The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-13, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE. Copyright 1992 by John MacArthur Jr., All Rights Reserved.

Question

We know that sin entered the world through man--I assume the word "man" is used in a generic way, since all enter the world in sin. So, if Mary, by her own admission, needed a savior, making her a sinner, and since Jesus was part of her flesh as well as out of the Holy Spirit…I accept by faith that Jesus was sinless, but don’t understand how Jesus would not be tainted by sin, since he was born from her body?

Answer

Well, that’s a good question, and you don’t understand it and neither do I, and neither does anybody else. So, you’re in good company. But, it’s the fact; it’s an absolute fact. And, now, you people are getting in deep here. You understand now, and you’re asking me to unscrew the "unscrutable." Because, basically, the question you’re asking is, How is the sin nature passed? How is it passed? Is it passed through the bloodstream? Is it passed through DNA? Is it passed through the genetic code? Is it passed through the chromosomes? I mean, that’s a very difficult question to ask.

Certainly, the capability of the human body to grow old is passed through the chromosomes/DNA/genetics, and Jesus’ body grew old. The ability of a body to be injured and wounded, even die--Jesus experienced all of that. So, there was some of the essence--and understand this--there was some of the essence of what it means to live in a truly human form. To say there was some of the components of real humanity, which has the capacity to feel pain, and suffer and hunger and thirst and die--Jesus had that. And that came through the very real flesh of his own mother.

But, somehow, God filtered out, in that process, any influence of sin whatsoever. How He did that He knows; I don’t know. But, your question is a good one because it does assume that one sinful parent should be enough to make a sinner out of you. And, in any other circumstance, we would say that is true. I mean, one sinful mother (we could certainly understand) could beget a sinful child, if one could beget singularly, and one can’t, but hypothetically. But, in the case of Mary, though she was a sinner, God somehow filtered out the sin that normally would be passed to the child. He did that miraculously. It shouldn’t surprise us that He did that miraculously since it’s even miraculous that He conceived within her that child by planting the seed, not by having a man. So, the whole thing is miraculous. How He did it, I don’t know. But, Jesus came out fully human, bearing all that is full humanness, and yet without sin. God just filtered that part out--screened that out, somehow, supernaturally. 

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
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