The Tradesman

Why the Virgin Birth Matters

It is necessary for God to be born of a virgin.

Because of Adam’s sin, as Paul indicates, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Scripture teaches that sin originated in Adam, the representative head of humanity, and he has transmitted his sin to all his descendants giving us all a fallen human nature. Many theologians, including St. Augustine and John Calvin, affirm that this corruption (Adam’s sin) is inherited by all people, male and female alike, through ordinary human generation.

In the very beginning of man’s fall, we separated from God, which is spiritual death. God promised us a savior. As God curses the serpent, in the same breath God’s promise occurs, just before Adam and Eve are thrown out of the garden. The hope of a Savior comes immediately after sin. God said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15). Our relationship with the Almighty suffered; God could have ended it all there. It would have been so easy for Him to make a new creation.

His promise of a Savior is a testimony of His love for every one of us. God knows you and me before the foundation of creation, giving us a sense of worth God has for us. As Christ tells us in the Gospel of John, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” That love God has for us came with a cost. That cost was paid by God, who came in the flesh, paying the penalty for sin. John 3:8 says that we have already been judged and condemned. As Paul points out, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). It is automatic; we have been judged by a procedure that only God could interrupt. His love has endured all the hardships of the world, even as He was cursed and eventually sacrificed as a sin offering. He tells us plainly that He did not come to judge the world because it has judged itself. He came to break the bond of sin and death by His death so that the world may be saved. In order to save the world from spiritual death, Jesus needed to be conceived by the Holy Spirit and not by ordinary human generation. Which makes Jesus the second Adam. Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit, could not inherit Adam’s fallen nature and was therefore born sinless through the virgin birth. With the Holy Spirit giving the breath of life in Mary’s womb, not coming from human generation. Jesus is God in the flesh, with a perfect human nature. Jesus is truly human, developing in the womb, and after birth; “...Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52).

As a child, Jesus experienced the same closeness with His mother as every human being has. Her love, warmth, tenderness, and soothing voice penetrated the ocean of her womb. Her body nourished and gave Him all that was needed to survive while in the womb. Aside from Jesus’ miraculous conception, His birth was no different from ours; He was completely human.

Jesus’ conception, though similar to Adam’s, was different in another way. God formed Adam from the dust of the Earth and breathed the breath of life into him. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary: the breath of life was put into her womb. She conceived an Adam-like perfect person, in every way, but one who needed to be developed within her; strikingly, the occupant of her womb was God through His son.

Jesus, God in the flesh, was miraculously conceived as Adam was, with some slight differences. Adam did not need an earthly father; Adam was created as an adult, not an infant. “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Jesus did need an earthly father. Jesus was formed out of the same dust of the earth as Adam, within Mary’s womb, “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Mary is dust, crafted out of the same properties that were passed down to her through the generations starting with Adam. God breathed life into her womb to conceive Jesus. Jesus was created perfectly, from the same materials and in every way, as Adam was made. Both Jesus and Adam came into being as a perfect human beings.

Although Jesus and Adam were created perfect, their lives differed: Jesus had a childhood that Adam did not have. Jesus, our mediator, suffered through life as we have, the author of Hebrews tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). It was necessary for Jesus to be born in a fallen world. As a child, He had the same needs as any other person that was ever born of a woman, from His first feeding to His last supper. From His first steps to His last steps to the cross. Jesus was completely relatable to us in every way, as Hebrews states, yet without the stain of sin.

Consider the challenges that Jesus Christ faced each day, living in a sin-filled world under the care of inexperienced parents. As a young parent with your first child, you may not recognize the early signs of hunger, colic, and other common issues. I remember all of the all-night marathons with a new baby, trying to keep them entertained and amused. It is a common phrase young parents use: “Our children have their days and nights mixed up.” I also recall the panicked phone calls to my wife’s mother and my mother. They would smile and rush over with compassion to help. The touch they had was a skill born of womanhood. It was like magic how they could calm a baby. Sometimes with just their voice. I imagine the same in the rearing of Jesus. Mary heard the baby and said, “Joseph!” in the middle of the night. Please get my mother, with a sigh, then remembering that her mother was in Nazareth. I’ll bet they found some experienced mother in the area who gave her some advice.

Jesus experienced all the facets of human life, the good as well as the bad, unlike Adam, who was created as an adult; Adam only experienced the goodness of the perfect creation in his first years on Earth. From the beginning to the end of His life, Jesus experienced the hardships of a fallen world, which we inherited through Adam, making Him more relatable to us. Christ being born into a fallen world, without sin, was awkward enough for Jesus. There is a conflict between complete harmony with God in a perfect creation and living in a world reshaped by the pattern of sin. Jesus is out of His element, a sinless, perfect creation, in a world that was beyond repair by human standards.

Jesus now exists in a paradoxical state of being, here on Earth, in a world that is contrary to His very existence. It is like a round peg being forced into a square hole. To add to the discomfort of fitting in, “[Jesus] who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). God imprisoned Himself in the body of a man—talk about awkward and uncomfortable. Imagine living with that reality day after day.

