The Miracle Birth of Christ: God Is Faithful to His Promises

Shared on December 22, 2024

Introduction

God’s great love for you is shown through the birth of His only begotten Son.  No, Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th, but that doesn’t take away that we should rejoice in His birth.  So, let’s take a look at the wonderful story of Jesus’ birth in my commentary of this week’s Sunday School lesson.

Miracle of the Holy Spirit

It is often questioned, how could a virgin give birth to a child?  In fact, Mary asked the same question herself when she spoke to Gabriel (Luke 1:34).  Gabriel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you (Luke 1:35).”  Jesus, the only begotten Son, being born in the flesh was through the working of God, by way of the Spirit, and not any machinations of man.=

Matthew 1:18 is confirmation of the conception of Christ in the womb of Mary being the work of the Holy Spirit.  While Mary was engaged to Joseph, but because she was a woman that lived by the law, she would’ve been saving herself for marriage.  So, with no man being involved, the conception and birth of Christ is a miracle. 

The Importance of Joseph

Joseph, at the time of Jesus’ birth, was Mary’s fiance – she was betrothed to Joseph.  Of course this Joseph shouldn’t be confused with Israel’s second youngest son!  

Now, I don’t know what your thoughts are towards Joseph, but scripture plainly tells us that he was a “just man” (Matt. 1:19).  A “just man” means that Joseph was justified (or upright) in his way because he lived in fellowship with the Lord.  For example, Job is described as a man that was “perfect and upright (or just).”  Job was just because he lived in fellowship with God.

So, does this mean that a just man is flawless and without sin?  Absolutely not.  Many of us are “just children” of the Lord because we live in fellowship with Him.  We certainly aren’t perfect in our way but we are justified.  Why are we justified?  Because we know how to turn to the Lord and seek His mercy and forgiveness.

I say all this because I want it to be understood that Joseph was a good man.  Yes, Joseph tried to put away Mary – dump her – because he believed she was immoral since she was pregnant before they married.  Joseph didn’t act irrationally, as scripture tells us that he thought on the matter.  Joseph concluded that Mary had been living in fornication and disobedience and that he couldn’t be with her.

Now, the angel that spoke to Joseph in Matthew 1:20-21 is not attributed a name.  We’ve seen where Gabriel was named in announcing the birth of Christ to Mary (Luke 1:26-28).  Though a name is not attributed to this angel, the angel does deliver the truth of Mary’s pregnancy to him and the purpose of the child.  Joseph should have, and most likely did, recognize that the angel was talking of Mary giving birth to the Messiah of promise.

So, Joseph, the just man, chose to remain with Mary.  Now, some of you deep thinkers might begin to wonder, why is Joseph needed in this story?  This is a good question because he certainly played no role in Mary conceiving Christ.

Let’s make a note of how the angel addressed Joseph as “Joseph, son of David” (Matt. 1:20).  When we remember the covenant that God made with David, the Messiah was to be of the seed of David (2 Sam. 7:12-16).  What’s really interesting about this is that Mary was also of David’s lineage (Luke 3:23-38).  In that culture, the claim to the throne would have run through the lineage of the man.

“But wait,” you will say, “Jesus wasn’t born through the seed of Joseph.”  No, Jesus wasn’t born through Joseph.  However, Joseph as Mary’s husband, would claim Jesus as his son.  I know, some of you will say to yourself, “loophole”.  

Fulfilling the Prophecy of the Birth of Christ

The miracle of Jesus’ conception runs deeper than just Mary conceiving Christ in her womb and for Joseph to marry her.  You might overlook it but every prophecy of the birth of Christ was fulfilled, which again, shows that God was at work.

For example, Micah prophesied that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2).  It’s not a coincidence that Jesus was born during a season when Caesar Augustus made a decree that the people were to be taxed (Luke 2:1).  Because Caesar Augustus desired for Rome to get more money, it made it so that both Joseph and Mary needed to get back to their hometown – Bethlehem.

In Matthew 1:22-23, Matthew referenced the fulfilling of the prophecy of Isaiah.  In Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah prophesied, “the Lord Himself will give you a sign:  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” 

There are many more prophecies that I can reference, too many in fact, that all went fulfilled.  One of the first prophecies that comes to my mind is found in Genesis 3:15.  The Lord said to the serpent, the devil, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Of course, there are the prophecies in Isaiah that further speaks to Jesus being born through the seed of David, by way of being a branch of Jesse (Is. 11:1-2).  This is a prophecy that spoke to how the Spirit would rest upon Him.  Then, we are all familiar with Isaiah 9:6, which states, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given … His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

I think about the prophecies and I think about Jesus’ lineage.  Jesus has a lineage with people like Ruth and Boaz, we studied about them earlier this year.  The birth of Christ is one that should put a smile on your face because it shows God’s love towards you.  God did not have to give His only begotten Son but He did!  God did so because He loves all of us, unconditionally.

So, we should rejoice at the miracle birth of Christ.  We should celebrate the birth of Christ.  Regardless of when He was born, we should celebrate the fact that He was given to this world.  We should celebrate the fact that God loves us.  I hope you take a moment to celebrate and rejoice that God loves you.