We were all born—that is what birthdays are all about, to celebrate the day we were born. Well, Jesus Christ was also born and that is why we celebrate Christmas.
The miracle of Jesus’ birth was in the conception, not in the birth itself. Mary conceived in her womb while she was still a virgin, but after nine months she gave birth to Jesus in the normal way. Actually, there was nothing unusual about the birth of Christ. In other words, the miracle with Mary happened in Nazareth, not in Bethlehem. While in Nazareth, the angel appeared to Mary and explained the miracle in this way. In Luke 1:35 the angel said, “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.” The seed in Mary’s womb was conceived by a special work of the Holy Spirit, but Jesus was born in the normal way.
The word born is the Greek word gennaó from which we get our English word to generate or generation. It is a word of procreation where a child is brought forth.
Now, this is exactly what happened in Bethlehem. Jesus did not just appear on the scene as a divine miracle, He was actually born like every other child is born. The miracle happened nine months before when Mary conceived as a virgin. But, then Jesus had developed naturally as a fetus in Mary’s womb and, at the proper time, Mary gave birth in the same way that every other woman gives birth. You see, in addition to being the Son of God, Jesus was a real human being because He was born of a woman.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
We celebrate the birth of Christ because He was born to be our Savior!
For further study, see: Born of a Virgin