The virgin birth of Jesus is a strange part of the Christmas story. Okay, it’s all strange (and wonderful), but a virgin birth? How does that happen? Here are 4 compelling reasons for the virgin birth of Christ
After Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant, he was disillusioned. She had such a good heart and never gave him cause to doubt. How could she do this?
Suddenly, she had left her home to care for her cousin Elizabeth (who was pregnant with John, later called John the baptizer). Joseph hadn’t seen Mary for six months. Now she’s back and pregnant! They were legally married, but, as yet, she hadn’t lived or slept with him. So this wasn’t his baby. He was hurt and maybe angry. Yet, Joseph didn’t want to stone her for adultery, so he planned to privately divorce her. Then an angel stopped him and said the baby was conceived of the Holy Spirit, not a man.
Really? Is this possible? We know how all women are naturally impregnated, and in the first century, there were no scientists who did in-vitro fertilization to get her pregnant. So how was Jesus born of a virgin? Was this just a lie, a fabricated myth? Why was the virgin birth of Jesus necessary?
4 Reasons for the Virgin birth
Because of our sin nature
We are all descendants from Adam and Eve and have a sinful nature passed on by his seed. This comes from their disobedience in eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was against God’s express direction (if you are unfamiliar with the story, you can read it here, Genesis 2:17; and chapter 3).
The Apostle Paul explains the consequences of their disobedience in his letter to the believers in Rome. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Because God is holy
God is holy, so we can’t enter his presence as sinners and live. Later, temporary sacrifices were required to appease God’s wrath over sin and reconcile Israel’s relationship with him. These sacrifices were spotless lambs with no blemish, disease, or defects. They had to be absolutely perfect, typifying a future sacrifice to take away our sins forever. The instructions for offering these sacrifices were first given in the book of Leviticus.
What was needed was a sinless, perfect human being who could bridge the gap and reconcile us to God forever.
Because the virgin birth qualified Jesus
In the New Testament, the genealogies hint at the virgin birth of Christ, especially Matthew 1:16 and Luke 3:23. What words tell us that?
How was the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 fulfilled through Christ? We referred to these at the beginning. Read Luke 1:26-45 and Matthew 1:18-25 and record it.
Why was Jesus the perfect person to be the deliverer? What did it require? John 1:29; Hebrews 7:26-28; Hebrews 9; 1 Peter 2:22-25; 1 John 3:5
Because the virgin birth is vital to our relationship with God
Read Hebrews 10:1-25. What do you see as the significance of the virgin birth for us? (see more)
1. Mary the mother of Jesus, and he was the son of, so it was thought, Joseph
2. Mary conceived her child from the Holy Spirit, not a man
3. The gospel writers record that Jesus was sinless, and therefore he must have been born of a virgin. To prevent inheriting Joseph’s sinful nature, he was miraculously conceived and qualified to be our perfect sacrifice for sins.
4. We can be confident that Jesus is qualified to be our perfect and continual high priest and advocate before God. Because of his sacrifice, we can draw near to God
Do you want to read similar articles about God’s nature and work? Here are some:
7 characteristics of the one true God