Son of David and Son of God
Here is why Christmas is a still a miracle.
A little girl who was given an assignment to write an essay on “birth” went home and asked her mother how she had been born. Her mother said, “The stork brought you, darling, and left you on the doorstep.” Continuing her research she asked her dad how he’d been born. Being in the middle of something, her father similarly deflected the question by saying, “I was found in the middle of the garden. The fairies brought me.” Then the girl went and asked her grandmother how she had arrived. “I was picked from a gooseberry bush,” said Grandma. Armed with this information the girl wrote her essay. When the teacher asked her later to read it in front of the class, she stood up and began, “There has not been a natural birth in our family for three generations.”
The virgin birth of Jesus is as unnatural of a birth as you can find, as the very grace of God itself is unnatural. That’s something to contemplate at Christmas time!
When God’s time came for the Savior of all people to be born God sent the angel to a devoted believer named Joseph who was pledged to be married to a devoted believer named Mary. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife (Matthew 1:20).
Joseph, the legal father of Jesus, and Mary, the biological mother of Jesus, were both descendants of David and, therefore, Jesus was born as a human descendant of David. Nothing unnatural about that, at least on the surface. Matthew’s gospel account, however, informs readers that something very bizarre and unnatural was going on, “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).
Joseph and Mary hadn’t yet come together sexually in marriage so Mary couldn’t be pregnant – except, she was! No storks, fairies, or gooseberry bushes either. Mary became miraculously pregnant by the power of God the Holy Spirit so that she, a virgin, would give birth not just to a human being but to a human being who was also God.
That’s unnatural! Virgins don’t give birth! And God is not a person! Except when the grace of God is involved. Because the grace of God is so unnatural.
It’s unnatural for people who sin against God and let him down too much to receive his faithful, forgiving love. It’s unnatural for people who forget about God too often to have God answer a prayer when they suddenly remember they need something. It’s unnatural for people who carelessly go through the motions of everyday Christian behavior or Sunday worship to read that God smiles with delight even at these half empty expressions.
It would be very natural for God to look for fulfillment in other relationships but the gospel says he will never do that. God wants to find his fulfillment in you. If you think that’s unnatural, you’re absolutely right.
It took an unnatural Savior to make unnatural grace real, “who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who as to his spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God” (Romans 1:2).
This dual nature of Jesus promises you that everything you need for being right with God is found in Jesus, the Son of David and the Son of God. As God he can do anything, including a virgin birth and rising from the dead and forgiving sins. As a human being he can experience everything, including pain, loneliness, fear and especially guilt. In the virgin-born Jesus your guilt belongs to God, not to you. Your pain, loneliness, and fear belong to God, not you. Your destiny is in the hands of God, not yours alone.
Unnatural? Of course, that’s why Christmas is a miracle. A miracle promised in a Man named God that finds its real meaning in you.
PRAYER: Dearest Savior, God from eternity and Man from the virgin birth, how far beyond my imagination is the reality of your human and divine natures both existing in one person. But I believe this miracle with all my heart, knowing that I need this miracle to be forgiven and to be fulfilled today. As I celebrate Christmas, keep me mindful of this gift of grace so that, appreciating what you’ve given me, I can graciously give of myself to others. Amen.