The “miraculous conception” was a once in a universe event, an event that never before been experienced nor witnessed through all of human history. 

This event, the  procreation of a God/child by means other than through a sexual relationship was indeed miraculous, amazing and historic. A young virgin woman named Mary, was chosen by God to be the earthly mother to this special child. Mary upon learning of her impending pregnancy was thrilled with the idea, thrilled that she alone had been  chosen to handle this enormous responsibility. 

However, Mary’s initial euphoria over the news and her feelings of jubilation and  excitement was short lived; because the reality of her situation would soon become  clear. The reality was, Mary was a virgin and everyone in her community knew her to be  a virgin (by reputation). Everyone also knew that she was espoused to a young man named Joseph.

Being espoused meant that the family of the couple came together and entered into a  legal and binding arrangement that would lead to the couple being married and eventually living together. During the espousal period (which usually lasted for a year or more), the couple continued to live apart which gave the groom time to get his affairs in order. 

Which usually included finding a house and perhaps finding a better job. At the  end of the espoused period, there would be an’ in-taking’ celebration. There would be a party and the marriage would be finally consummated with the bride losing her virginity. However, in Mary’s case, this was not to be. One day literally out of the blue, an angel of God appeared and informed her that she would be with child. This virgin girl who was  espoused to Joseph was informed that in nine months, she would have a baby to present  to the world.

After the initial thrill, Mary began to realize that she eventually had to break the news to Joseph, her espoused husband. No doubt she spent many sleepless nights pondering  how to do that. Mary, being a woman raised in the Jewish tradition, knew well that sex outside of marriage was a serious offense. Such an act was considered to be adultery.  

She was quite aware of the harsh punishment for such an offense. The seriousness of  the offense was illustrated in the biblical story where the Pharisees brought to Jesus a  woman caught in the act of committing adultery. The Pharisees in their attempt to trap Jesus, asked him what should they do with the woman? The Pharisees knew well that the punishment for such a crime, was stoning until dead. They were trying to get him to give advice or to make a statement contrary to Jewish Law. Jesus skillfully didn’t fall into that trap and the Pharisees walked away disappointed. Nevertheless, a woman caught in  the act of adultery, usually got the death sentence.

Mary was aware of this when she was pondering how and when to tell Joseph of her pregnancy. She had to suspect that Joseph wasn’t going to believe her. Mary at this point, was probably overwhelmed with fear, doubt and confusion. She no doubt, may have begun to question whether or not she was really pregnant! The Bible tells us that Mary went to a distance city to live with her cousin Elizabeth and stayed there for three months. The three-month time period is significant because it usually takes three months before a pregnancy begin to show. This suggest that Mary wanted to be sure of the pregnancy before breaking the news to Joseph. 

When Mary finally broke the news to Joseph, as suspected, he did not believe her because he Immediately began to search for ways to get rid of her and to do so without creating a public spectacle. However, an Angel of God appeared to him in a dream and affirmed Mary’s story and advised him not to leave her. Joseph loved Mary, so he took the advice of the Angel and began to live with her. By doing that, he broke with tradition and protocol because he didn’t wait until the announced ‘in-taking’ date to receive his bride. No doubt, there were many in the community who knew he wasn’t ready to receive her. Were aware that  he hadn’t completed all the preparations. This knowledge probably raised many eyebrows. Many in the community likely pondered the question, why did they break with  tradition. 

Human nature being what it is, there had to be those who assumed the worst, including attributing to them the sin of infidelity. The scriptures tell us that the marriage wasn’t consummated until after Jesus was born.  The scriptures said the couple was still in their espousal stage when they were on the road to pay their taxes. This is significant because it proves that Jesus was indeed born to a virgin mother. However, the couple behavior suggests they went through a great deal of pain to keep  Mary’s pregnancy a secret. The primary reason may have been the fact Mary and Joseph concluded that no one would believe them, especially if they told them the truth. 

Mary, if she indeed waited three months before telling Joseph, further complicated the situation because it usually takes nine months to birth a child. Jesus was likely born to Joseph and Mary after only six months of living together. This knowledge would certainly have confirmed to some in the community that there had been infidelity in the relationship. This. along with the fact that Joseph took Mary on a long trip to pay the taxes, knowing Mary was on the verge of delivering suggests that they were trying to conceal the pregnancy; or they had been ostracized in the community. Otherwise, Joseph would have left Mary behind with a friend or family member. 

Mary and Joseph likely paid a heavy price in many ways because they were the parents  of Jesus. The Bible doesn’t elaborate on these challenges, but through deductive  analysis, we can conclude with relative certainty that these challenges were there and they had to overcome them. Human Nature doesn’t change much over the years, therefore if Jesus was born in today’s society, his parents would be criticized, ridiculed and possible ostracized just as they may  have been in their own time. Even today, few people if any, would believe Mary’s  miraculous story.

 

William White is a resident of Lake Park.