We all know the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was chosen to deliver a gift to the world—the greatest gift the world has ever known.
But even equipped with that knowledge, it certainly couldn’t have been easy for Mary.
When the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, she was still a virgin, betrothed to Joseph. After learning the news, Joseph planned to divorce her quietly, not wanting to put Mary to shame. But then an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him the truth about Mary’s conception and informing him that the child would save the world.
However, that’s not where Mary’s troubles ended. She, Joseph and the newborn baby Jesus were hunted by King Herod. Countless children were murdered by Herod’s men in the pursuit. And when it was all said and done, albeit, many years later, Mary still had to witness her son’s death on the cross.
Now, that’s what the Bible tells us.
However, Netflix’s Mary tells us there might be more to the story. There might be more to Mary herself.
When Mary becomes pregnant, her family protects her. Other people along the way help her and Joseph, hiding them from Roman soldiers. And Mary and Joseph both risk their lives to protect Jesus, promising to love him as best they can.
The film ends on the message that love will save the world.
Netflix’s Mary features many elements from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. However, it’s also based on the Protoevangelium of James, also known as the Gospel of James, a non-canonical text from the 2nd century that focused significantly on the history of Mary.
But back to what we see in the film …
Early on, Herod declares himself “King of the Jews,” and sets about rebuilding and expanding the Second Temple in Jerusalem. That act is scorned by faithful Jews, who believe Herod is building the Temple for his own glory, not God’s. (They’re later proven correct as Herod demands almost worshipful obedience from his subjects.)
People pray. Mary is gently scolded for being tardy to prayers while serving in the Temple. Mary’s father, Joachim, fasts in the desert for 40 days, repenting of his sins in the hopes that God will grant him a child. Her miraculous birth is in many ways similar to that of Jesus in the way it’s depicted here.
The angel Gabriel visits both of Mary’s parents, promising them a child. (He’s depicted as a man in a blue robe with pointed ears and markings on his face. And he seems to have powers that allow him to vanish and reappear without a trace. A candle also lights on its own in his presence.) Later, he visits Mary, informing her that she’s been chosen to carry Jesus. And he also seemingly guides Joseph to Mary the day they meet.
However, conflicting with Scripture, no angel appears to Joseph. Rather, Joseph makes the decision to stay with Mary on his own, and they flee to Egypt without any warning from the angel.
There are three accounts of miraculous births in this tale: first of Mary herself, next of John the Baptist and finally of Jesus Christ.
A star appears in the sky after Jesus is born. A shepherd reports that all the animals grew still in that moment. We learn that many people came to Bethlehem prior to His birth hoping to catch sight of Him due to prophecies and rumors about His birthplace. And three kings present their gifts to Jesus.
Mary comes face to face with Lucifer (Satan), who tries to tempt her into sin. Gabriel appears and orders Lucifer to stand down (Lucifer’s eyes bleed during their brief discourse). After Mary conceives, Lucifer leads a mob trying to stone her. He appears once more as she’s beginning to experience labor, attempting to kidnap her (her body levitates above his arms). But Joseph arrives and stabs Lucifer, saving Mary.
As a child, Mary is dedicated to the service of the Lord at the Second Temple in Jerusalem. She believes the best way to serve God is to serve His people, offering food to the poor. Marcellus (one of Herod’s guards) suspects Mary of having supernatural powers after King Herod sees a vision of Jesus’ birth and death after looking at her.
Anna, a prophetess in the Temple, knows of Mary’s miraculous birth. She believes that Mary’s child was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Although the priests initially called her the “vessel of the promise,” they refuse to believe in the immaculate conception and shun Mary for her pregnancy.
Mary demonstrates her faith by declaring God as the “one true Sovereign,” not Herod, when tempted by Lucifer. She also accepts the burden of bearing Jesus with grace, stating, “Let it be me.” She is called “blessed among women” several times. Anna also demonstrates her faith, telling Mary that she’s never found life in the Temple “dull,” and expounding on all the wonderful things she’s experienced as a result of serving the Lord.
Simeon (a righteous and devout man, according to the Bible), declares a blessing over Jesus, repeating the words of Luke 2:34-35. Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, tells Mary that the baby in her womb leaps for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice. Later, after her son is born, Elizabeth jumps at the sound of her husband’s voice. (It’s not mentioned in the film, but the Bible tells us that Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, was mute prior to his son’s birth.)
When Mary is young, butterflies swarm around and follow her, a physical manifestation of her chosen status. A downpour stops during an encounter with Gabriel and resumes when he leaves.
When Lucifer first appears to Mary, he asks if she ever has time for “pleasure.” It’s clear from his body language that this is meant to be a sexual come on.
After conceiving, Mary repeatedly defends that she is a virgin and has never lain with a man. The only people who believe her are Anna, Joseph, her parents and her cousin, Elizabeth.
A married couple embraces and kisses. A woman’s dress shows some cleavage.
We’re told that Herod gained his throne by spilling the blood of Jews. He believes himself to be the Jewish Messiah and has several people killed who say otherwise, including his wife’s brother and his sister’s husband. He himself stabs his wife after learning she believes in the prophecies about Christ.
