Mary Had A Little Lamb
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NASU)
“The next day, Yochanan saw Yeshua coming toward him and said, “Look! God’s lamb! The one who is taking away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, Complete Jewish Bible)
It is a bit fascinating how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. After finishing my morning reading of the Bible, with today’s Scripture being from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, He spoke to me, “Mary had a little lamb.” I thought, “Hmm. Now what is that all about? An old nursery rhyme from centuries ago? What are you saying to me, Lord?”
So I asked Him for further revelation. It became a bit clearer. Mary did have a little lamb.
Thinking that there was more to the story than what we think, from days gone by, I looked up the history of the song which we all learned as little kids. Here is what Wikepedia has to say.
“Mary Had A Little Lamb is a nursery rhyme first published by the Boston publishing firm Marsh, Capen & Lyon, as an original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale on May 24, 1830, and was inspired by an actual incident.
As a young girl, Mary Sawyer (later Mary Tyler) kept a pet lamb that she took to school one day at the suggestion of her brother. A commotion naturally ensued. Mary recalled: "Visiting school that morning was a young man by the name of John Roulstone, a nephew of the Reverend Lemuel Capen, who was then settled in Sterling. It was the custom then for students to prepare for college with ministers, and for this purpose Roulstone was studying with his uncle.
The young man was very much pleased with the incident of the lamb; and the next day he rode across the fields on horseback to the little old schoolhouse and handed me a slip of paper which had written upon it the three original stanzas of the poem..."
There are two competing theories on the origin of this poem. One holds that Roulstone wrote the first four lines and that the final twelve lines, less childlike than the first, were composed by Sarah Josepha Hale; the other is that Hale was responsible for the entire poem.
In the 1830s, Lowell Mason set the nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb, originally written by to a melody adding repetition in the verses:
Mary had a little lamb,
His fleece was white as snow,
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.
And everywhere that Mary went,
The lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rule,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.
And so the teacher turned it out,
But still it lingered near,
And waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear.
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The teacher did reply.”
And waited patiently about,
Till Mary did appear.
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cry.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The teacher did reply.”
As I further pursued Holy Spirit’s thoughts, asking Him what He wanted to share in regards to this rather strange thought, here is what I got. You can seek Him too, and see what He says to you. It may be similar, or with more!
Mary, actually having the Hebrew name Miriam, did indeed have a little lamb, who was the Lamb of God. Yeshua (Jesus) was being sent by God the Father to planet earth to redeem mankind, for “long lay the world in sin and error pining” (Recall O Holy Night?)
She had been called by God, to be the human vessel used by Him in this unfolding eternal plan of salvation, in order to further show His love through and for us. The Lord’s plan of redemption was being fulfilled.
It always amazes me how our God uses ordinary people, just like us, to do extraordinary things. That is how He chooses to so often do His work.
Mary’s response to this call was to walk in obedience, though I am sure in her heart, mind, and soul she had many questions. We ourselves can learn from her, seeing how she chose to walk it out in faith, and not let doubt or unbelief keep her from her mission. Good move Mary!
As the nursery rhyme continues, “His fleece was white as snow.” Fleece in those days was the woolen coat of the lamb, not the jacket we wear today. This lamb’s fleece was a white as snow. In Isaiah 1:18 we read, "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”
As students of the Scriptures, we know that the lamb brought to the altar of sacrifice, to be offered up to cover sin, had to be without spot or wrinkle. The lamb’s fleece had to be white as snow. Only Yeshua (Jesus), the perfect Lamb of God, was born without spot or wrinkle, with no sin (and no, it was not Mary who was without sin, as I was taught as a young boy at the Catholic school I attended. She too had to be saved by the Savior born through her.)
“And everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go.” As a boy growing up in Joseph (Yosef was his Hebrew/Jewish name) and Mary’s Nazareth home, Yeshua was raised fully in His Jewish culture, following in obedience that which His earthly parents taught Him. He learned what the feasts of the Lord were; He experienced the day to day life we all do; He lived fully as a man so He could identify with everything that we ourselves would experience. There was no “silver spoon” for Him, in life or death.
“He followed her to school one day.” Up until His 13th birthday, the year He would have had His bar mitzvah when a Jewish boy is now to become a man, Yeshua learned obedience from Miriam and Yosef. He learned to listen, to become responsible, to allow His parents to prepare Him in the natural for the supernatural work He knew He was sent to do. He did manual labor, learning from Yosef the carpenter, even all about the sweat and toil that comes from being productive (as my son-in-law Andrew likes to say – “We need to be productive.”)
“He followed her to school one day, which was against the rule, it made the children laugh and play to see a lamb at school.”
Yeshua didn’t play along with the religious games of that time in history. Nor does He even today. On many occasions, He would point out that the Pharisees and Sadducees were not the ones to follow. Their religion, their rules, and manmade regulations were actually strangling the people, keeping them from knowing the true love, care, and protection of their heavenly Father.
“And so the teacher turned it out, but still it lingered near, and waited patiently about, till Mary did appear.”
Jesus was rejected by the ruling authorities – both the religious and the political Romans. He was crucified outside the Jerusalem city walls, along with the common thieves, murderers, and even innocent victims of the cruel world. Today He is still rejected by those who seek their own agendas. But those who seek Him will receive the salvation He alone can offer them.
"Why does the lamb love Mary so?" the eager children cry. "Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know." The teacher did reply.”
The majority of people in the nations will not understand why the Lamb of God loves us so much. They will not receive the Gospel and believe that Jesus, the Son of the Living God, came to this earth to die for our sins. They will not understand His desire to deliver them from their sins; to free them from bondage they live under; to redeem their souls from the eternal hell that will come if they do not repent, believe, and follow after Him.
But that is now our mission that we have been called to do – to take the Gospel, the Good News of the Lamb, to the peoples inhabiting the nations, so that they can hear, believe, and obey. To those, whosoever will believe and receive, the Living God of Israel’s plan of redemption. The know the One who came to earth, was raised in a Jewish family, lived among us, died on the tree, and was gloriously raised from the dead on the third day, as was prophesied centuries before by the Jewish prophets. He now ever lives upon His throne, preparing the world before He returns, coming the second time in glory and power.
The Lamb of God came the first time to lay His life down so that we might live eternally with Him. Walking this world as a man, He lived as we do, yet without sin, in order to be the perfect Lamb that God the Father would receive as the perfect sacrificial lamb.
When Jesus returns in glory, as the Lion from the tribe of Judah, I pray that this nursery rhyme, which Holy Spirit used today, in a small way, to again tell His story. I hope this will inspire you to walk in faith, learn obedience, and be ready for these end of days that are coming upon us, if not already here.
It won’t be a nursery rhyme then. So you better watch out, you better not cry. But instead, pray, and then obey. He will be speaking to you today.
Now think on this,
Ahava and shalom,
Steve Martin
Love For His People, Inc.
P.S. This message was first published on Dec. 13, 2015. It can also be found in my published book "Twelve" for $7.99 in paperback, and also in Kindle e-book format.
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Now Think On This - In the year of our Lord 12.13.15 - #219 –“Mary Had A Little Lamb” – Sunday at 7:45 am in Charlotte, NC.
All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
