Pregnant—by the Holy Spirit
Daily Scripture
Matthew 1:18
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. When Mary his mother was engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
One notable aspect of Matthew’s report of what led to Jesus’ birth is how matter-of-fact verse 18 was. There were other “Biblical accounts of God empowering supernatural births in the OT (Genesis 21:1– 2; 25:21; 30:22; Judges 13:3). Even among miraculous births, however, God does something new: Jesus is born not merely from someone previously unable to bear, but from a virgin.” * There was no reason for Matthew to describe such a unique event so briefly except that he believed it.
- Matthew seems to have chosen his language with great care. “Matthew’s wording doesn’t refer to the Spirit’s taking the role of a male in a sexual encounter. Instead, Matthew refers to the unexplainable exercise of God’s creative power. Clearly, Joseph isn’t Jesus’ biological father (see Matthew 1:25).” ** You may choose not to believe in God at all. But if you believe God created all that exists, and that Jesus died and rose again, why would you find this story difficult to believe?
- Some skeptics say, “So what? The Greeks had myths about gods getting women pregnant.” But those were very different from Matthew’s account. “In the Greek stories, the gods are many, are immoral, and impregnate women who are thus not virgins.” *** Does the uniqueness of Matthew’s simple, straightforward account make it easier or harder for you to trust it?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, the story of your conception is mysterious, as are other parts of your life. I see that as showing that, as God, you are vastly different from a mere mortal like me, and I should expect the unexplainable from you. Amen.
GPS Insights
Katy Nall
Katy Nall serves as the Program Director of Missions for Resurrection West. She is a mom of two and loves to be outside in the sunshine, especially if it involves mountains or ocean. She loves hiking, reading, learning, and connecting.
Mary’s pregnancy challenges us to embrace the miraculous and the profound humility of God. Think about it–God’s first interaction with humans when he came to Earth was not to perform miracles and wonders, or to rule, not even to teach. God’s first interaction with human beings was simply to be loved by a mother and a father. The God who spoke the universe into being, decided to step into our world as a defenseless child who would be solely dependent on the love and care of human beings. Why would God do that? To this day, we still struggle to understand. We look around and see the pain, poverty, and corruption in the world and we expect God to show up as a mighty king and rescuer, but instead God chose to come into our world as tiny baby. It is a mystery that shows us the depth of God’s love and willingness to meet us in our most vulnerable places.
God counted on the love of human beings to carry out His mission in the world that would show his unending love for us. He trusted that Mary and Joseph would be loving, good parents. Despite all our flaws and the terrible things we can do to each other, God believes in us, in our love and in our faith, just like he believed in Mary.
In Missions ministry, we see reflections of this love all the time—stories of reconciliation, moments of transformation, and encounters with grace. Teams that come together, families reunited, and the beginnings of healing where only pain seemed possible. These moments remind us, just like Mary’s story, that God is fighting everyday against the suffering in the world through the love of everyday humans. Even though God has the power to calm storms and walk on water, God chooses to count on our love for Him and for others to accomplish His work in the world.
This Advent, let Mary’s pregnancy inspire us to embrace the mystery of God’s humility and love. Let it challenge us to trust in God’s ability to work through our lives, even in the smallest and most unexpected ways. Just as Mary and Joseph were entrusted with the sacred task of raising Jesus, we too are entrusted to carry out God’s mission in the world. Through our acts of love, service, and faith, God’s transformative work continues to shine and all things are possible!
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 8374). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 1:18 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 6 NT.
*** NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 8374). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
