Chosen To Give Birth To Her Own Creator - A Brief Study on Mary and the Birth Of Jesus

* all [bracketed] words in Scripture verses are mine *

Way back at the beginning of human history God had blessed His creation and said, "Be fruitful and fill the earth." (Gen. 1:27-28) It was His wish for the whole earth to be filled with wonderful worshiping people, but before Adam and Eve could ever have their first child, sin entered the picture and they were thrown out of paradise. Yet God is a loving God and gave this promise to Eve so that she might have hope in an ending of sin and death, a hope in a Savior to come.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed [a promise for the sinful couple that there would be a coming Seed or Messiah]; He [Jesus, the Messiah to come] shall bruise your head [He will win and cast Satan into the pit] and you shall bruise His heal [Satan would cause Jesus' crucifixion but it only ends His walk as a human Man on earth]." (Genesis 3:15-16)

So the first parents on earth both knew that there would be Man born from God who would reverse the effects of their mistake by saving the world from sin. It was natural that Eve hoped at the birth of her first children, a set of twins, that one of these two, Cain or Abel would be that promised Seed that would undo her mistake of listening to the snake and sinning against God.

"Now Adam knew [term always referring to sexual intercourse which did not happen up to now] Eve his wife, and she conceived [she conceived once and she bears twice, evidence of twins] and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD. Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel." (Genesis 4:1-2a)

Right away the pattern was set for all godly women to be looking forward to the Messiah. Indeed, this was the mark of the justified woman. All people that looked with faith for the Messiah to come were called "just" by God or in our way of thinking, saved, because of their faith in that coming redeemer. Every Jewish girl secretly hoped to be that maiden that would carry the Seed that would come out from God.

Many generations later, a girl that was in the line of King David and was engaged to a boy in the line of King David, found herself pregnant without ever having been with anyone.

"Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!' But when she saw him she was troubled [confused] at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then 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 bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest [called the Son of God]; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David [will be a King]. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever [King of the Jews] and of His kingdom there will be no end.' Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?' [since I am not having sex to get me pregnant?] And the angel answered her and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One that is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now, indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and now this is the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing is impossible.' [this miracle was to cement in Mary's mind and in the family's minds that this was an act of God, not some freakish accident or other made-up circumstances surrounding Christ's birth] Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be according to your word. [I willingly accept this honor and privilege because I am God's servant]" (Luke 1:26-38)

This acceptance of Mary was not an easy thing. She knew what this might mean. It could mean that her husband-to-be would not love her enough to take her as his wife and she would be alone with what all would call a bastard child. It would mean that all of her life would change because this Child was not an ordinary child come of ordinary circumstances. She would be charged with the task of sharing all she knew with the growing baby. She would point Him to the scrolls where He would learn as any boy does about God and then see Himself "in the volume of the book." Also, Joseph's acceptance would not be easy either. That's why he initially decided to break off the marriage because people would try to make her a public example and call her a whore and more. If she indeed was deemed to have played the harlot she would be stoned. But an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him to not be afraid to marry Mary because what was growing inside her was a thing of God.

"But if the thing is true [that the maiden has played the harlot and lost her virginity before marriage] and the evidences of her virginity are not found for the young woman [the parents would keep the wedding night sheet that had the blood of first time sex from the breaking of her hymen], then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of the city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house. So shall you put away evil from among you." (Deuteronomy 22:20-21)

"Then Joseph her husband, [betrothed] being a just man [a man who looked forward in faith to the Messiah to come] not wanting to make her a pubic example, was minded to put her away secretly [to break off the marriage agreement]. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ' Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.'" (Matthew 1:19-20)

The following poem is written from young Mary's perspective, being the one that was chosen to bear the Son of God.

