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 (Luke 1:35 KJV)
Jesus is God in the form of a human being—He was fully God and fully human. Like every human being, He went through three phases through which a new human life is brought forth into the world: conception, pregnancy, and delivery. Of these three, the conception was supernatural, while His pregnancy and birth were natural.
Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit, as the angel announced in Luke 1:35. We traditionally called this the incarnation. Before the incarnation, Jesus existed as God; but He then permanently took up the nature of human beings and was conceived as an embryo in Mary’s womb. His conception was wholly supernatural, without any human agency, so that He would be sinless.
After the incarnation, Jesus had to grow up as a baby in Mary’s womb for nine months, just as any other human being. Scripture does not tell us there was anything supernatural about the time Mary was pregnant with Jesus. It was a normal pregnancy, where the mother’s body nourished and protected the baby.
Similar to the pregnancy, the birth of Jesus was as natural as any other human delivery. Angels did not supernaturally deliver Mary’s baby. Instead, Mary went through the three known stages of human labor and gave birth to her son Jesus.
Therefore through the supernatural conception, Jesus became a human being without the stain of human sin. Still, His normal pregnancy and birth made Him as human as any other human being here on earth!
Meditate
Did the incarnation take place on Christmas Day?
Apply the Word
Our Savior is fully God and fully human. When He took His first human breath, He also cried—that beautiful first cry— as every other human being. The sound of that cry continues to echo over the ages that God has permanently become a human being to dwell and live amongst us! Celebrate the Savior!
Pray
Thank the Lord for the blessing of Christmas.
