Mary, Woman of Influence

The last mention of Mary in the New Testament is found in Acts chapter 1: 'They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." What this means is that Mary was in the inner circle of the disciples. McKnight argues that Mary, therefore, had a great deal of influence in the early church.

McKnight delineates several spheres where Mary had influence. First, she had it with her own family, with Jesus' own brothers and sisters. (McKnight notes that Roman Catholics read "brothers and sisters" as "cousins" or "relatives." This is a function of the doctrine that Mary was perpetually virgin and so did not have any biological children. He spends a page or two addressing the issue and concludes that there is no reason to interpret the passage other than "brothers and sisters.")

Mary (and Joseph) had influence on Jesus. Jesus learned the scriptures and learned about righteousness through his parents. They no doubt were significant molders of his character by their modeling and their teaching.

Mary is a significant character in the New Testament. As McKnight points out, Mary is referred to in approximately 217 verses in the New Testament, more than any other person except for Peter, Paul, and John.

Mary had influence on the early church because she was a primary source for the story. McKnight writes, "In a real world, mothers tell stories about their sons. Mary did too...She was in the middle of the earliest Christian community as a source of information about Jesus" (p. 107).