The Birth Of Jesus Christ Took Place In This Way

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”

Here in this verse, we find Mary engaged to Joseph and pregnant, yet the conception in her womb is not through Joseph, but “from the Holy Spirit.” These words set the scene for the Incarnation. The Incarnation of the Son of God is not by man, or through man. Joseph is not involved. He is not the father of Jesus. He has found out that Mary was pregnant. Verse 18 says, “she was found to be with child…” Joseph naturally would wonder who the father was.

Joseph contemplates divorce (in accordance with Deut. 24), but resolves to do it quietly (vs. 19). He has no desire to humiliate Mary. Joseph is a just man. He is considerate of Mary. It was a troubling time for both of them. Joseph is unaware that Mary knows the source of her pregnancy (see Luke 1:26–38). This is how Matthew introduces the birth narrative of our Lord. Both Matthew and Luke provide independent details of the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1, Luke 1, 2). Matthew writes about Joseph, and Luke writes about Mary.

Both Matthew and Luke indicate via the message of Gabriel that the source of Mary’s conception is the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:31, 35). We acknowledge that this is mysterious. What is conception by the Holy Spirit? It is most certainly miraculous because it produces a complete human being without an earthly father. This cannot happen naturally or scientifically. Conception requires male and female. Even in the test tube this is the case. The conception of our Lord is, therefore, supernatural. The child in the womb is from the Holy Spirit. This conception is promised or foretold in the Old Testament by the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 7:14 with Matt. 1:23).

The Incarnation does not mean “virgin birth,” but the virgin birth was part of the Incarnation of the Son of God. The Incarnation refers to God becoming man. The divine became human. It is deity in humanity. It is the taking on of flesh. Thus the doctrine of the Incarnation is not the beginning of the Son of God, but is the beginning of the humanity of Jesus. Jesus has always existed as the eternal, divine Son of God. This is his pre-existence, but now he has added humanity to himself and has become fully and completely human. The significant and startling difference is that in his humanity there is no sin. Indeed the idea of sin present or even possible in the God-man is impossible.

Therefore, the Incarnation is mysterious. Who can understand it? We can and should confess it, for it is the truth; but to understand it is quite beyond us. We regard the doctrine of the Trinity in the same way. We confess it and believe it, but we acknowledge that it is difficult to understand and explain. How would Mary or Joseph have understood this? I think they would have been like us. Certainly there is questioning on the surface. Even Mary will ask how such a conception will be possible since she was virgin (Luke 1:34). Unlike Zechariah who wouldn’t believe the news about John the Baptist’s birth, once Mary hears Gabriel’s explanation, she humbly believes (Luke 1:18, 38).

This is what the Incarnation always requires—our acceptance and belief. Without these we will wander in a maze; and as we seek to probe and go deeper, the further lost we become. The advent of our Lord Jesus Christ is a truly glorious truth. The birth of Jesus is necessary in order for there to be a death. In this Jesus is truly human, for we all are born and then we die. This is the result of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22). We die because of our sin, yet our Lord will die for our sin. If Jesus had sinned, then he most certainly could not make atonement for us. Sin imputed to Jesus is not sin inherent in Jesus. He had no sin, nor did he commit sin (2 Cor. 5:21). It was God the Father who made him to be sin for us. This means our sins were placed on Christ and he was justly punished because the Father saw sin.

We can say, then, that the Atonement is the consequence of the Incarnation. The cause of the Atonement must ultimately be the love of God, and therefore the Incarnation of our Lord is an expression of divine love. John 3:16 puts it so beautifully as God loving us so much that “he gave his only Son.” The word “only” implies uniqueness. Jesus alone is the Son of God.

If Atonement is therefore necessary and is a consequence of the Incarnation, then the Resurrection must also be a consequence of the Incarnation. The Son of God dies yet he lives. He cannot be conquered by death. So in his humanity our Lord Jesus suffers for us and dies; but since he is the divine Son, he cannot remain captive to sin, so he rises from the dead. In fact, he must rise from the dead. To remain in the grave would mean that the Atonement was empty and of no value or use. It would also throw aspersion on the love of God.

Scripture does not elaborate on the mystery of the Incarnation. It simply states it. Faith is never given all the details, but it is supplied with all that is necessary for it. Otherwise we would always desire to see before we believe (we desire this anyway—it makes faith easier). For instance, faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17). Hearing is necessary for faith but not just any hearing. It is hearing the Word of God specifically that brings faith. How all of that happens is mysterious. Regeneration according to the Lord in John 3 is mysterious and supernatural. It is like the wind blowing in the trees. You hear the sound of the wind, but you cannot tell where it has come from or where it is going. All you see is the evidence of something at work. We accept these truths ultimately because God has said them. In the same way, we accept the truth of the Incarnation because God has revealed it to us. We do not need to know every detail, indeed we cannot. Faith does not need every detail—it only needs what God reveals and supplies.

We have enough details concerning the birth of our Lord to supply us with all that is needed to develop a sound doctrine of the Incarnation. The eternal Word (his Pre-existence) became flesh (his Incarnation). How do you prove the eternality of the Son? It is not necessary to prove it to the satisfaction of an unbeliever. Scripture provides the needed proof, but you can only accept Scripture as God’s revealed and authoritative Word if you know Christ as Lord. An unbeliever can never comprehend these truths. The secret things belong only to God (Deut. 29:29).

We know that we need the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Without his light we cannot see. Sufficient light is given to us by the stars in the sky. We know that the actual light of a star could not be seen by us up close. We would be blinded and incinerated. It is not necessary to go up close to the sun to determine that it provides light and heat. We know it does because it is revealed to us. We know there is more to the sun and the stars than we comprehend, yet we have sufficient light to comprehend them. We have sufficient light from God to comprehend the Incarnation. You can never plumb the depths, but you have more than enough to confess and worship. That’s what God desires—our worship. Every contemplation, then, at the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, must provoke wonder, adoration and praise from us. In the Incarnation we have Immanuel—God with us. What more do we need? Worship him!