The Sovereignty of God in Christmas (3)

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. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 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. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1.18-23

Bogus sovereigns
In our time certain scientists, moralists, pundits, and politicians want us to believe that human beings are sovereign over the creation of life. A pregnant woman, for example, has sovereign authority to determine whether or not that creature in her womb should be allowed to live. Barren parents should be able to shop the local sperm bank to find a suitable donor for the child they have been unable to conceive. Cloning, test tubes, and petri dishes ought not be ruled out as means for creating new life. And “designer children” might one day be as normal as designer software for your computer.

Life, we are told, is ours for the making.

But the message of Christmas reminds us that all such hubris by the bogus sovereigns of our secular age comes under the judgment of the one true Life-Giver, the King of Conception and Lord of Life.

Zechariah and Elizabeth
God is the Giver of life. He is sovereign over the womb. He withholds the gift of life as He pleases, but He is able to grant it even when it seems least likely to occur. This, at least, is the witness of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist.

The story is familiar (Luke 1) so I will only rehearse an outline here. God promises to visit the elderly couple and give them a child, even though years of trying to conceive have not produced a single offspring. Zechariah, upon hearing the news, wants proof. He cannot accept the Word of God for the glorious promise and blessing it is. He wants the angel’s message to be authenticated by some method or means agreeable to his ability to sort it all out.

For his doubt he is struck dumb for a season, until the “proof” he seeks comes to fruition, according to the Word of God, from the God-blessed womb of Zechariah’s faithful wife.

This situation recalls the ancient stories of Abraham and Isaac, and their struggles to trust the Lord to fulfill His promises, in spite of the barrenness of Sarah and Rebekah. The birth of John to Zechariah and Elizabeth would certainly have brought these two stories from Israel’s ancient past to mind, to rekindle hope that God was once again beginning to work among His people to bring life to a nation trapped in the barren womb of Roman oppression. It’s no wonder all the people who heard about this situation wondered at what God might be planning to do with this miraculous child (Lk. 1.66).

Mary
Similarly, God showed His sovereignty over conception and life by granting a Child in the womb to Mary, without the benefit of human conception. It’s interesting to compare Mary’s response to the angel’s announcement to that of Zechariah. Whereas he wanted proof, and did not believe, Mary believed, but only wondered how in the world such a thing could be.

We still cannot explain the conception of Jesus in the womb of this faithful virgin. We only know that God’s Holy Spirit brought divine life into the womb of this daughter of Abraham and David, thus beginning the miracle of the Incarnation and advancing the work of redemption toward its climax. If we insist on understanding this event according to the tenets of science and reason, then we presume to know as God knows about all such matters, and we’re no better off than the bogus sovereigns of our secular age – or than faithless Zechariah.

Christmas reminds us that God is the King of Conception and the Lord of Life. The terms of life and the ways unto it are in His hands, and while modern technologies may be of value in furthering the Lord’s purposes for life, they must not be used in ways that overstep the bounds of human dignity and uniqueness through methods, protocols, or “privileges” that cheapen life or throw it away as a matter of mere convenience or personal preference.

Next steps: How many ways can the conception or birth of a child lead us to praise God for His sovereign grace and goodness? Talk with your children about this question.

T. M. Moore

We’re taking a 3-week intermission from our series on The Disciplined Life to review three archive series on the meaning of Christmas. This week’s study, The Sovereignty of God in Christmas, is part 3 of a 3-part series on Christmas, As Advertised, and is available as a free download.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.