In our church, it’s the local obstetrician who can be counted on to bless the congregation by singing a spirited version of this song during the Advent season. (My lovely wife and I call him “Dr. MaryDidYouKnow?” and have often marveled at his spectacular sports car in the congregational parking lot.) I’ve always assumed he was drawn to the line, “did you know the child that you delivered would soon deliver you?” He’s fortunate to have his work included in a stirring Christmas classic.
This rendition by Pentatonix is joyously over the top and loaded with gothic candle and cave imagery suggestive of Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
