Christ is born: a Spirit-driven conception

20) But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21) “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 1

The Spirit begets and the woman gives birth

We might well ask what is a conception. Human and animal offspring are born dead or seriously deformed often enough to be noticed. What ever is in her is holy; not to be treated with anything less than golden gloves. It is certainly not yet born. We may have fallen victim to the Greek use of gennao to refer to both the beginning of human life In the womb and the entry of that life into the world; I beget, I give birth. You see the essential gender split in matters of procreation! The thing begotten in her from the Spirit is holy “…τὸ γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθὲν ἐκ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἁγίου·” (Matthew 1:20, MorphGNT).

Spiritual salvation begins with saving people from their sins

The conception, the begotten holy one, is called a child, named and destined to be the one who saves his people from their sins. On a practical level, the babe in the womb was once in someone’s loins, to follow the human analogy, but the child may only be regarded as begotten. If Joseph was the genetic father he can be said to have begotten the child at conception. The people of Judea had not seen anything like a permanent solution to sin. They had a dramatization of paying for their sins with animals at the tabernacle with a wholesale dumping of all sin once a year and repeating the process year after year. There was neither heart nor Spirit to help the people out of condemnation.

The Spirit’s intention is apparent

Throughout the pregnancy the unborn is treasured as life or soul, nephesh (נפש) or psuche (ψυχη). The whole narrative is taken over by the Spirit. Joseph receives instructions from one of God’s messengers to (a) marry Mary (b) to name the child SALVATION and ( c) he receives a precise explanation of the name. For the Christ-child, conception is packaged by the Spirit’s sovereignty, his birth barely scratches the surface of his destiny, and saving his people will come thirty-three years later.

Lived, led by the Spirit to die to give life

The Christ child was definitely uniquely begotten, born like any other, lived and advanced like any other, but dying like no other. The promise of light breaking into human darkness comes with this baby and his connection to the Spirit of God.

There may be a dozen myths about the birth of Christ, his mother’s conception, and the meaning of his salvation, but the birth narrative is most magical and yet wholly unrelated to the tinsel, jingle, bells and smells of Christmas. And to think that the other dimension of the Matthew Nativity narrative shakes everything to its core, because the Holy thing entering the world brings God to humanity. He will die and rise from the dead and send the Holy Spirit to be permanently in the believers as Helper.