All my life I wondered, who the chosen one would be

Never in my wildest dreams, did I think that girl was me,

I was but a simple maid, a lowly Jewish girl

I barely knew my place in life, as I looked upon the world,

And I played the same silly games, as all the others did

I closed my eyes and tried to find, my playmates when they hid,

We played like we were mothers, caring for our young

Asking how each one would feel, should they bear the Holy Son,

My cousin Elizabeth and I, would speak of wondrous things

Like I was a child of David, a daughter of Jewish Kings,

And that it was very possible, that I could be the lass

To bear the Holy Son of God, when it finally came to pass,

Though I felt myself unworthy, to be chosen for the role

I loved the Lord with all my heart, and desired it in my soul,

So when came the announcement, that a dowry had been paid

And that I was soon to marry, (though I still felt a simple maid)

That I began to talk to God, in the middle of the night

To speak of insecurities, and of my heart's delight,

I was about to raise the cover, and close my eyes to sleep

When I felt the holy presence, of the angel at my feet,

He said, "Hail Mary, thou art favored, the Lord is with thee now."

And I feared that the greeting meant, evil to me somehow.

He said, "Thou shalt conceive by the Spirit, and bring forth a Son

You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall be the Holy One,"

Then all of Elizabeth's words, came flooding back to me

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord, as you say, so shall it be."

Then I watched as God changed me, and filled me with His life

And Joseph was there with me, and I became his wife,

For the angel had come to Joseph, and said it was okay

For us to be together, and we were from that very day,

I barely remember the trip, to Bethlehem we took

I remember how the burrow I rode, underneath me shook,

And I remember that at the inn, there wasn't any room

And how Joseph laughed and called me, his "flower in full bloom",

Do you know we ended up, 'twixt cows and "baa-ing" sheep?

I was so very thankful for the soft hay, on which to sleep,

But the young one didn't, let me sleep for very long

The contractions in my belly, became so very strong,

After my precious husband, lay my child upon my breast

The baby began to suckle, as I took my needed rest,

I awoke to find Him in my husband's arms

As he held our precious baby, protecting Him from harm,

I watched them for a long time, and smiled at the sight

As all the pain and trouble, vanished in the night,

Then my husband noticed, my eyes were open wide

And he carried little Jesus, over to my side,

I saw His little fingers, and the toes upon His feet

Black curly hair upon His brow, rested there so sweet,

This precious little baby, contained the life of God

The thought that dawned upon me, filled me with such awe,

Now as my little baby, His life as Man begins

But I knew my Son had come to earth, to die for all my sins

Lord thank you for my Savior, born to me this day

This precious little life, that on my breast doth lay,

Is the God that made the heavens, and the stars that shine at night

In this, my little baby, that will set the world aright,

I could not dwell upon it, with my mind I truly fought

The concept was so awesome, I could not hold the thought,

So I smiled at my husband, and he smiled back at me

And we basked in the glow, of our loving family.

Mary was just a simple godly young girl upon whom the responsibility was lain to raise her child that would become the Christ of God, slain for our sins. It indeed would be a thought too awesome to contemplate seeing the newborn suckling at her breast and needing all that a baby needs, and at the same time knowing that the one born King of the Jews and Messiah to the world was (at the same time) Creator of all, God in human flesh.

Every person since this event has faced the question: What have you done with Jesus? Have you considered this Man, come to die for your sins? Have you even considered that you are a sinner, that He loved you so that you would not have to die in your sins, but could have your sins paid for by His blood? Mary, born a sinner, and Joseph, her husband, had to also come to grips with who this man was, not only their child but their Savior. Every Christmas we see somewhere the story of Christ's coming into the world. We feel the effects of the Messiah that bled and died on Calvary's cross. So, if you have not considered it, what have you done with Jesus?

If you have realized that you are a sinner incapable of going to heaven because of the sin you bear, you can ask Jesus into your life right now. Do you believe that born to Mary was a baby, God in human flesh, the "express image of God?" Do you believe He grew and was killed by being nailed on a rugged cross for you and for me? that He was buried and rose again? If so, you can cry out to God to save you. Pray this:

Dear Lord Jesus, I believe the Christmas story but I also believe the reason You came was to die for my sin. I believe that after they nailed You to the cross, they buried You, and in three days You rose from the dead. I know that I am a sinner and I ask You to forgive me and save me. I turn from my life of sin and turn to You, Jesus, as the only way of salvation. Thank You for hearing me and saving me. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen