18 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. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:18-19 (NASB)

Virgin birth

One of the most amazing miracles in the Bible is the virgin birth of Jesus, the Messiah, whom we have just been introduced to by Matthew. It’s certainly a miracle since, though getting pregnant and giving birth are amazing, it happens all the time. No one can be born without the coming together of man and woman, sperm and egg. 

Jesus is different. Mary and Joseph were betrothed (engaged) to be married but had not consummated the marriage with sexual intercourse. Yet Mary was with child; she was pregnant! “The doctrine of the virgin birth teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. That is, when Mary conceived Jesus, she had never had sexual intercourse. Jesus’ birth, therefore, was truly miraculous.” (gotquestions.org)

How?

Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit. This was prophesied hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah 7:14b (ESV) “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” How exactly this happened is part of the miracle – the mystery. We only know Luke 1:35 (ESV) tells us. In response to Mary asking how she could have a child,  “And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’”

Why?

Why did Jesus have to be born of man but born of God? If He was born of man, in the normal way, He would have inherited the original sin from Adam which would disqualify Him from bearing the sin of anyone else but Himself. He had to be sinless – not just in life but in birth.

Just Joseph

We don’t know much about Joseph but we do know his lineage and that he was a just man. He did not want to subject Mary to embarrassment and a life of singleness (and possible stoning). So he sought to “break up” quietly. I think we could add kind and loving to his list of positive character qualities.

RЯeflection

• When God wants to accomplish His will, He can choose whatever method. He could simply answer a prayer with knowledge not previously known. Or, as here, He can do the impossible, a miracle. Are you in a situation where you need God to work? It’s a good place to be actually. Call out. Listen to His voice. Be willing to repent. Be willing to accept and do His will.
• Joseph could have been quite upset about this but he chose a just and gentle way to address this. I know I can learn from his example. Love is patient, love is kind. (1 Cor 13:4)