Today we continue our series of bulletin articles looking at why abortion is wrong. This week I want to show it is sinful because Jesus was an embryo.

Jesus is fully God. Jesus has always existed just as the Father and Holy Spirit have always existed. John speaks about this in his gospel where Jesus is called the Word: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning’ (John 1:1-2).

But Jesus is also fully human. John also speaks about Jesus as being human: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14).’ Thus we see in the gospels Jesus experiencing bodily experiences – hunger, thirst, weariness and pain.

How did Jesus get this human body? Admittedly Jesus did have an unusual conception. Joseph, Jesus’ step father, is told by an angel: ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’ (Mat 1:20). But other than that, Jesus developed and was born just like any other person. We read of nothing extraordinary about his birth from Mary: ‘…the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn’ (Luke 2:6-7). Jesus is swaddled and placed in a makeshift cot like any other infant.

How does Jesus’ humanity relate to abortion? When Jesus took on flesh, he did not appear as a fully developed man as though infancy was below him. Rather God himself becoming an embryo and developing into a little boy shows respect for every stage of human development. The status of an embryo is as sacred to God as a born baby. In other words, embryos are dignified enough for Jesus to become one. They should not be destroyed.

So is the abortion of an infant, who shares the same status Jesus once shared, an unforgivable sin? No. Through repentance of your sin and trust in Jesus’ death for your sins you can be forgiven for any sin, including the wrongful termination of another human.

Do you recognise that abortion is wrong because Jesus showed respect for embryos by becoming one?

Joel Radford.