That’s a good point. But, it could have just been oral tradition also.
The entire bible is oral Tradition in written form. It was not written as it happened. God directly wrote the Decalogue onto stone tablets “in real time”, but everything else was written down afterwards - sometimes decades or even hundreds of years later. God the Father wrote only those ten commandments for us, and they were lost - but preserved in the oral tradition of the Jews. Jesus wrote only in the sand (
John 8) and it was also lost - but likewise preserved in the manner of the Jewish oral tradition - written down decades later by the Apostle John.
Mary pondered everything in her heart. Being sinless, she did not blab it all over town - even though as a Jewish mother, she could easily have told every woman and mother “Have
I got the Son for you!”
She pondered rather than spoke - the essence of avoiding sin. When she spoke it is of great importance to us. Let’s move to the Gospel of John for a moment. At the wedding feast at Cana, (
John 2) the wine ran out.
Mary and Jesus were invited guests and bore no direct responsibility for the event - that was upon the families of the two who had been married. So, why was she so concerned about the lack of wine? And, even more mysteriously, why did she tell Jesus about it and then command the servants “Do whatever He tells you”?
Jesus was not a wine merchant, did not run out in search of wine. Wine required a vineyard, workers, the growing season, a wine press, wine skins and…time. They had no time, as the shortage was
right then.
Therefore, we are left to wonder: What did Mary know; how on earth did she know it? And there’s the rub. Better to ask “How in
heaven did she know it” as that was the origin of her knowledge.
God is beautiful, life-giving and mysterious. Mary, being created by her own Son (think of that!) to bear the God-Man, displayed those same traits - lacking only the divinity.