Jesus, at every point of His life, knew who He was, and still laid down His Godly attributes to become like us in every way. We hear so frequently the cries of many who feel that they have been born in the wrong body, which Jesus can completely relate to. Jesus, who is God, laid down His divine attributes to walk in a body that was completely foreign to His nature. He made significant, uncomfortable adjustments to limit himself to living as a man. No breaks in the tension of His body except for one, maybe the Transfiguration, that must have felt so good to Him, like the best day in the spa. Those of us who complain about the mental stress of being in the wrong body should go to God in prayer. He is the only one who understands your difficulties. The only one that can change your mindset and outcomes and give you a livable body.

The Nativity

There is little recorded history about the early life of Jesus Christ, apart from a few key events. In keeping with Jewish law, He was circumcised on the eighth day, and after the forty-day period of purification, He was brought to the temple and presented to the Lord. “When the days of her purification are completed, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the doorway of the tent of meeting a one- year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering… But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, Joseph and Mary could not afford a young lamb, so they offered two turtledoves and two pigeons for the temple sacrifice (Luke 2:22–23). This offering suggests that the Magi (the Wise Men), who are often thought to be astrologers, had not yet visited, since one of their gifts was gold and Joseph and Mary would have been able to afford the traditional offering of a lamb. From this, it is reasonable to conclude that the Magi did not visit Jesus Christ during His infancy, contrary to how the event is commonly depicted in traditional Christmas narratives.

On their way to Jerusalem, they encountered Simeon, And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Simeon took the Jesus into his arms and blessed God, saying, “My eyes have seen God’s salvation” (Luke 2:30). The Prophetess Anna, “And at that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak about Him to all those who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Mary and Joseph were amazed. Put yourselves in their shoes, bringing your son to church for his christening or dedication, two prominent figures proclaiming to the world that your son would be man’s salvation. You will remember that for the rest of your life and tell that story over and over to friends and relatives.

If Joseph had any lingering doubt in the back of his mind about Mary’s virginity, it would be quenched there and then. It is easy to accept the fact that Mary conceived as a virgin when an angel tells you, but as time goes on, you need a little reassurance. The deceiver will always cloud our minds with doubt. God sees to it that Joseph gets that confirmation.

Simeon and the Prophetess Anna, who proclaimed Christ as our salvation, would confirm what the Angel of the Lord had told Mary and Joseph months earlier. There will be many other signs and wonders that kept the parents of Jesus in that state of confirmation. The testimony of both Simeon and the Prophetess Anna would have eased Joseph’s doubts and the devil’s relentless attacks concerning the conception of the Christ child.

A star marked the way to Jesus. I am sure the Magi were not the only people to see the star. Mary and Joseph must have noticed the star and finally understood why it was there during the Magi’s visit. Just another sign of confirmation that the Son of God was born to them. It’s unknown how many wise men visited Jesus. We try to determine the number of the Magi by the gifts presented. They traveled in a group, maybe a small caravan; there is safety in numbers.

The Magi’s first stop was to report to King Herod that they were within his jurisdiction. They inquired about the birth of the King of Israel, thinking that all would be worshiping at Christ’s feet. They explained to Herod how the star that was leading them to Israel’s new King. From the short interaction with the Magi, “Then Herod secretly called the Magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared” (Matthew 2:7). King Herod calculated that the child was born within the past two years. With the information given innocently by the Magi, Herod would plot the death of Christ.

When the Magi appeared in Bethlehem, they were not looking at an infant in a manger but a toddler. Nonetheless, they fell to their knees and worshiped the Child King. Giving gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts suitable for a King, each gift with a unique meaning, the Gold represented Royalty and Kingship. Frankincense represented Divinity and Worship, and Myrrh represented Death and Suffering. Joseph and Mary are struggling to pay their bills, yet they are receiving gifts fit for a king. Still more confirmation that they have chosen the right path. As always, if we stay faithful to God, He will reassure us of our salvation as many times as necessary. The Magi’s journey was over, and it was time to report back to King Herod. The Magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod but to take a different route. Herod now realized that the Magi had deceived him by not reporting back. He decides to kill every child under the age of two years. Power left unchecked in the hands of man is risky. It must always be tempered by the hand of God. Even in our lives, the power we have as a father, a husband, a friend, a foreman, a business owner, or a politician must always be tempered by the word of God. Unfortunately, there was no such tempering of King Herod’s power.

As a result, Matthew 2:13-14 tells us that an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream and unveiled Herod’s plot to kill the child. Joseph woke from his dream and, with the dangers of night travel, moved his family from Bethlehem to Egypt. They barely escaped from the impending assassination of the child. The Lord provided Joseph with a way of escape, and through the Magi, they were able to afford to move to another Roman province, Egypt. The Lord’s reassurance is constant and comforting. The family would remain in Egypt until Herod’s death.

