“And the angel said to her, Do not fear, Mariam, for you have found favor from God. And behold! You will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus. This One will be great and will be called 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 of His kingdom there will be no end. But Mariam said to the angel, How will this be since I do not know a man? And answering, the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for this reason that Holy One being born of you will be called Son of God.” Luke 1:30-35
Who is Jesus? The announcement of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary leaves no doubt. Jesus is Jehovah God in the flesh! He is the “Son of the Most High” and also the promised Son of David who would rule over God’s people forever and ever (2 Sam. 7:1ff.). How could this be? The Holy Spirit caused Mary, a virgin, to conceive; and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. It is in this way and for this reason that Holy Child born to her would be called Son of God. Jesus is Emmanuel (God with us) and Jehovah our Savior, as His name itself tells us.
It is as Isaiah prophesied some seven hundred years before Christ: “Behold! The virgin will conceive and will bring forth a son; and she shall call His name Immanuel” (7:14); and, “For a Child is born; to us a Son is given; and the government is on His shoulder; and His name is called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. There is no end to the increase of His government and of peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it, and to sustain it with justice and with righteousness, from now and forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this” (9:6-7).
In the Person of Jesus, and by means of the virgin birth, Jehovah God Himself took on human flesh and blood and became true man and lived among us that He might fulfill the righteous demands of God’s law in our stead and then bear upon the cross the full punishment for our sins and the the sins of the whole world. This Jesus did. And because He is the very Son of God, His innocent sufferings and death are accepted of God the Father as a full atonement for the sins of the all. Jesus’ resurrection is proof (cf. Romans 1:3-4; 4:25).
What a miracle for a virgin to conceive and bear a Son! And, what a miracle of grace for God Himself to become true man and go to the cross to redeem you and me!
O gracious Father, we thank You for so loving the world that You sent Your only begotten Son to be born a true man of the Virgin Mary, that He might redeem us from sin and death and grant us life everlasting. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.