Understanding the Virgin Birth

Merry Christmas! Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we will celebrate the incarnation of Christ, God becoming man, which required the virgin birth of Christ Jesus. It is one thing to realize the importance of the virgin birth, but understanding how it came about, the nuts and bolts of the process, is another story. In many respects, it is way beyond our finite ability to understand. However, the angel Gabriel gives us some insight into the "how" of the virgin birth in Luke 1:34-38.

The key thought in this entire passage is found in verses 34-35. That is where Mary asks that very pointed question, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (v. 34). In answer to this question, Gabriel comes as close as he can to answering the "how" of this miracle. In verse 35, he uses two very important phrases: (1) "The Holy Spirit will come upon you" (v. 35a), and (2) "the power of the Highest will overshadow you" (v. 35b). The latter explains the former.

First, he said that "the Holy Spirit will come upon you" (v. 35a). It is all of God. He will do it. Note how he later refers to Elizabeth's pregnancy (v. 36) to confirm that "with God nothing will be impossible" (v. 37). Mary is simply asked to believe God for this miracle. She is to trust Him to see her through all circumstances of life that come with this "favor with God" (v. 28a) in her life. When you serve God, sometimes life can become a little rough. When it does, you can know that Christ is there with you, and He will bring you through anything and everything. Only believe!

Then, Gabriel explains further what he means. He continues, "the power of the Highest will overshadow you" (v. 35b). Here we see the holy, powerful presence of God, just as in the description of the cloud in the wilderness that "covered" or "settled upon" the tabernacle when the tent was "filled" with "the glory of the Lord" (Exodus 40:34).

The word "overshadow" (Luke 1:35b), is the same word used in the story of the transfiguration of Jesus to describe the "bright cloud" that "overshadowed" them in Matthew 17:5. From this overshadowing cloud came a voice that said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (v. 5b).

In like manner, in Luke 1:35c we are told, "that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." The Holy Spirit will "overshadow" Mary and create in her a baby who is identified as "the holy one" (v. 35c). This is a direct reference to ethical purity. The thought is that Jesus is holy and, therefore, without sin.

Remember this: Jesus was not sinless because He did not have a human father. Mary too had been born with a sin nature, and was not without sin. Rather, the Holy Spirit "overshadowed" her, and in a mysterious yet supernatural way, far beyond our ability to understand, sanctified Jesus' conception so that He was kept from being contaminated by man's fallen sinful nature.

Note again His special title, "Son of God" (v. 35c). That title shows His special role in God's purpose—that of Messiah, or Savior. He was born of a virgin, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, that He might save His people from their sin.

God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, created this baby Jesus to be born on Christmas morning to save you from your sin. That is His special purpose in the birth of Christ. Jesus' complete obedience to His Father in heaven enabled Him to pay the penalty for our sin and bring us back into fellowship with God. The Son was born by God's initiative and by God's grace. Jesus came purely as a gift from God. The best gift you could ever receive. The true Christmas gift from God.

Remember, "with God nothing will be impossible" (v. 37). In Jesus everything is possible! With that thought, Mary gave herself fully unto God as His servant, as she said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word" (v. 38a).

With that thought, we must give ourselves fully unto God as well, as His servants. If you do, God will see you through whatever circumstances arise in your life as a result, just as He did Mary.

The truth of the virgin birth makes it clear that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. Only because of this truth can we truly be saved from our sin and receive eternal life with Him. Only because He was fully man can He sympathize with our needs, and only because He is fully God can He meet our needs completely and see us through all things. You can trust fully in Him, and lean on Him each and every day. Amen.