How did Mary not pass onto Jesus her sinful nature?
Mary, mother of Jesus, as the Immaculate Conception. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
What a mighty miracle was Jesus’ conception, and yet so simple. One moment the egg in Mary’s body was unfertilized; the next, it had become a living, growing entity—the unborn Christ.
The normal means of procreation were bypassed and from that moment Christ was set apart. It is important to note that the creed is not affirming the Immaculate Conception, the Roman Catholic doctrine that holds that Mary was conceived without original sin.
That doctrine aims to circumvent any charge that Jesus inherited a corrupt nature from Mary. Though Mary was indeed fallen, yet Christ did not inherit her nature. He was like us in every respect, yet without sin, real or original (Heb. 4:15). The affirmation of the Virgin Birth further sets Jesus apart, stressing His advent as miraculous and guarding against charges that Jesus was conceived in the normal way.