Who Gave Jesus His Y Chromosome?
God asks Christians to believe things so extraordinary as to seem impossible. God starts with the impossible and then exceeds our expectations.
The virgin conception of Jesus Christ is undoubtedly one of those things.
Is it a ridiculous idea to think that a human baby can be conceived without a human father? Is that even possible?
Do the “facts of life” prohibit that from happening?
Are Joseph, Mary, and Christians just gullible, unscientific people who don’t understand the “facts of life”?
Who gave Jesus his Y chromosome? Why would that matter?
Great questions.
The “Facts Of Life” Are Incredible
We all know the “facts of life,” correct?
. <– You started life smaller than the dot at the left.
Stop and think about that for a moment. Do you believe that is incredible? How did you get to be you?
Within a 100-micron diameter fertilized egg, you received half of your DNA from your father and half from your mother. Your father passed on an X (female) or Y (male) chromosome that determined your sex.
After the fertilized egg containing you attached to your mother’s uterine wall, another forty weeks of some of the most incredible biochemical processes created you.
The human reproductive system is so incredible that NOVA devoted an entire episode to it and called it Life’s Greatest Miracle.
Life’s greatest miracle? I thought only Christians used the word. I realize they are using the term miracle in its “wonder” or “marvel” sense.
It is a marvel that some people can look at the “miracle” of life and believe that nothing, quantum fluctuations, random chance, and mutations can do that.
Watch that documentary, and you’ll see why they used the word “miracle.” Then read Psalms 139:13-18 and see if you disagree with David.
Is it a ridiculous idea to think if God created DNA and the human reproductive system he has any problem preloading DNA to make Jesus?
How would that violate the “facts of life?”
Mr. Atheist: You Christians and your naive belief in miracles! The laws of nature and the “facts of life” rule out any miracles from occurring. The virgin conception of Jesus, therefore, is impossible.
Christian: Interesting. That’s a bold statement. It sounds like you’re saying the laws of nature are prohibitive rather than descriptive. I agree with you that the “facts of life” are how things usually work and that a miracle would be the exception to the law. Are you saying that there are no exceptions to how the “facts of life” work?
Mr. Atheist: That is correct. Miracles are a violation of natural law. We base the laws of nature on our observations of repeatable, predictable, cause-and-effect relationships. Miracles would be exceptions to those, and therefore, not scientific.
Christian: Fascinating. Imagine in some Star Trek future a scientist is intelligent enough about DNA to alter the Y chromosome of a sperm somehow, fertilizes a human egg with it, and implants that in a receptive female uterus. Do the “facts of life” forbid that? Does that violate the laws of nature?
Mr. Atheist: No, the “facts of life” would not prohibit that. While that is not the “normal” way it works, that would not violate the laws of nature.
Christian: So the “facts of life” and the laws of nature would allow an intelligent third party to play God with DNA but forbids God from doing it? It seems like your issue is not with the how but with the who.
Mary Thought The Virgin Conception Of Christ Was Incredible
Mary, Joseph, and the Bible don’t go into great detail about the wonders of the human reproductive system.
However, it would be a mistake to think that they didn’t understand the basics of how the “facts of life” work.
If you examine the Scriptures, you’ll see a frank discussion of the “facts of life” and how Jesus' conception is incredible.
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:26-34)
Did Mary believe “it’s a miracle” just because an angel told her? Hardly. She was troubled and afraid about this messenger showing up and what his greeting meant.
She knew enough about the “facts of life” to ask the question, “How can this be since I don’t know a man?”
That’s a reasonable question to ask if you know the essential facts of life. How can it be?
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35).
How? God was playing God with the DNA of Jesus. The Spirit and power of God was preloading half of Jesus' DNA. The miracle was in the fertilization of a human egg in Mary’s womb. From there on out, it was a normal pregnancy.
The Bible is forthright in the conclusion of what preloading Jesus' DNA means. The Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Incredible, you say? Indeed.
Joseph Thought The Virgin Conception Of Christ Was Incredible
18 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. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 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. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21).
Does it sound like Joseph gullibly believed it was a miracle? Hardly.
Mary told him what the angel had told her, that she conceived by the Holy Spirit. Rather than alleviating his fear, that only highlighted one fact. He knew he wasn’t the father.
If the woman you were going to marry told you before you had sex that she was pregnant with the Holy Spirit’s baby, what would you think?
