6‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are in no way least among the princes of Judah;
for out of you shall come a governor
who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
18“A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she wouldn’t be comforted,
because they are no more.”
19But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a young teenager when the Angel Gabriel announced that she would be the mother of the Messiah (Luke 1:26-38) because she had found favor with God. He said that through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit she would conceive as a virgin, and that her son would rule on the throne of David. Mary gave birth to Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem (Mic 5:2, Mat 2:1) soon after Mary and Joseph had arrived to be enrolled in the census commanded by Augustus.
When she and Joseph took Jesus to the temple for dedication, Mary was given the prophecy that her soul would be pierced because of the things that would happen to her son. Mary left with Joseph and Jesus to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod the Great (Matt 2:23; Luke 2:39-40). As far as we know, she lived with Joseph and her family in Nazareth until the time of the death of Jesus.
On one occasion, Mary was reminded of the importance of her son Jesus, when after searching for three days for Him, she was told they should have come to the Temple first, since He would be in His father’s house. Later, Mary was at the wedding in Cana where she encouraged Jesus to perform His first Miracle (John 2). After this, she is sporadically mentioned in the Gospels (Mark 3: 20-21,31-35). Finally, while Jesus is being crucified He gave Mary into the protection of John (John 19:26-27). Mary is last mentioned with the apostles gathered in the upper room (Acts1:14). Church tradition says she died in either Jerusalem or Ephesus, the latter being more likely in church tradition, and her continued association with John, who moved to Ephesus.