The Death of Herod

It is speculated that Jesus was between one and two years old when Herod sought to kill the Savior. Jesus was born between 4 and 6 BC, not 1 AD, due to an error in the early Christian calendar. The error was made by Dionysius Exiguus, a Christian monk and scholar, who was commissioned by Pope John the first, around AD 525. Herod died in 4 BC, and Jesus may have been approximately two to four years old at the time.

After the death of Herod, an angel of the Lord visits Joseph in another dream and brings him news of Herod’s death. Joseph is instructed to return to Israel, but being cautious, knew that Archelaus, Herod’s son, was reigning in Judea.

But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” So, Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, The life of Jesus is silent for six or more years; we can imagine that Jesus grew up in a small but rough town. A town that was looked down upon in Galilee. Nathanael will become a disciple of Jesus seems to hold to that prejudice and skepticism. When Philip, another disciple, told Nathanael about Jesus, Nathanael said to him, ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? …” (John 1:46). Nazareth, an obscure small town with a few hundred inhabitants, is often looked down upon.

Early Childhood

The Bible mentions Jesus again when He is twelve years old. We know that Passover was one of the major pilgrimages, and that Jesus visited Jerusalem every year for the celebration. The Bible records one pilgrimage to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old. “Now, His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; (Luke 2:41- 42). The reason this Passover was recorded is that Jesus was coming of age. Twelve marked a transitional age, a period of preparation in which a child was on the verge of being accountable to the law. A boy was learning and being trained in the ways of the Law, but he wasn’t yet fully obligated.

I remember being obligated as a member of Local 98 in Philadelphia. It was a rite of passage: I became a member, took an oath in front of the membership, and it was a significant event. It had the feeling of a ritual, entering into the brotherhood. It was a humbling but eventful feeling. Jesus is on the verge of becoming a full member of His community. At age thirteen, he will be recognized as an adult in terms of his obligations to the community and the Law.

During His time in Jerusalem, He entered the Temple and sparred with the Temple scholars. I’ll bet the conversation was so thick or filled by the Holy Spirit, they lost their sense of time. I know that sometimes I am in a conversation about the Lord, and I cannot keep track of time. The feeling in the room can be so thick you can almost cut it with a knife. Well, something similar may have happened with the Holy Spirit’s thickness and a loss of time at the Temple, as Jesus went missing for days.

After staying for the full seven days of Passover, Joseph and Mary packed up and joined the caravan heading back home to Nazareth. Believing that Jesus was with the other boys, Mary and Joseph set out to search for Him after traveling for a full day. With four younger children, ages 2 to 10, they just lost track of Him. Today is a different day and age, not knowing who is running in our streets. Today, I’m not leaving the city unless I have accounted for my whole family.

Unfortunately, Mary and Joseph are in a dilemma: their child is missing. I bet panic set in, and the whole caravan is at a standstill. Normally, it would be a day’s journey back to Jerusalem, and they would have to travel at night. Given the dangers of nighttime travel (bandits, rough terrain, wild animals), most people in the ancient Near East avoided traveling after dark. I would think they waited till daybreak, giving them time to have relatives care for their children and avoiding the perils of night travel.

After searching the city for three days, Jesus has been missing for five days. I could not imagine the horror that they were going through. If my child were missing for an hour, let alone two, I would be in a panic. If you think I am bad, my wife is worse; she needed to speak to her daughters every day, especially when they were in college. A recent scenario came to mind with my Granddaughter. I took my granddaughter Isabella to ice hockey practice in Atlantic City. When the practice was over, I saw her go into locker room number three. I am standing near the exit. I can see down the long hallway to locker room three. Time passes by, and I am getting a bit worried. I walk down to locker room three, which is the very last locker room. I knock, no answer, I open the door, and no one is there. All the locker rooms are connected, with a bathroom in the center of each pair. I walk through the empty bathroom, and I go into the next locker room. Three boys are in there. I asked, and no one had seen her. I am now in panic mode, getting angry, and plotting who I am going to beat to a pulp. I go through two more locker rooms now, kicking the door open each time.

The coach is in one locker room, and that door slams open from my kick. He knows I am not happy. The startled coach tells me they are in locker room three. I said NO; it is empty. Then he remembers that there is another locker room on the other side of the rink. I went there, and there she was. I was so relieved to see her with another girl, who was taking her time getting dressed. The other girl was afraid to be left alone in the locker room. This locker room was out of sight from all the other locker rooms and from the lobby. Immediate relief, all was forgiven, but my anxiety was still there, tempered with relief.

After five days of looking for Jesus, Jesus said so innocently, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). Now they are being told the obvious: they should have known He would be in the Temple. “But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them” (Luke 2:50). I suppose I would not have understood as well until the anxiety of the moment left me. Just as Isabella’s answer, she was keeping a friend company because her teammate was afraid to be alone in the locker room, being so far and out of sight.

So many times, we get caught up in the moment, fail to see clearly, let panic and fear set in, and we often miss the obvious. The city is so big, with so many people and so many options, that, as the old saying goes, you can’t see the forest for the trees. The obvious place to look for Jesus is in the temple. Mary and Joseph learned a lesson in trust, and I bet their anxiety didn’t leave them until they were back with the caravan.

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