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by Logan Ames

In this day and age, we all know that being a parent is a lot more than physically creating a child. That being said, even today it is still of paramount importance to know who a person’s BIOLOGICAL parents are. In my previous job as a social worker/investigator for cases of child abuse and neglect, this information was especially necessary if a child had to be removed from a home or if permissions and rights for decisions regarding the child had to be sorted out. While adults made decisions about their relationships regardless of how it affected any children involved, the law and the courts still favored the biological parents and their rights. Knowing the child’s blood line made all the difference.

We may not realize it as Christians, but the exact same thing can also be said about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This week’s root of our faith from the Apostles’ Creed is “who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary." What you have right there are the two biological parents of Jesus. Yes, I know it’s a stretch to say that because the Holy Spirit is God and God is beyond any concept of biology and, in fact, is the One who created biology. But bear with me for the rest of this post because I intend to show you why it is critical to us and to our faith that Jesus was conceived and born as he was.

The details are found in Luke 1:26-38. The young woman, Mary, is visited by the angel Gabriel, who proceeds to tell her she will conceive and give birth to a son, who will be called “Jesus." She is then told her child won’t simply make the honor roll or get a college scholarship, but will actually be called “the Son of the Most High." He will be given the throne of his father (aka “ancestor”) David and will reign forever. Mary doesn’t say, “No way," or “That’s impossible," or “You’re out of your mind”; she simply asks how it will happen since she is a virgin. Do we understand that it’s okay to ask questions of God and his servants? There is a striking difference between skeptical unbelief and faith that asks questions. We ought to remember this when we are faced with long odds or when we are certain God has asked us to do something difficult or seemingly impossible.

The angel is clearly not offended by her question and answers it in verse 35. He tells her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." We’ve heard Jesus referred to as “Son of God” and “Son of Man." Well, it stands to reason that he would have one “parent” in each category. Mary is told that she will be “overshadowed," which has a root meaning she will be “covered with a cloud." Jews were well aware of the miracle-working power of the Holy Spirit in the form of a cloud from their ancient history. Probably the most well-known of such stories is when God appeared in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire for an entire night to separate the Israelites from their Egyptian enemies when they camped near the coast of the Red Sea in Exodus 13:21, and then right before they crossed the sea in Exodus 14:19-20. So, that means that when Mary hears the angel tell her what the Holy Spirit is going to do, she knows that the same power that blocked their enemies from attacking them during the exodus is the one that will work the miracle of a virgin birth in her life. She certainly had reason to trust and believe!

We can learn a lot from Mary about asking questions, believing, and trusting, but that still doesn’t really answer the WHY for us. It actually goes back to some Old Testament prophecies and reminds us of how far our God will go to make sure that his promises are not broken and his plan is not thwarted.

Israel was waiting for the Messiah that was promised throughout the Old Testament. While they didn’t know exactly who it would be, they did know some of the conditions surrounding this person. In Jeremiah 36:30, we learn that the Messiah will not be from the bloodline of a man named Jehoiakim, who was a wicked king of Judah who burned the scroll of God’s Word because he didn’t like what it said. Part of his punishment was the curse of his bloodline and the declaration that none of his biological descendants would ever sit on the throne of David. Jeremiah 22:24 tells us that one of his sons is Jehoiachin, who is also called “Koniah” or “Jeconiah." This presents a problem for us because in Matthew 1:11, Jeconiah (aka “Jehoiachin”) is listed in the genealogy of Jesus! It appears that maybe God is contradicting his own word, that is until we look at Matthew 1:16 which clearly says, “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the HUSBAND of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah." God made sure that the Messiah was only connected to that line by marriage and not by blood. Joseph was the one biologically connected to Jehoiakim and thus the cursed bloodline. Had Jesus been born to Joseph biologically, he too would have been cursed and unable to be the Messiah!

Do you see how Satan tried to thwart God’s plan for the Messiah? This was just one of many attempts by Satan throughout history, but God always makes a way. The story here makes one wonder why God would put an earthly father in the picture at all in Jesus’ life. Well, Jesus was to be recognized as “King of the Jews," and the throne was something that could only be passed down through generations from father to son. Joseph inherited the kingdom from his father who inherited from his father and so on. So, for Jesus to receive the inherited throne (but still not be in the bloodline of Jehoiakim), someone like Joseph was needed.

But wait, there’s more. In addition to the curse of Jehoiakim, God also made a promise to David regarding Israel’s future Messiah and his own throne. In 2 Samuel 7:12-13, God tells him that someone from his “own flesh and blood” will succeed him and the throne of his kingdom will be established “forever." David’s immediate successor was his son, Solomon, but the throne lasts forever only in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. So, while the issue of the curse of Jehoiakim was resolved by making sure Joseph did not biologically create Jesus, the promise to David created a separate issue because a BIOLOGICAL descendant of David was still necessary in the birth of Jesus. This looks like another conundrum or possible contradiction until we look at Luke 3:31 to see that David had a son named “Nathan." While Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus is traced through David’s son Solomon and includes the cursed Jeconiah, Luke’s genealogy of Jesus is traced through Nathan, who scholars as far back as John of Damascus have said is a biological ancestor of… you guessed it… MARY!

As you digest all of this information, think about how serious God is about keeping his promises, both the promises of blessing and the promises of cursing when someone has not repented. Just when Satan likely thought he had finally stopped God’s plan for the Messiah, God already had a plan to work it all out, a plan that included conception by the Holy Spirit so that the curse of Jehoiakim was bypassed, a stepfather who could pass the throne to Jesus by inheritance, and a mother who was biologically descended from David so that prophecy was fulfilled. If nothing else, this should remind us that God is never put in a position where he says, “My bad, I just never saw that coming and now I’m not sure what you can do so you’re probably doomed." If God has caused or allowed something into your life that you weren’t expecting and seems like it is contradicting his own word, remember that he is always in control and you can rest assured that his plan is still in the works. It’s a matter of faith for us, but a matter of certainty for the God who never has and never will lie to you.

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