Conceived by the Holy Spirit

 

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 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.” (Luke 1:26-35 ESV).

 

I am a big fan of Arthur Conan Doyle, and his books detailing the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. There are other mystery novels I have enjoyed as well, though not many have been as challenging to ferret out the truth as Doyle’s. Perhaps you have the same taste in reading as I do. Many people like mysteries because they are like puzzles that need to be solved. The story of Jesus’ birth is one of the most mysterious events in human history, and some parts of the “puzzle” still remain unknown.

 

With the Apostles’ Creed, we confess that Jesus “was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” This statement summarizes a profound truth about Jesus, our Savior. The Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully human. Jesus, the creator of the universe, was born in the same way each of us was born, from our mother’s womb. But the seed planted in Mary’s womb was not from Joseph, who was pledged to be her husband. The seed in Mary was planted by God the Holy Spirit.

 

Why did Jesus need to be fully God and fully human? The answer is that only a Savior who was both fully God and fully human could heal the breach opened by our rebellion in our sin against God. The how of the virgin birth remains a mystery. Human logic will never solve the puzzle of how the Son of God became fully human. Yet the deeply satisfying truth of this story remains: Jesus, fully God and fully human, solved the problem of our separation from God. Praise be to God!