He knew enough about the “facts of life” and how it usually works that he decided to call off the marriage to Mary. The question he was pondering was whether to make a public show of her or not.
It took the intervention of an angelic dream to convince him to continue with the marriage. He knew the “facts of life” and had to be persuaded with extraordinary evidence to continue with the marriage.
Wouldn’t you?
The Genealogies Of Jesus Show The Virgin Conception Of Christ Is Incredible
Matthew’s genealogy (Matthew 1:1-16) uses the word begot thirty-nine times. Matthew is tracing the Y chromosome from father to son until he gets to Jesus.
16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:16)
Conspicuously absent is begot number forty–and Joseph begot Jesus. Instead, Matthew goes out of his way to say Joseph was just Mary’s husband. The “of whom” was born Christ is feminine, referring to Mary as the biological mother.
Matthew’s account makes it plain he didn’t get his Y chromosome from Joseph, only his legal (adoptive) standing in the line of David and Abraham.
What about Luke’s genealogy?
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli … the son of God (Luke 3:23; 38).
Luke’s list is different than Matthew’s. Further reflection reveals that Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus' X chromosome through Mary establishing his biological descent as the seed of David and Abraham.
Luke inserts “as was supposed” the son of Joseph2.
In modern English, we would say they assumed that was the case.
Under normal circumstances, under the regular operation of the “facts of life,” that would be the correct assumption.
This “assumption” is mentioned several times in the Bible.
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:21-22)
They marveled at how he taught but “assumed” he got his Y chromosome from Joseph. When was the last time you were in a Bible study when a man read a prophecy from Isaiah, closed the Bible, and said, “That’s talking about me?”
41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven?” (John 6:41-42)
How could Jesus claim to come down from heaven? They “assumed” they knew his parents and that he got his Y chromosome from Joseph. This question of where Jesus got his Y chromosome from is carried on in John 7.
14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going. … 19 Then they said to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also.”… 23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” 25 Then they said to Him, “Who are You?”… Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. (John 8:14; 19; 23-25; 41-42).
If Jesus was only human, if he was born of fornication, such talk of fulfilling Bible prophecies, coming from heaven, proceeding forth, coming from, and being sent by God the Father is insane.
However, if he received his Y chromosome from God, then that leads to the most incredible part of the virgin conception.
God Becoming Human Is Incredible
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “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 1:22-23).
Matthew was writing to Jewish readers. He didn’t have to interpret “Immanuel.” They knew what it meant.
They knew the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. They knew that God had promised David that his seed would build a house for God and establish His kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Psalms 89:3-4). They knew he would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:12; Matthew 2:3-6).
The virgin conception of Christ was not some random occurrence that happens all of the time. It was the prophetic fulfillment of the ages. It was God personally inserting himself into space and time.
It means God with us!
Do you know what God’s desire is, what he genuinely wants for man?
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time … (1 Timothy 2:4-6).
Who can stand between you and God? Only one man can bridge the gap between human and divine. The Man Jesus Christ. He was sent to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
Is The Virgin Conception Of Christ Incredible To You?
Some find it incredible to talk about God, angels, prophecies, and a virgin conception. They believe that Jesus was the son of fornication of Joseph or some unnamed man. They assume the facts of life have no exception. They refuse to believe God is with us.
The virgin conception of Christ is so extraordinary as to seem impossible. Is it a ridiculous idea to think that God could become man?
God knew that we would need extraordinary evidence to believe it.
He sent the prophets, centuries in advance, to tell us He’s coming (Genesis 3:15; 22:18; Galatians 3:16; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Isaiah 40:3-5; 53:1-12; Micah 5:2; Malachi 3:1).
He knew Mary and Joseph would need extraordinary evidence to believe it, so He used angels to explain to them how it happened.
He knew he had promised Abraham and David that one of their seed would bless the world and sit on His throne (Genesis 22:18; 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Psalms 89:3-4; Psalms 110:1-4; John 7:42; 2 Timothy 2:8). Thus he included the family trees of Jesus through Joseph (legal/adoptive) and Mary (biological), proving the dual linkage.
He knew we would need the life of Christ, demonstrating what God would be like if he became one of us (John 20:30-31).
What more could he do to communicate this incredible thing? How else could he impress upon us his dream for humans? The only thing more he could do was to become human.
The Christian believes that God gave Jesus his Y chromosome. God became human. Jesus is Immanuel – God with us!
It’s up to you to decide which definition of incredible you believe about the virgin conception of Christ.
Kevin Huddleston
