"Believe it Or Not..."

 

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” (1:18)

Firstly, the birth of Jesus as the messiah, through male ancestors, perfectly fits the prophetic expectation that he would come from Judah's tribe and king David's lineage.  No surprises there.  Secondly, Matthew's twist is unexpected when he points out that the female ancestors were not only of non-Jewish background but mere mention of their names  remind us of their sexual misconduct. It's a big surprise there!  Thirdly, Jesus' birth narration climaxes with the most unique, unexpected and outrageous moment.  The narration breaks away from male 'begets' and as a matter of factly states 'Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit.'  

So, let's make sense of this, Jesus did not have an earthly, biological father.  Rather, His father was Holy Spirit.  So if you are not shocked by matriarchal aspect of Jesus' genealogy, you cannot stay indifferent to the claim that His birth was outrageously unusual.  On one hand, it was perfectly natural - He had Mary as a biological mother.  On the other hand, His birth was perfectly unnatural, or more precisely it was supernatural.  This is what the profundity of theology is made of. The claim is this: Jesus is fully human and Jesus is fully divine. Is this too much to take in if you are reading this for the first time?  It probably is.  For the rest of us, the danger is that we are too familiar with it.  

So, let's pause here.  If you are to give the whole story, seemingly the outrageous one, the benefit of a doubt, wouldn't you expect that the life of Jesus would be the most unique, unusual and the most amazing of all.  You would expect that His humanity would reflect that which is the best about us humans.  His divinity would surprise us over and over again and draw from within us awe and worship.  You would also expect His life story to be true and the most pivotal in human history.  And guess what?  The both is true.  The story of Jesus is historical narration of real person called Jesus/Yeshua of whom not only his followers testify but the testimony of both Jewish and Roman historian collaborate it.  Also, His story and His life was the most pivotal of all human history.