Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Did you know the Christian comedian Mark Lowry penned these lyrics in 1984? In his own words, “I just tried to put into words the unfathomable. I started thinking of the questions I would have for her if I were to sit down & have coffee with Mary. You know, ‘What was it like raising God?’ ‘What did you know?’ ‘What didn’t you know?’^”

These questions were asked in a script he wrote for a church Christmas program. In 1991, Buddy Greene wrote the music, and Michael English recorded the song for the first time. It was released on his debut solo album, Michael English. I have a copy of the cassette tape in my collection.

The three had toured with “The Gaither Vocal Band”. Many have recorded it since including Lowry, Kenny Rogers and Winona Judd, Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, Kathy Mattea, Clay Aiken, Ceelo Green, and Carrie Underwood. David Guthrie and Bruce Greer used it as the title and basis of a stage musical that won a Gospel Music Association Dove Award for Musical of the Year in 1999.

Let’s look at the questions Lowry asks Mary. Did you know who this baby would be? That He would walk on water? He was the ruler of the universe. He was the promised deliverer. There are numerous queries in these lyrics and for the majority the answer is no.

Mary was told by the messenger Gabriel that she would give birth to a son. She was to name him Jeshua or in Greek, Jesus. He would be called the son of the most high and would inherit David’s throne. In the gospels, we are not given more details. I doubt that Mary was either.

She was more concerned with the fact that she would have a baby. She could not get pregnant. She had never had sex. God would be the father of her child. This was never heard of before. Many women may have claimed to have given birth through immaculate conception. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was born this way. My Bible does not say that.

What interests me most about these words that Lowry wrote is that we are looking at a young girl who has given birth to her first child. Does she know more than any other woman what will happen in the future. Her son did it from an early age. She did not.

This child, as a man, would not only deliver her from eternal punishment for sin, but also her younger children. He would if they and our own children accept Him as the savior that He claims to be.

God lives outside of time. He created time with our universe. Genesis tells us that. Moses did not understand it when he wrote it down. I don’t understand it. I do believe it. Jesus is Jehovah God. He created the universe and our world. He came to live with us and die for us. Do you believe that? Tell Him that you do. Accept Him for who He is.

As you hear the many Christmas carols this year think about the questions in this song. Do you know who that baby is? These inquiries are more important than anything you will be told about Santa Claus, Ebenezer Scrooge, or Rudolph. This is life-changing.

For those of you in my area, Mark Lowry will be in concert at The Mansion in Branson, Missouri on March 12, 2025. Whether this song will be sung at that venue is not known by me at this time. I’ve heard it at other concerts of his that I have attended previously.

(Quotation from “How Well Do You Know ‘Mary Did You Know?'”. Sheet Music Direct. Retrieved December 30, 2018. an interview with the songwriter, Mark Lowry … originally conducted by Martha Lyon for AbsolutelyGospel.com)

©Copyright 2024 by Charles Kensinger