By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Samford University
WHEN YOUR UNDERSTANDING FALLS SHORT
Luke 1:26–38
Because the Bible is God’s Word, we naturally approach it quite differently than we do other books. When we read the Scriptures, we read them with a respectful attitude and a ready ear to hear what God would have us believe or do. Sometimes, though, our great respect for the Bible can cause us to read the Scriptures in such a spiritual way that we become blind to the practical issues certain stories raise.
The accounts of Jesus’ virgin birth certainly fall into this category. When we read the accounts of Jesus’ conception and birth in Matthew and Luke, our minds drift toward “spiritual” thoughts about Mary’s purity, whether the virgin birth took place to ensure that Jesus did not inherit a sin nature from Joseph and so on and so forth. What we miss when we read the text this way is a host of very practical considerations that attended Jesus’ birth. Did Mary and Joseph actually tell any of their friends and relatives in Nazareth about the virgin birth? Would anyone have believed them if they did? Does the subtle dig at Jesus in Mark 6:3 reveal the people’s skepticism about how Jesus was conceived? Did Joseph drag Mary along on the journey to Bethlehem because he was worried about what might happen to her if she, an unmarried pregnant woman, were left alone in Nazareth? Were Mary and Joseph treated so inhospitably in Bethlehem (2:6–7) because even there questions were being raised about how Mary got pregnant? However beautiful Jesus’ virgin birth might be from a spiritual standpoint, it raised a host of complications on a practical level.
God’s presence opens up unexpected possibilities. (26–30)
Perhaps because the manner of Jesus’ conception would be so problematic, God chose to alert both Joseph (in Matthew’s account) and Mary (in Luke) to the events that would shortly follow. For Mary, it was the angel Gabriel who would deliver the news. While Mary was still in Nazareth anticipating her marriage to her betrothed, Gabriel appeared to her and greeted her with words of blessing. As was the case with most biblical characters, Mary responded to this angelic appearance with genuine fright.
God’s plans are not hampered by our lack of understanding. (31–34)
Gabriel had not arrived to bring words of judgment, however. Instead, he revealed to Mary that she would soon stand at the center of the greatest of all spiritual dramas, the birth of Israel’s Messiah. There was just one problem, however. Mary was still a virgin. How could she give birth to a son — however great he might turn out to be — if she had never done the one thing that was required for pregnancy?
God’s power can do great things through us. (35–38)
Gabriel’s response to Mary’s quite legitimate question must have been difficult to understand and nearly impossible to believe. Mary would become pregnant with the Messiah in an unprecedented fashion. The Holy Spirit would overshadow Mary and cause her to become pregnant — without the participation of her soon-to-be husband, Joseph. This was an outlandish explanation, one that no one could believe. And yet, Mary did believe. In one of the great examples of faith in the Scriptures, Mary replied, “See, I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said.” In direct contrivance to everything she had ever experienced before, Mary chose trust over sight and went on to become the very mother of the Messiah.
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