The Birth of Jesus

This blog entry starts off with a few scriptures that tell the story leading up to the birth of Jesus and a little bit after His birth. Then following the scriptures are a few of my thoughts and what I learned.  

"The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 

And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her." (Luke 1:30-35, 38 NASB)

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:18 NASB)

"Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

"BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US." (Matthew 1:22-23 NASB)

(This scripture also found in Isaiah 7:14.)

So as we see Mary was first visited by the angel that told her that she would give birth to Jesus. It makes it clear in each of these scriptures that Mary was a virgin and even she asked how this could be? However, she consented and chose for God's will to be done and the angel departed from her. 

I know there is significance in everything that God does. As I re-read and studied this story (especially over Christmas) I wanted to learn more about the holy significance in God choosing a young virgin to give birth to His Son. 

I came across more scripture (from the Old and New Testament) that helped to answer this question:

"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.'" (Exodus 13:1-2 NASB)

"And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD "),..." (Luke 2:22-23 NASB)

God chose a virgin because it was a fulfillment of the prophesy spoken by The Lord through the prophet and God always comes through with His word. As we see in the previous scriptures God also chose a virgin because God declares that every first born male from man that opens the womb belongs to Him. Jesus was that first born male and first in Mary's womb. Jesus was to be called Holy. God wanted to make it known to all that Jesus was His son. He gave Jesus identity and named Him even before His birth.

And that's how God gives you significance as well. He calls you by name. He knew your name before you were even conceived. He gave you an identity and He calls you His. You are loved.