Lesson 91 ended with this question: how could Mary conceive and bear a child without passing on to him the same sinful contamination that is the result of all other births? The answer to this is a combination of two things: a supernatural act on the part of the Holy Spirit and a totally natural one on Mary’s part.
The Lord’s birth was not the result of an embryo transplant. The fact that a true conception took place is not in question. “And listen! You will conceive and will bear a Son, and you will call His name Jesus (Jaweh is salvation).” (Luke 1:31) The word “conceive” is from sullambano, meaning, to put with, or to add with. This word signifies the combination of two parts to make one – in this case the one mature egg cell supplied by Mary (“the seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15) and the one mature sperm cell supplied by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). These two cells joined together forming the embryo, which developed into the fetus, which eventually at birth became the physical body of the Lord.
So, half of the answer to our question is fairly obvious – God the Holy Spirit supplied the pure, uncontaminated sperm cell. The other half of the answer is not so obvious. How did Mary supply the pure, uncontaminated egg? This requires a somewhat more involved explanation, so bear with me as we go through this section on human reproduction and how the Lord Himself designed it to carry out His eternal purpose. I’ll try to make this as brief as possible.
For growth, repair and replenishment body cells divide by a process called mitosis – where one cell with 46 chromosomes divides into two, identical to the first with 46 chromosomes in each. In reproductive cells a specialized process called meiosis produces the male sperm and the female ovum. In meiosis, one cell with 46 chromosomes divides into two, but each new cell has only 23 chromosomes.
In the male (the process is called spermatogenesis) one cell with 46 chromosomes divides into two with 23 chromosomes each. Then, those two divide; producing four mature sperm cells with 23 chromosomes each. Starting at puberty the male will produce literally millions of mature sperm every day for the rest of his life.
However, in the female the process of meiosis (called oogenesis) is different. Here, the original cell with 46 chromosomes divides into two cells with 23 chromosomes in each. But only one cell remains intact, the other disintegrates. Then, the cell that remained divides again, producing two cells with 23 chromosomes. And again, one cell remains intact and the other disintegrates – leaving only one mature egg cell from this process.
This is where it gets interesting. In each cell that disintegrates, cellular matter called polar bodies concentrate (or polarize) to one side of the cell before it divides. After the division, the cell with the concentration of polar bodies is the one that disintegrates. After the two stages of polarization, division and disintegration, the one remaining cell is completely free of polar bodies. This process of oogenesis is God’s way of cleansing the “seed of the woman” of the sin nature, which is a real, physical component of the cellular structure of our body.
Now, although the above information concerning female reproduction is found in most text books on the subject (but with much more detail), of course, the polarization of cellular material is not referred to in terms of a cleansing process designed by our Creator. In fact, no explanation is given. So, it is up to us to connect this with the Scriptures to give credence to what we are presenting here.
There are several things to consider. The first is that these textbooks will also tell you the cells that disintegrate are flushed out of the woman’s body with the flow of blood during her monthly menstrual cycle. The exception to this is when the male sperm fertilizes that one mature egg cell and conception takes place. Then, those cells that had disintegrated during that cycle are not flushed out of the woman’s body until after the birth when the placenta and membranes that held the fetus are expelled.
To emphasize the fact that the sin nature is in view here; God required strict ceremonial cleansings to be observed for women during each menstrual cycle (Leviticus 15:19-33) and after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8). These laws of purification in the Old Testament were designed to teach the principles of sin and the sin nature. And, if you read the passages above from Leviticus you should see that these ceremonial requirements did not single out just the women, but involved the men as well. And, due to their regular occurrence, they were a somewhat continual reminder. Mary followed these purification requirements in Luke 2:22-24 following the birth of Jesus.
Another reference worth noting is Isaiah 64:6. I’ll quote this one for you. “For we are all as an unclean thing, and our righteous acts are like menstrual rags to You. We fade like a leaf, and our sin, like the wind, takes us far from Your favor.” Here, Isaiah compares our best efforts (human righteousness) to menstrual rags, which in his mind is a clear connection to sin, the sin nature and God’s disdain of the same.
Again, let’s wrap this up with a few observations: