by Rick Combs
Richard Jordan of Grace Impact sited the importance of embracing the real miracle of Christmas during this season in the Fall 2023 issue of The Grace Journal. That miracle is the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb.
Scholars have sheepishly admitted that December 25 is probably not the actual birth of the Lord Jesus. Instead, it was most likely in late September. However, the conception of Jesus is the event around December 25 that warrants our sincere attention. Luke chapter 1 records the historic events of this miraculous conception and birth.
Luke 1:34-35 “Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 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.”
Two important things should be observed. 1 – verse 34 tells us that her conception was not of human origin. Mary had never known a man. 2 – her conception was supernatural from God Himself.
The word “overshadow” carries the meaning to envelop in a haze of brilliance. The Holy Spirit exerted creative energy upon the womb of the virgin Mary and impregnated her. It is obvious though not specific in the scriptures that sperm was the creative miracle that impregnated Mary. Blood comes from sperm. Therefore, it was the very blood of God that ran through Jesus’ veins and was spilled for the remission of the sin of the world.
The conception tells us that God Himself stepped into time and the Son of God is the God who enters into the events of human history. He enters into the events of our lives. It is all done through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The central truth and the real miracle of the incarnation is the conception which took place around December 25. That is the very moment when God is with us – Emmanuel! Jesus became one of us, yet fully God as well.
At this time of the year, we give thanks for the genuinely stupendous miracle which is a foundation stone of the Christian faith. This is the moment when “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – 1 Timothy 1:15.
God came down “in the likeness of sinful flesh” – Romans 8:3.
“God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” – 2 Corinthians 5:19.
Jesus Christ is THE unique person of the universe. He is the manifest person of the Godhead. He is the “one mediator between God and man” – the bridge between God and men, between heaven and earth, and between, our fallen state and our holy state upon faith.
Forever, Jesus Christ is God with us – Emmanuel! Today, God is on the earth through the Body of Christ.
Amen