Did Jesus Carry Any of Mary's DNA?

I was recently asked a very good and thought provoking question from one of our church members. To be honest it was one of the best questions that I’ve been asked in a while.  She asked, “If Jesus was sinless then does He have any DNA from his mother?”  Wow, good question.  Obviously God does not tell us all the things that we feel are important.  However, God does tell us all the things that we need to know in order to have a saving relationship with Him and to worship Him properly.

So, in efforts to answer her question as Biblically and thoroughly as possible I would like to share a few bullet points of thought.

• We clearly know from Scripture (Matthew 1, and Luke 1) that the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ was brought about by God’s Holy Spirit without any human contribution.  This is why Christ was sinless.  Sin is passed along through the seed of man —since the time of Adam (Romans 5:12, 5:17, 5:19).  
• The result of sin is that it brings forth death (both physically and spiritually—James 1:15) to all mankind. 
• Jesus Christ, as the perfect and Holy Child, had no sin and therefore could not die apart from the decreed will of God to die on the cross for our sin (Ephesians 1:4). 
• Although God has not disclosed the biological nature of how Mary carried the child into the world, it would be my opinion that God has disclosed the most important information that He was without sin.  I do not believe that any of Mary’s DNA that would have been affected by sin, would have been imputed (or placed) into Jesus Christ—this would violate the fact that Christ was the Holy Lamb of God that came to die for the sins of mankind.  His sinlessness made Him the only candidate who could die for man’s sin.  I believe that Mary physically nurture the Christ child while He was in the womb.
• I believe that the DNA necessary for a sinless birth was provided by God alone and could not be produced any other way. 
• God just does not give us the full details but this is a good question.  I would say it was still a supernatural act of God in how Jesus Christ (as God) entered into the universe through a virgin.

Please know that this is my opinion based on the Scriptural information that I have read.  We need to be careful of eisegesis (reading into the Biblical text), which is the opposite of exegesis (drawing out of the Biblical text).  Too often we want to know more than what God has provided so one can be guilty of connecting dots that God never intended for us to connect.  Some things will remain a mystery until the day we see Christ face to face.  Even at that point in time it probably won’t even matter, as we will be caught up in worshipping Him.

Feeling Empty

Emptiness is a difficult emotion to try to describe.  It is that feeling you have not just when you are tired, but when you have given it everything you’ve got and nothing seems to remain.  When you feel empty, it’s like a piece of your soul is missing.  Perhaps your heart aches because of a void by the one you love who didn’t return your love.  It may be due to plans that did not come to fruition.  It may even be due to the loss of a loved one that is no longer around. 

May I encourage you with a few verses from God’s Word:

2 Corinthians 12:10, “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Isaiah 41:10, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

John 4:13-14,   “Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’”

Psalm 36:9, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”

God Versus Human Authority

Most people don’t enjoy being bossed around or being told what to do; however, God has instituted authority in our lives to bring order, to manage human relationships, and to bring glory to Himself.  Since the beginning of time mankind has struggled with authority not understanding that it was actually intended for good.  Some view authority negatively although God established it to be positive.  The frustration is that those in authority do not always manage or govern others well.  In fact, many times authority is abused, which causes some to rebel against authority. 

The truth is that God calls all people to submit to authority to some degree or chaos and disruption occurs.  In fact, God provides many examples in Scripture of submitting to various authorities in our lives.  We are all called to submit to God’s authority over us (James 4:7). Parents are called to instruct and discipline their children and children are told to submit and honor their parents (Eph. 6:1-3).  Husbands are called to love and lead their wives (Eph. 5:23) and wives are told to submit to their husband’s leadership (Eph. 5:22).  Servants are called to submit to their masters or those that they report (Titus 2:9-11).  All Christians are to respect and submit to one another (Eph. 5:21).  The church is to submit to Christ (Eph. 5:24).  And, we are called to submit to governing authorities (Romans 13:1-2).

Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Pet. 2:13-14).  Sometimes authorities stray from their purposes and violate the authority that was entrusted to them.  In Scripture, both Jesus and Paul used taxes as a way to illustrate this point.  The Roman government taxed the Jews unjustly and many of the tax collectors were thieves.  When asked about this dilemma, Jesus took a coin and said, “‘Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar's,’ they replied. Then he said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's’” (Matt. 22:20-21).  Apparently, the believers in Rome were still asking the same question because Paul instructed them on the matter in the same way. “This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing” (Rom. 13:6).

Submission is not a popular concept today; however, it is part of God’s divine design for our benefit and His glory.  God calls believers, in word and deed, to support all of the authorities that He has established.  Even human government serves as God’s appointed servants for our good.  God expects full obedience to authority with the right godly spirit, (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17).  God calls Christians to obey and pray for those in authority over them.  Leading is hard work and yet a gift from God.  The hope is that those who lead and do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior would be drawn to a knowledge of God by the way that we live our lives.  Proper attitudes and obedience towards those who are over us can create Gospel opportunities.  If there are times that a choice must be made between honoring God and honoring our authorities, we must always choose God (Dan. 3:16-18).  God created authority and obedience to authority is a priority to God.