Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
We seldom pause to consider the Worldview implications during the Advent season. A Worldview consists of a series of sundry givens or presuppositions or starting points that all men use to access in order to interpret their world and the nature of reality. Those sundry givens or presuppositions or starting points vary from man to man and peoples to peoples depending on their a-priori allegiances touching their view of God and religion.
The Christmas nativity narrative asks us not only to believe a certain account but it demands that we embrace its Worldview in order to understand that account.
The first thing it asks of us is to take its account of the birth of Christ as authoritative. The inspired narrative requires the reader to ask the question; “How do I know that I know that this account is true.” This is the epistemological question that all men must answer, whether self-consciously or not. The answer that the narrative requires in order to answer that question is; “Because God’s revelation tells me.” If Joseph and Mary had owned a worldview that answered the question, “How do I know what I know,” (epistemology) with some version of autonomous right reason, or by mystical intuition, they may well have disbelieved what was reported to them by way of revelation.
As it were we see from the text above that what happened was a test for their epistemology. Mary initially questioned God’s revelation and Joseph reasoned that “women don’t get pregnant without intimacy with a man and as Mary and I have not come together, it is impossible that Mary should be pregnant except that she has been intimate with someone else.” Joseph’s initial epistemology lives on today. There are many who come to the Scriptures with a worldview that does not allow for supernatural revelation. Indeed, their worldview presupposes that the supernatural can’t happen and with that epistemology in place they reinterpret the above passage in such ways as to lock out a supernatural revelation epistemology explanation for the virgin birth. Some will insist that the passage does not teach “a virgin shall be with child,” but rather only that “a maiden shall be with child” thus eliminating the supernatural revelation epistemology that the Advent narrative requires. Others will sidestep the issue by saying something clever like, “The virgin birth is what the early Church believed and so that is the record that we are left with.” Such reasoning veils the fact that the person giving this clever answer himself does not believe the revelation that bespeaks the supernatural surrounding the virgin conception. The really bold ones like Nels F. S. Ferre (Once Professor of Theology at Andover-Newton Theological School), will just come out and deny the virgin conception by saying that the father of Jesus was a German soldier in the Roman army. Finally there are those who will embrace the virgin conception on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while denying it on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays — splitting Sundays down the middle.
So what the Advent narrative gives us by way of revelational epistemology is the requirement that he who reads the text must believe in the Supernatural. If one brings to the text above a Worldview that premises that the Supernatural is impossible one will not and can not believe this account and they will seek to twist it so as to make it fit into their anti-supernatural worldview.
So this Advent narrative not only requires us to believe the immediate text it requires us to have a worldview where we answer the epistemological question, “How to we know what we know” with the rousing answer of “only by way of Revelation and any good and necessary consequences arising from the text.”
Unless we own that epistemology we will not only not believe the virgin conception but we also will not believe six days creation, resurrection, atonement for sin, resurrection, ascension, floating axe-heads, Jesus walking on water, healing the sick, and raising the dead.
Joseph and Mary believed the Revelation. In this context it is also interesting that Matthew and Luke will repeatedly cite earlier revelation to support this fulfillment of revelation. For example Matthew above in vs. 23 cites Isaiah 7:14 to prove the epistemological legitimacy of all that happened.
During this Advent season may we be reminded that our authority for knowing what we know and how we know must be anchored in Scripture. Certainly, Scripture doesn’t answer in detail all the particulars of life’s questions but Scripture does provides the necessary precondition of intelligibility in order to arrive at any true truth. Because Scripture is God’s Word we can trust the nativity record. Because Scripture is God’s Word we have a sure and certain answer to the question of “how to we know what we know.”
In a postmodern world do not underestimate the importance of a Christian worldview and a revelational epistemology.
Prayer:
Benevolent and Sovereign God,
We bless your name for the coming of the Lord Christ and we bless your name that we have a firm foundation for our faith as anchored in your Revelation. Deliver us from all false epistemologies that will not presuppose either the reality of the supernatural nor the certainty of your revelation. Grant us grace to see how a Christian epistemology is wrapped up with our believing the virgin conception and the coming of Christ. Grant us your favor to continue to be sanctified in our thinking so that we have a Worldview that is pleasing to you in every way. Thank you for the godly examples of Father Joseph and Mother Mary. Grant unto us a faith that resembles theirs.
In Christ’s name alone we beseech thee
Amen
