This Christmas, some Christians in the pews will be sceptical about the virgin birth, even as their pastors carefully expound the scriptures. Others will scarcely give it much thought. Perhaps this is because Jesus’s supernatural conception defies human logic and is alien to the mind’s eye, and so it remains a topic of confusion or contention.
Jesus’s supernatural conception has supernatural implications for our salvation.
But according to Matthew 1:18-25, Jesus’s supernatural conception has supernatural implications for our salvation. Let’s consider the nature of the events surrounding his birth story, and then its significance and implications.
Supernatural Events in Nazareth
The birth of Jesus was utterly unique. What makes it supernatural, however, is not that it was somehow unnatural. Natural, here, refers to the ordinary process of labour and childbirth. In what follows, I highlight four elements in Matthew 1:18-25 that set Jesus’s birth apart as truly extraordinary.
Joseph Marries Mary
Joseph should have divorced Mary, but he didn’t. Mary, betrothed to Joseph, conceived before the consecration of their marriage (Matthew 1:18). Historically and contextually, Mary appeared to be an adulteress (we shall return to this).
Were it not for a supernatural encounter, Joseph would have divorced Mary.
Thus, it is no surprise that Joseph “decided to divorce her secretly” (Matthew 1:19). But he didn’t. Because the angel of the Lord commanded him to marry Mary (Matthew 1:20, 24). Were it not for that supernatural encounter, Joseph would’ve taken the natural (legal, cultural and traditional) course and divorced Mary. This brings me to the next point.
The Advent of an Angel of the Lord
In Scripture, the appearance of the angel of the Lord signifies God’s presence (see Genesis 16:7-13; Exodus 3:1-6; Matthew 2:13, 19-20; Acts 12:23). Among these instances, God’s presence in Matthew 1:18-25 is strikingly unique. First, God grows in Mary’s womb, whence she gets the title Godbearer. Second, God, through his angel, appeared to Joseph in a dream to address a marital crisis. Thus, the presence of the Lord’s angel confirms that Jesus’s conception was supernatural, but more important is the reason for the angel’s appearance.
The Angel’s Message
The angel’s message is a salient hallmark of Jesus’s conception. The child that Mary bore was “from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20, 18). That is to say, Jesus is God from God. Meaning, although human, he is God’s Son.
Jesus’s conception is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.
Unlike the conceptions of Isaac (Genesis 21), Samuel (1 Samuel 1) and John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-25), this child’s conception was without human passion. Jesus’s conception is a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. For this reason, Joseph does not consider Mary an adulteress but rather takes her as his wife (Matthew 1:20, 24).
Fulfilled Prophesy
That Jesus’s conception and birth fulfilled Old Testament prophecy is as supernatural as it gets. Matthew cites Isaiah 7:14 in reference to the conception and birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:22-23). In other words, Jesus’s conception and birth were foretold by the prophet Isaiah over 700 years earlier—another proof that this indeed was a miraculous work of God.
Why Does Jesus’s Supernatural Conception and Birth Matter?
Jesus’s supernatural conception and birth matter for two main reasons.
First, God draws near to his people. God’s people sin (Matthew 1:21), and sin separates us from God (see Isaiah 59:2). But through Jesus’s supernatural conception and birth, God, whilst remaining divine, draws near to his people by donning human flesh. Jesus is “Immanuel,” meaning “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). Thus, the Christmas story is this: our sin separates us from God, but God’s Son draws us back into God’s presence.
Our sin separates us from God, but God’s Son draws us back to God.
Second, God draws near to save sinners. The just wrath of God hangs like a dark cloud over everyone born after Adam and the fall in Eden. Because God is good, he will punish sinners: “For the wages of sin are death” (Romans 6:23). We can’t rescue ourselves from God’s just wrath. But through Jesus’s conception and birth, God supernaturally draws near to die a human death for our sake (See 1 Peter 2:24). Christmas centres on Jesus—the one whose name means “Saviour”—who was born to save sinners from their sins (Matthew 1:21, 25).
Do You Know God’s Son?
The essence of Jesus’s conception isn’t that it is aberrant; rather, its marvel lies in the fact that God entered human history. God’s descent into the human domain carries profound salvific implications. Through his Son, God identifies with our weaknesses and anxieties, as well as our suffering and pain. Above all, in Jesus, God reveals his boundless love for a people who have turned their backs on him.
The essence of Jesus’s conception isn’t that it is aberrant.
If this is the case—and it truly is—then the question we must ponder this Christmas is this: Do we know God’s Son, Jesus Christ? If you do not, you should. And if you only know about him, seek to know him personally. Nothing is more valuable than knowing Christ—or better yet, being known by him.
