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At the announcement that Jesus would be born, at his birth, and then again at his crucifixion, Mary of Nazareth is a central figure. Indeed, though she has become almost invisible to many Protestants today, she was clearly the most important woman in the life of Jesus. The doctrine of the Incarnation—accepted by Protestants as by all Christians—reminds us just how important.

During the years of her son's ministry, however, Mary recedes into the background. Between Mary's losing-and-finding of Jesus as a boy at the Temple and the scene of her son's Crucifixion, she appears only twice: at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-10) and at the teaching of the multitudes (Matthew 12:46-47; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19).

These Biblical narratives are the only canonical witnesses to Mary's whereabouts during this period, and they offer only brief sightings of her. At this point in the Bible narrative when Mary is seemingly most invisible, however, we still find her continuing to play an indispensable role.

Throughout his ministry, Jesus functioned as a teacher in a classroom without walls. "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you," the scribes and Pharisees remarked in Matthew 12:38. Jesus refrained from giving them a decisive sign of his identity at this time. Rather, he taught with parables and with visuals. He taught by healing a person with a withered hand, by curing another who was blind and mute, by stilling a storm. He used familiar, everyday things in his teachings: a lamp under a jar, a sower and some seeds, a tree and its fruit, weeds among wheat. Jesus was a mesmerizing Rabboni. How did he develop this compelling, down-to-earth style of teaching?

In meditating on this question—and the larger issues related to Jesus' humanity (for example, What did he know and when did he know it?)—some have dwelt on Mary's role as Jesus' first teacher. Rembrandt depicts Mary leaning over the crib of the infant Jesus with a copy of the Torah in her hand (facing page). A 15th-century engraving titled "The Holy Family on the Way to School"(above) shows Mary holding Jesus' hand as he carries a tablet with the words, "I am Jesus, Holy One, Savior." Tellingly, Joseph walks in the background, but it is Mary who pulls Jesus along to school, perhaps to the synagogue. Jesus may have learned carpentry skills from Joseph, but it is reasonable to think that he learned some things about teaching from Mary, as well as from the rabbis in the local synagogue and in the Jerusalem temple.

After he "grew in wisdom and stature," Jesus left the care of his mother, as did all young Jewish men. Yet he did travel with her at times—to the wedding at Cana, for example. Mary was the primary invited guest at the celebration, but "Jesus and the disciples had also been invited" (John 2:2). And this became a teaching moment for Jesus, with Mary serving as a catalyst or a prompter.

The story is familiar: The wine ran out, and Mary turned to Jesus for his help. She recognized the need of the assembled wedding guests, possibly the embarrassment of the bridegroom, and she interceded on their behalf. Jesus' response to Mary was cryptic, confusing—seemingly harsh: "Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come" (2:4). This retort is similar to the one Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees when they asked for a sign. Jesus was saving his sign for the moment of the Resurrection; his death would be "his hour."

Mary obviously knew Jesus was teaching, even through this curt response. She also knew something else was about to happen, because she commanded the servants of the bride and bridegroom: "Do whatever he tells you." Jesus asked the servants to fill six stone jars with water. Upon drawing out the liquid, the steward declared the new wine to be better than the previous. Mary's importance in the scene was this: she served as a go-between or mediator to her son, on behalf of a needy people.

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