“For the next 14 days, I will be sharing our 2015 Advent Devotional, written by Diana Barker. Today's entry starts with this verse: "This how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit”. Matthew 1:18
The verse says, “Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph.” In a Jewish marriage the two families need to agree to the union; make a public announcement; the couple become pledged (engaged); the relationship broken only by death or divorce; couple is married; then live together. It states Mary was with child “through the Holy Spirit.”
It was very important that this child be born from a woman as a human being. As the Son of God, Jesus would be free from any trace of sin passed on to all humans by Adam. This incarnation is defined in dictionaries as: the union of divine and human nature in Jesus Christ conceived of as the Son of God. Matthew 1:21 explains, “’She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’”
The incarnation of Jesus Christ is told in John 1:1-14. John wrote this Gospel to tell us the truth and build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ as our eternal destiny. God voluntarily became man, a wholly human person, Jesus of Nazareth. John 1:1-3 states, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” In Hebrew thought, “the Word” was another expression for God.
John knew Jesus personally as a human being, but also realized he was the Creator of the universe, the revelation of God, and the living being of God’s holiness. Colossians 1:15-17 further tells the incarnation of Jesus. “He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Paul wrote in Philippians 2: 6, 7, “Who, being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” In his humanity, Jesus was unique because he was free from sin. Jesus did not cease being God to become human but limited his power and knowledge in submission to the Father’s will. In I Timothy 3:16, the incarnation of Jesus is also referenced. “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body.” Through Jesus, a human being, we learn how to become godly and to be right with God.
Hebrews 2:14 also illustrates the human quality of Jesus Christ. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity.”
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