Mary Had A Little Lamb, EV

I really don't know why this nursery rhyme came to mind this afternoon, but I actually meditated on this, believe it or not, and a stray thought broke away from the concise explanation of a mere nursery rhyme for children.

Mary had a little lamb.....Mary and lamb, outside the nursery rhyme, have something in common: Jesus.
Jesus is ultimately the Lamb of God, and a Mary was chosen to give birth to Him.

Whose fleece was white as snow.....Jesus, as the Lamb of God, was as pure as snow, sinless.

And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go.....Jesus, for the most part, obeyed his mother (and father) growing up.

It followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.....it was unusual for the students to be the teacher, but Jesus spoke with such amazing authority about the Scriptures, and then Jesus read the scrolls to them He told them the Scriptures had been fulfilled that day. This was initially met with wonder and amazement; after a while this caused some religious leaders to attempt to kill Him.

It made the children laugh and play.....Jesus loved children, and the children loved Him.

And so the teacher turned it out.....to a Christian, this is a sad commentary of the world today. Jesus is not welcome in school or social life today, but neither was He welcomed in his own land among his own people then. Pharisees threw Him out of the temple with false accusations. What people DID receive Him, however, He gave them eternal life.

But still it lingered near.....Jesus has never left us, even when we leave Him. He still loves us!

And waited patiently about.....God wants none of us to perish. He is patient and long-suffering for us to come or recommit our lives back to Him. He loves us, even while we were yet sinners!

Til Mary did appear.....Mary His mother and Mary Magdalene (another prominent Mary spoken of in the Gospels) were regularly attentive to Jesus. Jesus will appear again for His bride, the church. We, as members of Christ, should be practicing the Great Commission until Jesus deems us ready to "appear" before the ceremony of the wedding supper.

Why does the lamb love Mary so.....God is Love. God the Father and God the Son are One. God loves all of us.

The eager children cry.....the multitudes were full of questions and curiosity about who Jesus was and what He taught.

Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.....a mother's love never dies. Mary Magdalene experienced salvation and expressed her love anointing him with the expensive oil.

The teacher did reply.....I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep, and my sheep know me.

Obviously I could've taken many different biblical angles to express this. These are just off the top of my head. I haven't taken the time to note the Scriptural applications I've made. It's entirely possible that I've made an observation that doesn't exactly make sense with someone else, but these are my current musings about a nursery rhyme that's over 180 years old.

Here is the original rhyme:

Mary had a little lamb,
little lamb, little lamb,
Mary had a little lamb
whose fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went,
And everywhere that Mary went
the lamb was sure to go.

It followed her to school one day,
school one day, school one day,
It followed her to school one day
which was against the rules.
It made the children laugh and play,
laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play
to see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned it out,
turned it out, turned it out.
And so the teacher turned it out
but still it lingered near.
And waited patiently about,
patiently about, patiently about.
And waited patiently about
til Mary did appear.

"Why does the lamb love Mary so,
Mary so, Mary so,
Why does the lamb love Mary so?"
The eager children cried.
"Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know,
lamb you know, lamb you know.
Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know."
The teacher did reply.

There have been many applications of this poem for many years. I know I'm not doing anything original, not by any means. :) I just thought I'd say what was on my mind about Mary and her little lamb, Estelle's Version. :)