I remember watching an old black-and-white movie in the 1970s. It was from Mexico and told the story of a beekeeper who loved his bees deeply. He would stand outside their hive and declare his affection, but the bees didn’t seem to notice.
Miraculously, the beekeeper turned into a bee so he could travel into the hive and share his love with them directly.
Even though this story is fictional, it holds a deep truth. When God wanted us to know who He was and how much He loved us, He became one of us. This is His story.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18).
Mary was a young woman—likely a teenager—who was of age to be married. In her culture, being engaged meant she was legally bound to her future husband, though they wouldn’t consummate the marriage or live together until she moved into his home later on.
Much like the miracle the beekeeper story intended to convey, a true miracle took place here: God, through the Holy Spirit, made her pregnant.
Understandably, when Mary told Joseph about her pregnancy, he planned to quietly divorce her—until God intervened.
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:19-21).
Joseph learned that God planned to reveal His love, character, and nature to the world through a human being. This would happen through the child growing in Mary’s womb. The angel explained to him that his son would fulfill Isaiah’s ancient prophecy.
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:22-23)
Joseph responded to the angel’s message with faithful obedience by taking Mary into his home as his wife. However, they had no physical relations until after Jesus was born.
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus (Matthew 1:24-25).
Saved from Sin
The people of Israel desperately wanted someone to set them free from Roman rule. Similarly, I’m sure many people worldwide today long for different governments or better circumstances. Hearing that a Savior has come only to save people from their sins might disappoint those hoping for sweeping political or economic change.
But think about it this way: Imagine political or economic issues as the leaves and fruit on a tree. The leaves are simply products of the roots.
When Jesus deals with our sin, He addresses the root problem.
Salvation from sin isn’t just about getting a ticket to heaven and assuming everything will be perfect later, while we continue living the exact same way right now.
The real issue behind both personal and societal problems is underlying sin. Society as a whole will not change, because its nature is fundamentally opposed to God’s purposes. However, our personal root issues can change as the Spirit of God begins the process of transforming our nature from the inside out.
God with Us
In the Mexican movie, the beekeeper wanted the bees to truly understand him, and the only way he could achieve this was by living among them.
The Apostle John tells us this is exactly what it was like for the Lord to dwell in our midst.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known (John 1:14 and 18).
An old rock-and-roll song once featured a son asking his father who God is and what’s on His mind. When we read the Gospels, we don’t have to guess—we find out exactly who God is and what He cares about.
We learn that He loves us deeply and invites us into a life with Him. In this life, He uses His boundless power for our good and His glory.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 