sin (the Immaculate Conception refers to her, not Jesus). She was raised in the temple and was fed by angels. Some legends say she was fed so perfectly that she neither had to defecate nor urinate! When she approached womanhood an elderly protector was found for her (Joseph). Then of course she gave birth to Jesus while a virgin and was still intact as a virgin even after the birth (The Proto-gospel of James describes a midwife doing a post-birth exam and proving this!). She remained a virgin the rest of her life. Upon her death she was immediately taken up into Heaven (he Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Now people of various Christian sects around the world venerate her and pray to her for intercession and help in their lives.
The Assumption of Mary
Peter Paul Rubens
Well, impressive, but for many of us, unrealistic. Legendary not factual. Dr. Tabor cuts through the theological overlay and tries to get down to the real woman who may have had such a huge influence on western civilization through her sons. He puts her in her own geopolitical context. Mary was born in a tumultuous time in Israel, in a place of uprising and rebellion. How did this upbringing affect her own beliefs and attitude and did she pass this on to Jesus and her other sons? Was Jesus a radical spiritual leader because he was a divine being, or did his mother actually teach him and train him to lead Israel in a new direction? And did the church systematically write the role of Mary out of history, converting her to a distant holy icon instead of a substantial pillar of the early church?
Even if you ultimately do not agree with all of Dr. Tabor’s ideas about Mary and her family you will find his book full of useful information about the history of Galilee and Israel leading up to the ministry of Jesus. And personally I find the image of Mary as a single mother in a difficult time and place carefully raising her sons to step out and lead her people to be more inspiring than the ethereal unrelatable demigod often portrayed in churches.
[I wanted to include a classic painting of Mary with her various sons,
but artists of old seem to follow the church’s teaching that Jesus was her only son,
despite what the gospels say, so you’ll have to use your imagination!]
Which Mary do you prefer? The semi-divine being that you can now pray to for help? Or the strong determined single mother who worked hard to build up her sons for leadership and in so doing changed the world? Get Dr. Tabor’s book and see how you answer this!
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