GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 1:27
27 to a virgin of the house of David, pledged to be married to a man named Joseph. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Mary was kind of engaged to Joseph, but more engaged than we might think. The pledge or betrothal might last up to a year, but was frequently less than that. In general, the pattern of this engagement was like this:
1 . The parents would agree on the match.
2 . The couple would exchange something of value (something like our engagement ring) and consider themselves to be pledged.
2a . During this time of pledge/betrothal, the couple was not yet married (there was no sexual contact and they did not live together), but the marriage was considered inevitable so that even at this point the relationship could only be broken by death or divorce.
3 . The marriage day would arrive, the groom would come for the bride, and they would consummate their marriage. A feast would begin on this day that would generally last a whole week.
Mary and Joseph were within the second stage of this procedure, but we don’t know whether their parents had been involved or that there had been a stage 1. Perhaps; perhaps not.
Mary was a virgin. The Greek word parthenos (παρθένος) means a woman (the word is feminine) who has never been sexually intimate. It’s sometimes claimed that is can be synonymous with “girl” or “young woman,” but Greek has words for those terms, like korasion (“little girl,” Matt. 9:24; Mark 5:41), or gyne (γυνὴ, woman of any age, Numbers 30:4), or neotes (νεότης “young girl, young woman,” Numbers 30:4). It would be confusing to use a word specifically used for “virgin” and make it a substitute for “girl.” There is no context in the Bible in which there would not be a reason to take parthenos as meaning a virgin.
This brings us to the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. That passage is sometimes held up as a “mistranslation,” since the Greek version uses parthenos “virgin” for the Hebrew ‘alma: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” The Hebrew word ‘alma means a female who is of marriageable age but is still unmarried. In other words, a virgin.
When the text talks about “the house of David,” the context of the passage is Mary, not Joseph. Although Joseph was also from the house of David (Luke 2:4), the reference here is in Mary’s context, as will be the genealogy later in chapter 3. There Jesus’ grandfather’s name is Heli (Luke 3:23), whereas his grandfather on Joseph’s side was Jacob (Matthew 1:15). So the family line of Jesus parallels that of John. John was from the tribe of Levi on both sides of his family (Luke 1:50), and Jesus was from the family of David on both sides of his family. There could be no question about Jesus’ descent, either physically or legally. Mary his mother had not had sexual relations with any human man, and therefore his status as the Son of God could not be contested by anyone with any say in the matter, not any angel, devil, believing human, or even God himself. Only an unbelieving sinner could possibly think otherwise, and such a person can have nothing to say before God’s judgment seat. An unbeliever’s judgment of Jesus’ parentage is both invalid and immaterial.
Our new catechism (published in 2017) explains the importance of these things:
“Jesus became a man through the miracle of the virgin birth. Mary had no sexual relations before Jesus was born. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived and gave birth to a son, Jesus. We call the truth that the Son of God took a human nature upon himself the incarnation. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he didn’t cease being true man. He will remain true God and true man forever.” (p. 151-152).
Apart from the birth of Jesus, the concepts of virginity and motherhood are mutually exclusive. But in Jesus, they are not contradictory, and in fact, they show God’s hand in bringing about the impossible through his own miraculous means. All theologians who deny the virgin birth are heretics because they deny Scripture. “Our churches teach that the Son of God took on man’s nature in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary” (Augsburg Confession, III,1 ). This is our confession, and this is yet another way God has given to us to see his saving hand at work outside natural laws, all for our salvation.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: http://www.wlchapel.org/worship/daily-devotion/
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota