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| Paintings by Norma Boeckler |
One: The Virgin Birth
Jesus was born of
the Virgin Mary. Few sentences have had such an impact upon human history as
this one statement – that God became man and was born of a virgin. History
changed at that moment, fulfilling what was promised at the beginning of time.
When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden for violating the Word
of God, at the depth of their shame and sorrow, God promised them a Savior. In
cursing Satan, God gave mankind the First Gospel:
Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel.
The prophesy meant that the Savior (her seed) would crush
Satan (thy seed), that Satan would injure Him. When Satan led his forces in
crucifying Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, the Savior Jesus crushed sin,
death, and Satan.
Because Adam and Eve
sinned against God’s Word, their children inherited and passed on what we call
original sin. The term original sin means that all our actions, words, and
thoughts are tainted by selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and lust.
Mankind has recorded many noble thoughts and wise advice, but human history is
a vast record of shame, murder, and folly. We can hardly deny original sin when
we realize how often we fail to keep our promises, violate our own principles,
and rebel against God’s commands, even when we know that God commands what is
good for us.
The Virgin Mary had
a baby. That had to be the greatest miracle in God’s Creation. God became man.
That does not mean that God turned into an ordinary human being. Nor does it
mean that someone decided that an ordinary person was God. The baby Jesus was
both God and man. He is still both God and man. Once He took on our human
nature, He never gave it up. When we study the Gospels, we can see that Jesus
is one Person with two natures united in Him. The two natures are divine and
human.
God decided the time
and place for the birth of the Messiah. He sent the angel Gabriel to tell a
young maiden that she would give birth to the Savior of the world.
Luke 1:30-33
1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for
thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give
unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house
of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Mary wondered how this could be, since she was a virgin.
The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and conceive the
Savior. The Christian Church calls the Virgin Mary the Mother of God because the Son of God took on human flesh in her
womb, uniting His divinity with her humanity.
Mary was betrothed to Joseph but they
were not yet living together. The Jewish custom was just the opposite of ours
today. At that time couples were betrothed in a religious ceremony but waited
for a period of time before they began living together in the same household.
Now couples move into the same household and wait several years—and often
several children—before getting married.
Mary’s condition
caused severe embarrassment for Joseph. He knew that he could not be the father
of her child. He resolved to divorce Mary quietly. Anyone can imagine how both
of them must have felt. However, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and
revealed to him that the child would be the promised Savior.
Matthew 1:20-22
1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the
angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Matthew revealed that this was taking
place to fulfill the Old Testament promises.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall
be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
The unity of God’s plan and purpose becomes clearer when we
consider that the First Gospel of Genesis 3:15, the Virgin Birth prophecy of
Isaiah 7:14, and the birth of Jesus are all in harmony, in spite of various
human authors, enormous stretches of time, and different languages.
The prediction of the Virgin Birth of
Jesus came about in a strange way. God used an evil Jewish king to proclaim the
certainty of His greatest miracle. King Ahaz promoted idol worship, so he did
not deserve to hear such good news. But God offered him the chance to request a
miracle, either in heaven or on earth. Ahaz could have asked to be delivered
from his enemies, but he trusted in his own schemes and refused a direct
command from God: “Ask for a sign.” When Ahaz proudly refused a miracle, the
prophet said, “You will receive a miracle anyway.” The miracle was:
Isaiah 7:14
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel.
We can see that God revealed His will in separate
predictions.
1.
The Savior will be born of a woman (Genesis
3:15), “the seed of a woman.”
2.
The woman will be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and the
child will be “God with us,” Emmanuel.
3.
The woman will be Mary (Matthew, Luke) and the
child will be named Jesus –”Salvation.”
The promise of a
Savior being born should have earned Joseph and Mary many favors and blessings,
but first they experienced great difficulties. The Roman government ordered a
census, so Joseph and Mary had to travel uphill from Galilee to reach
Bethlehem. Many Christmas cards show Mary sitting gracefully on a donkey, but
the Bible does not have any record of an animal carrying her. Most likely Mary
trudged uphill on foot for that long journey. She was about to give birth,
hoping for some relief when she and Joseph reached Bethlehem.
Every mother wants
to have the best for her newborn baby, especially the first child. Joseph and
Mary might have expected to stay with relatives, or barring that, at an inn.
But the crowd was so great that they were forced to stay with the animals in
the stable near the inn. The Gospel of Luke describes this touching scene in a
few words:
Luke 2:7
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him
in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for
them in the inn.
A manger seems so pleasant, dry, and clean, because people
recreate the scene with a wooden box and some dry straw every Christmas.
However, no parents today would put their newborn baby in a feeding trough, the
actual meaning of manger.
Princes, scholars, and noblemen should
have come to the stable to see the newborn Savior. A new pizza parlor enjoys
more publicity today than the newborn Savior received. However, God chose to
tell shepherds about the birth.
Luke 2:8-15
2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of
the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and
they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising
God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto
us.
The wisdom of God unfolds when we consider how tenderly the
Savior comes to us. Born into poverty in the humblest circumstances, Jesus does
not intimidate anyone. Instead, people are drawn to Him, especially when they
hear about the circumstances of His birth. Although the angels might have
directed the scholars and the rulers to see Jesus, the messengers of God
revealed His grace and glory to working men, who rejoiced to see their promised
Messiah on his earthy throne, surrounded by animals rather than nobles.
The hardships did
not stop when Jesus was born. Wisemen from the East came looking for the
Savior, after following the Star of Bethlehem. Pretending to love the Savior,
Herod asked the wisemen questions because he feared this newborn king. The
wisemen presented gifts to Jesus but did not return to Herod. Nevertheless,
Herod sought to eliminate his rival by killing all the boys less than two years
of age. God warned Joseph to leave, so the family went into exile in Egypt,
returning later to Galilee.
Silent Night! Holy Night!
Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child,
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.[1]
