Mary: The Bond-Slave Virgin

December 12th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Luke 1:36-38 “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the bond-slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Now although Mary asked for no sign to confirm God’s miraculous promise to her of conceiving a child while yet a virgin, God gave her a confirming sign for her own hope and encouragement. That sign was Elizabeth’s pregnancy, for Elizabeth was a “relative” of Mary, and she was in her sixth month of pregnancy. How the two were related is not stated, but it is likely Elizabeth was from the tribe of Judah in spite of the fact that she married a Levitical priest. Though Moses prohibited women from marrying into a different tribe than their own (Num. 36:6), this was only to keep their land inheritances intact (Num. 36:7). In the case where a woman from the tribe of Judah married a priest or Levite (who had no land inheritance), it was not a sin. The same is true if a woman from the tribe of Levi married into another tribe. It is also possible that Mary’s father, from Judah, married a woman from the priestly tribe and family of Aaron (of Levi) making the two women cousins. Yet Mary’s line would have been counted from her father’s lineage. Whatever the case, Elizabeth and Mary, though separated by 40-plus years since Elizabeth was “advanced in years” (Luke 1:18), were related in some way to each other.

By the time Mary received word about Elizabeth, Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy (1:26), so Elizabeth’s pregnancy would have been evident to Mary by then. When Mary saw her, God’s word to her would have been confirmed, for a God who could open the dead womb of an elderly woman—who can create the universe out of nothing (Gen. 1:1)—can also cause a virgin to conceive. Truly, “with God nothing will be impossible” (v. 37). Those words from Gabriel’s lips are only trusted by the humble servants of God, like Mary.

Mary’s response to the words of Gabriel were modest words of acceptance. Calling herself a “bond-slave”—one owned by another, Mary simply said, “May it be done to me according to your word.” Hannah said much the same thing after Eli blessed her prayer in 1 Samuel 1:18. Mary is distinct from Hannah, however, for although Hannah was given a blessing by Eli that led to her pregnancy with Samuel, Mary was given the promise of God through Gabriel. Whereas Zacharias and Elizabeth provide an example of true righteousness and blamelessness to God’s commandments and regulations in the OT (1:6), Mary exemplifies submission to God’s word and will. She truly had the faith of Abraham who “gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that what He had promised He was able also to perform” (Rom. 4:20-21). So, if Abraham’s faith was the basis for justification (Gen. 15:6), Mary imitated Abraham’s saving faith.

Food For Thought
While the Bible exemplifies Mary as a humble slave of God, many exalt her as the “queen of heaven” who intercedes for the saints through prayer. Such a queen does exist in Scripture—a pagan goddess worshiped by Jews during the days of Jeremiah. Offering fire and bread to this goddess (Jer. 7:16-20) Ishtar (aka, Ashtoreth or Astarte), she was the wife of Baal (aka, Molech). All of these pagan gods symbolized fertility, their worship entailing cult prostitution imitating the act of sperm meeting egg to appease these imagined gods. How repulsive it is therefore to relegate Mary to the queen of heaven, mixing paganism with Scripture. Truly there is no queen in heaven, but there is a King who sits at God’s right hand interceding on behalf of His people—Jesus, the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). Mary can’t hear prayers, for she died and went to be with her Lord and Savior. Only Jesus hears and mediates our prayers.