Who was Mary, the mother of Jesus?

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Short answer

Mary was a young woman of Nazareth, engaged to Joseph, who was told by the angel Gabriel that she would bear the Messiah, and who agreed (Luke 1:26; Luke 1:27; Luke 1:31; Luke 1:38).

What the New Testament records about her:

She was a virgin when she conceived, by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:34; Luke 1:35; Matthew 1:18; Matthew 1:20).
She responded with a song of praise, the Magnificat, which is largely about God lifting up the humble and bringing down the powerful (Luke 1:46; Luke 1:52; Luke 1:53).
She was told a sword would pierce her own soul (Luke 2:35).
She pondered and treasured what happened rather than explaining it (Luke 2:19; Luke 2:51).
She prompted Jesus' first recorded sign at Cana (John 2:3; John 2:5).
She stood at the cross, where Jesus placed her in the care of a disciple (John 19:25; John 19:26; John 19:27).
She was with the disciples praying after the ascension (Acts 1:14).

Christians honour her universally and differ sharply on what that honour amounts to. Those views are below, and none is endorsed here.

Question

Who was Mary, the mother of Jesus?

Analysis

Where the traditions differ

View	Position	Held by
Catholic	Mother of God (Theotokos), perpetually a virgin, conceived without original sin (the Immaculate Conception), assumed bodily into heaven, and venerated as an intercessor. Veneration is distinguished from the worship due to God alone.	Roman Catholic
Orthodox	Theotokos and ever-virgin, honoured above all saints, invoked in prayer. The Immaculate Conception as defined in 1854 is not affirmed, since Orthodoxy frames original sin differently.	Eastern Orthodox
Anglican / Lutheran	Theotokos affirmed; honoured and called blessed. Practice varies widely, from near-Catholic devotion to a reserved position closer to the Reformed.	Anglican; Lutheran
Reformed and evangelical	Honoured as a faithful and courageous woman and as the mother of the Lord, but not venerated, not prayed to, and not held sinless. Prayer is directed to God alone.	Presbyterian; Baptist; most evangelicals

The texts the differences turn on

"Blessed among women" and "all generations will call me blessed" (Luke 1:42; Luke 1:48) are affirmed by everyone; what follows from them is disputed.
Whether Jesus had siblings. The Gospels name brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55; Galatians 1:19). Traditions holding perpetual virginity read these as cousins or as Joseph's children from an earlier marriage; others read them as later children of Mary and Joseph. Our answer on whether Jesus had brothers and sisters sets out the views in full.
Matthew 1:25, which says Joseph did not know her until she gave birth, is read by some as implying normal marriage afterwards and by others as saying nothing about afterwards.
Jesus' own words about his mother and brothers (Mark 3:31; Mark 3:33; Mark 3:34; Luke 11:27; Luke 11:28), where he redirects attention from family ties to those who do God's will, are cited in these discussions by more than one side.

What is agreed

Point	Where
She was chosen and favoured by God	Luke 1:28; Luke 1:30
She consented freely and at real cost	Luke 1:38
Her son is the Messiah, and God with us	Luke 1:32; Matthew 1:23
She is rightly called blessed	Luke 1:42; Luke 1:48
She was a disciple, present at the cross and in the early church	John 19:25; Acts 1:14

A note on what the Bible does not do: it never records anyone praying to Mary, and it never depicts her as sinless in so many words. Traditions that hold those things ground them in theological reasoning and church tradition rather than in a single verse, and generally say so.

Sources, trace every one

Every cited verse, in full. Tap any reference to open it in the reader.

Luke 1:26bsb
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
Luke 1:27bsb
to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man named Joseph, who was of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
Luke 1:31bsb
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
Luke 1:38bsb
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1:34bsb
“How can this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
Luke 1:35bsb
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
Matthew 1:18bsb
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:20bsb
But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:46bsb
Then Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
Luke 1:52bsb
He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.
Luke 1:53bsb
He has filled the hungry with good things, but has sent the rich away empty.
Luke 2:35bsb
so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed — and a sword will pierce your soul as well.”
Luke 2:19bsb
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:51bsb
Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
John 2:3bsb
When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to Him, “They have no more wine.”
John 2:5bsb
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”

On contested questions we show every major view, attributed and cited, and pick no winner. Answers are synthesized from primary sources, truth you can trace, not opinion.