A priest in the Temple is forced to kneel before Herod. Then, a soldier slowly shoves a crown made of porcupine quills onto the priest’s head, eventually piercing the man’s eyes and blinding him. (This was punishment for not quelling rebellion among the Jews.)
A man protesting Herod’s rule is beaten severely with chains by a Roman soldier. Jewish people rise up and rebel against Herod, but they’re swiftly slaughtered by Roman guards. One of Joachim’s workers tells the guards where to find more rebels. When his son tries to stop him, he smacks the young man to the ground.
Mary’s family is attacked by nomads as they flee Jerusalem. One man has his throat cut open. Mary’s father is fatally stabbed. Roman soldiers set a fisherman’s house on fire. Marcellus stabs the man’s wife to get information about Mary’s location. The man and his wife fight back against the soldiers to give Mary and Joseph time to escape. Joseph fights too, eventually killing a man by trapping him inside a burning fishing net.
Herod orders his men to kill all the male infants in Bethlehem but also instructs them to bring the Messiah to him alive. The Roman soldiers obey their orders, slaughtering parents trying to protect their children and ripping babies from their mothers’ arms. Later, a soldier reports that they killed all the male children but left the newborns alive, unsure of which one might be the Savior.
A mob chases Mary through the streets after learning she is pregnant out of wedlock. Several men grab her and drag her to a clearing. When Joseph tries to stop them, they place a stone in his hand, demanding that he cast the first stone. But Joseph fights back, eventually escaping with Mary.
Joseph gets into a fistfight defending Mary’s honor elsewhere. He’s knocked unconscious, receiving a bad cut on his head. In another sequence, he takes a soldier’s sword and stabs Lucifer in the back to stop him from kidnapping Mary.
Mary is grabbed by the face and held by her neck as Marcellus threatens her with a knife. Another young woman is grabbed by her face as well and threatened with a burning candle.
A vision shows flashes of the crucifixion.
A lamb bleats in fear as it is held down in the Temple to be sacrificed. Joachim’s home lies in ruin (we see dead animals on the floor) after it’s trashed by people searching for Mary.
Mary is called a “whore” several times.
It’s likely that wine is drunk in a marriage ceremony.
Throughout the film, it seems that Herod’s mind is diminishing. He imagines his dead wife and speaks to her. He demands that Marcellus and the Roman soldiers kill all the newborn infants in Bethlehem but also orders them to bring the Messiah to him alive. And when he learns Jesus escaped, he waves a sword around wildly, clearly out of his mind.
One of the girls serving in the Temple alongside Mary reports to the priests that Mary is pregnant. The girl was obviously trying to do the right thing, but her actions result in Mary getting thrown out of the Temple. A man working for Joachim betrays him.
There are some angry discussions about who is or isn’t allowed to give Mary away in marriage. Several men mock Joseph after learning Mary is pregnant, believing she’s betrayed him.
Two women experience pain and scream as they give birth.
Nomads steal several horses after attacking a camp.
“You may think you know my story,” Mary tells us. “Trust me, you don’t.”
No, trust me: none of us do. I mean, beyond what’s written in the Bible, that is.
The thing with biblically based films, such as Netflix’s Mary, is that the creators often put their own spins on them—their own interpretation of what might have happened. And that’s the conundrum we face right there: It’s not a declaration of truth. Rather, it’s a dramatization of events that may or may not align with Scripture.
Was Mary dragged out and nearly stoned for becoming pregnant out of wedlock? She could have been. But Scripture doesn’t tell us that. Was Joseph on board with her pregnancy from the get-go? No! It wasn’t until an angel told him in a dream that it was the will of the Lord that Joseph got on board with the whole immaculate conception.
Because of these (and other) discrepancies with what we see in the gospel accounts, Mary probably won’t give you a clearer picture of what it was like for the teenage girl to give birth to the Savior of the world.
However, if Mary is understood as an imaginative exercise, the movie could prompt some interesting, albeit speculative, discussion about what might have gone down. Parents could potentially use Mary to talk about the birth of Christ with their teens. And I do mean teens, because the violent depictions of Roman soldiers slaughtering families in Bethlehem and the near-stoning of Mary are really intense scenes for any viewer, let alone younger ones.
Ask your teenager to think more deeply about Mary and Joseph’s roles and responses here. How do they think Mary felt when the angel told her what would happen? Would she have been afraid, excited, a combination of both? And what about Joseph? After learning the truth about Jesus, would he have felt intimidated? Proud? Some combination of the two?
With a bit of hand holding, this fictional take on Mary’s life could spark some earnest conversations about what Jesus’ entrance into this world looked like—what it meant to the people then and what it still means to people now. And despite some conjecture, Mary rightly reminds us that love is a sacrificial act. It’s love—God’s love for us—that saved the world.
Then again, it might well be even more profitable to look together at what Scripture actually says instead of this story filling in the gaps from extra-biblical speculation.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
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