Mary of Nazareth

What does the name “Mary” mean?

Wise woman

What three images do we have of Mary in our minds?

Mother of Jesus,  virgin, New testament

What percentage of people of Nazareth were peasant farmers?

70%

What religion was Mary?

Jewish

 

List 4 facts about Jewish scriptural stories Mary’s would have followed.

·         Eaten Jewish foods (kosher)

·         Observed holy days

·         Known Jewish laws

What were the three classes which existed in Nazareth and which one did Mary’s family belong to?

Rich, poor, destitute – Mary was poor

What are 2 reasons why the 4 Gospels present the story of Mary differently?

A)     Writing for a particular audience

B)      Conveying ideas about Jesus and God

 

What was the Gospel writer Mark implying when Jesus reset the boundaries of family life by saying – “Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. (Mark 3:33-35)”?

That everyone is his family – (everyone who believes in God is his family)

What did the Gospel writer Luke paint Mary as?

Role model, but also human with normal emotions, failings etc.

 

Why was it difficult for Mary to become pregnant while unmarried?

It was against social normality at the time, could be dangerous for her.

What was a Jewish woman’s responsibility for her children?

Care for her child and educate them in Jewish religion.

What point of view does Matthew’s Gospel paint Jesus’ birth? What does the story preceded by?

Jesus’s birth, Joseph’s point of view followed by Genealogy

What 2 stories does John’s Gospel contain which the other Gospel’s do not?

John’s Gospel includes – wedding of Cana, Mary witnessed the crucifixion of her son

 

 

What does the story of Cana display Mary’s personality as?

Describe what the “Acts of the Apostles” paint Mary’s personality/role as with her Jewish community?

Describe the Palestine’s economic recession at the time Mary lived?

What background or context was the Gospel’s written in?

What placed women in a negative category within the culture of Mary’s time?

How does the retelling Jewish scholar Josephus’ in 94AD demonstrate the discrimination of women of that time?

Describe an ideal Roman Woman in Mary’s time