“Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”— Matthew 1:18
“The angel said to Mary: ‘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 holy; he will be called the Son of God.”— Luke 1:35
December 21, 2022
Many people have said that the miracle of the Virgin Birth of Jesus is one of the most challenging miracles for them to believe. Some theologians have said that the Virgin Birth story is not an actual historical event but is a story created by the early church to support their belief that Jesus is the Son of God. Other Christian theologians maintain that the miracle of the Virgin Birth of Jesus is an actual historical event which occurred in a unique time and place to Mary the mother of Jesus by the miraculous power of God.
The basic question is this: Do we believe that the God who created the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars, the countless galaxies, the earth, human beings and all the living creatures in the world, also has the power to create a child through a virgin birth? Furthermore, do we believe that this powerful God could use Jesus to perform miracles like healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, restoring hearing to the deaf, casting out demons, walking on water and raising Jesus from death to life after he had been crucified, died and was buried? Would a follower of Jesus ever say that our powerful, loving God could not perform any of these miracles?
When Mary questioned how she could become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit, the angel Gabriel said to her, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” (Luke 1:37)
Personally, I have experienced so many miraculous, logic-defying events in my life that at the core of my being I know “with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
I believe God chose to send our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into the world through a miraculous birth to set the stage for all the other miracles God would work through Jesus, so that we might believe that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
At Christmas, thank God for the miraculous way Jesus arrived in this world, but also for all the miracles God did through Jesus in his life here on earth and continues to do through the Holy Spirit today.
Merry Christmas!
Dr. Kent Millard
President
United Theological Seminary