Virgin Teen Shocks Fiancé With Pregnancy
Is this Jesus Stuff For Real?
There are few moments in life more difficult to cope with than having the woman you are engaged to say, “I’m pregnant,” and you’re not the father. Mary’s fiance, Joseph, was devastated and even more exasperated when he asked who the father was. Like most men, I suppose Joseph wanted to have a few words with the guy who knocked up his bride-to-be, but Mary stuck to her story, “God did this.”
The story of an unmarried virgin girl being visited by God’s Spirit and miraculously impregnated with the supernatural DNA of God is just an impossible tale to believe. Even her fiance, Joseph, refused to buy into the tale and determined to end their relationship while avoiding any additional disgrace to Mary.
Here is the Biblical account of Mary’s conception that contains the narrative she shared with Joseph:
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:30-38)
After hearing the tale Joseph had to be beside himself as all his plans for love and marriage crumbled under the weight of this impossible fantasy. We can imagine Joseph saying to God, “I am a righteous godly man, I’ve been faithful to follow your laws. Why is this happening to me? I thought she was a decent church girl and she’s playing me for a fool! I’m done with her.”
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, f because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)
The conception and birth of Jesus had to happen the way it did for the following reasons.
He Understands Us
When we look past the miracle of conception we discover why God chose to embody himself in human flesh and enter the world just as we did. As a man, God walked among us in the man Jesus Christ. In doing so he possesses the personal experience to identify with us in every way. All that we face in this life he faced too. Love, peace, joy, pain, suffering, and all that we go through on our quest for happiness, he experienced. You may say to yourself, “Nobody gets me, nobody understands what I am going through,” and in the natural human sense, you could be right. However, Jesus knows and feels what you are feeling and is qualified to say, “I know how you feel. I lived it too!”
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet he did not sin. (Hebrews 4:15
To think that God would humble himself and become a mere human is beyond words. He became like us so we could become like Him. He did this because of his great love for us.
He Came As A Man To Save Us
Jesus came to rescue us from ourselves and our sins. To truly know and experience just how great God’s love is we must be honest with ourselves. We are all messed up, goofed up, and live with unresolved issues. These flaws and failings produce what is called sin. Yes, we are all sinners and fall short daily. On our own, we are not capable of escaping sin and sin’s consequences. So a sinless God leaves his throne and becomes a man and takes upon himself the full punishment for all of our sins by taking our place on the cross. Jesus, God in the flesh, suffered the harsh penalty for all of our sins that he might restore us to himself. As the Bible says:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)
We are all powerless, that is, insufficient in strength, too weak, to save ourselves from ourselves and our life of sin. Sin and darkness dominate our lives, and without Christ, the chains of sin cannot be broken. So God took upon himself our human form by placing his DNA in Mary and becoming like us, to rescue us from the consequences of our sinful lives. The righteous wrath of God was completely satisfied when Christ took upon himself our death sentence. A righteous God suffering and dying for rebellious sinners. His body and blood became the substitutionary payment to satisfy all the sins of the world. We were guilty and Jesus stepped up and took our punishment.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The supernatural manner and conception of Jesus brought about by God were absolutely necessary for the redemption of the human race. In no other way could God truly demonstrate his love for us than by becoming one of us and taking on the life form he created.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we a have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
He Came To Give Us Life Everlasting
One day death will come knocking on the door of our human life. When it does there will be one of two outcomes. Either we will spend eternity in the presence of our Creator and Lord who rescued us from our lives of sin, or we will face an irreversible eternal separation from God.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
How can we simply pass by him and go in another direction? How could he give his life for you and me and we don’t care?
How to Turn to God
Perhaps at this very moment, you have realized that you need the Lord in your life. Maybe you drifted away or need to be been born again? If so, you can stop right now and begin talking to God. Ask Him to forgive you for being a sinner and the life you have been living outside of His love. Surrender your life to Him, unconditionally. Call Him Lord and make Him Lord of every thought, attitude, and action. You can say, Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins, and come into my heart, and take full control of my life. I am your child from this day forward. Change my heart and mind to be Christ-like in every way. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior forever.
