An Improbable Explanation
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God....With God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:34-37.
Mary might have been young and innocent and probably a bit naïve, but she knew the facts of life. And she also realized that babies did not come out of thin air, that it took a man and a woman to conceive one. As a result, her question is quite appropriate: "How can I have a baby? I'm a virgin" (Luke 1:34, TLB); "I am not married" (Phillips); "I've never slept with a man" (Message).
The question was normal enough--an expected response. Gabriel's answer, however, must have blown this young woman clear out of the water: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (verse 35, RSV). Here we have an explanation that is unique and incomprehensible. It is a part of the incarnation. By this time Mary's head must have been whirling with all kinds of powerful emotions. But the plain fact of the situation is that the child would be fathered by God the Holy Spirit. Here we have a mystery that we can't even begin to understand. The Bible doesn't seek to explain it but merely states it as fact.
The child that will be born of that improbable union is called "that holy thing," "holy child" (NASB), "holy" (RSV). The basic idea under the word "holy (hagios) is "separate" or "different." That which is holy is separated from the sinful ways of the world and set apart for God and dedicated to Him. All other human beings might become holy in their second birth when they accept Christianity (John 3:3, 5), but Jesus was born that way in His natural birth. He entered the world in a born-again state. Thus He had a desire for goodness from His birth onward.
We hear a great deal of discussion in some circles about the human nature of Christ. It is difficult to follow all of the arguments. But the Bible right up front in the gospel story tells us that Jesus was different in that He was born holy. No one said that about me (or you) at my birth. But then I was not born of a virgin with the Holy Spirit as my father. If I had been, then, and only then, would I be just like Jesus. He was born holy, while I was born under the effect of Adam's sin (Rom. 5:12).
Father, as we meditate upon the mystery of the Incarnation, help us to grasp more of the majesty and the wonder of it all.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God....With God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:34-37.
Mary might have been young and innocent and probably a bit naïve, but she knew the facts of life. And she also realized that babies did not come out of thin air, that it took a man and a woman to conceive one. As a result, her question is quite appropriate: "How can I have a baby? I'm a virgin" (Luke 1:34, TLB); "I am not married" (Phillips); "I've never slept with a man" (Message).
The question was normal enough--an expected response. Gabriel's answer, however, must have blown this young woman clear out of the water: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (verse 35, RSV). Here we have an explanation that is unique and incomprehensible. It is a part of the incarnation. By this time Mary's head must have been whirling with all kinds of powerful emotions. But the plain fact of the situation is that the child would be fathered by God the Holy Spirit. Here we have a mystery that we can't even begin to understand. The Bible doesn't seek to explain it but merely states it as fact.
The child that will be born of that improbable union is called "that holy thing," "holy child" (NASB), "holy" (RSV). The basic idea under the word "holy (hagios) is "separate" or "different." That which is holy is separated from the sinful ways of the world and set apart for God and dedicated to Him. All other human beings might become holy in their second birth when they accept Christianity (John 3:3, 5), but Jesus was born that way in His natural birth. He entered the world in a born-again state. Thus He had a desire for goodness from His birth onward.
We hear a great deal of discussion in some circles about the human nature of Christ. It is difficult to follow all of the arguments. But the Bible right up front in the gospel story tells us that Jesus was different in that He was born holy. No one said that about me (or you) at my birth. But then I was not born of a virgin with the Holy Spirit as my father. If I had been, then, and only then, would I be just like Jesus. He was born holy, while I was born under the effect of Adam's sin (Rom. 5:12).
Father, as we meditate upon the mystery of the Incarnation, help us to grasp more of the majesty and the wonder of it all.
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