Importance of the Virgin Birth

How big is your God? Do you believe in miracles? Or, when miracles occur, do you try to explain them away? If so, then your God is too small! The God of the Bible is described in verse after verse as a great God—a big God! Throughout the Bible, God is described as the "God of the Impossible." Story after story in the Bible shows God doing what seems to man to be impossible. In fact, for man these things are impossible, but not for God! In Luke 1:37, the angel Gabriel tells us point blank that "with God nothing will be impossible." God proves this to be true by the way He provides the Savior for us through the miracle of the virgin birth.

Unless Jesus is both human and divine, both man and God, there is no gospel. The central doctrine of Christianity is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. All Christian theology is built on it. The central thought of the gospel, and its power, is that God became man, and by being both fully God and fully man, He was able to reconcile us to God. That requires the truth of the virgin birth of Jesus. Apart from the virgin birth, Jesus would not be both fully God and fully man. Then our salvation would not have been secured. That is why Matthew and Luke both begin by zeroing in on the fact of the virgin birth.

It is especially noteworthy that Luke, a physician, who of all people would be most skeptical, writes with all candor concerning the truth that Jesus was born of a virgin through the agency of the Holy Spirit with no involvement of an earthly father. He begins: "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'" (Luke 1:26-28).

He wasted no time in getting right to the point. "In the sixth month" (v. 26) refers to Elizabeth's pregnancy. She was in the final months of carrying John the Baptist. Gabriel was "sent by God to… Nazareth" (v. 26). He was sent to "Mary" (v. 27b) because she was "highly favored" by God and was "blessed among women" (v. 28). Two very specific and very important things are noted here about Mary: (1) she was "betrothed to… Joseph, of the house of David" (v. 27a), and (2) she was a "virgin" (v. 27).

Note that Joseph (like Mary) was "of the house of David" (v. 27). Old Testament prophecy made it clear that the Messiah or Savior had to be of the house of David. Also, note that Mary was "betrothed to" Joseph (v. 27a). This is significant because this made Joseph the legal father of Jesus, even though he was not physically His father.

To be betrothed in ancient Jewish marriages was similar to engagement in our society, but more binding. The family arranged the marriage and money was paid to the bride's father to assist in the cost involved. A public announcement was made and the couple was "pledged." At this point the engagement could only be broken by death or divorce, yet no physical relations were allowed and the couple lived apart from one another. This lasted for about a year and was intended to prove the bride's purity. If she became pregnant during that time, the marriage could be annulled. After this time, the couple would be married and begin living together. So you can see the dilemma that Joseph faced and the reason Gabriel came to him in Matthew 1:18-25.

Doctor Luke specifically refers to Mary as a "virgin," not once but twice in Luke 1:27. The birth of Jesus was nothing short of miraculous (though it was actually His conception that was miraculous, not His birth). "Virgin" in the Greek means "maiden" or "virgin." It is used at times in a more general sense to mean "young woman," with the context making the difference. Here, with Luke being a physician, the context is clear that the word is used to mean none other than "virgin." Note Mary's question in verse 34: "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" The answer given in verse 35 is that the "God of the Impossible" will do it by the power of His Holy Spirit.

What is so important about Jesus being born of a virgin? Precisely this: Being born of the virgin Mary makes Jesus fully human! This is very important. Note how Mary is told in verse 31, "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus." This refers to the normal birth process. Jesus had to have an earthly mother because He had to become a man. No man but Adam ever existed apart from womb. The virgin birth guarantees an earthly mother without an earthly father. Thus, through the agency of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born as Adam had been created, without a sin nature. In this way, Jesus was both fully man and fully God at the same time. Jesus had to be fully man to qualify as our substitution on the cross, and He had to be fully God, as well, in order to be able to accomplish that task. Only one who is both God and man can truly be our Savior. Only He can forgive our sin and give us eternal life.

Even His name, a Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, means "Yahweh saves." Mary is told that "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest" (v. 32). The word "Son" is a direct reference to the Messiah, the Savior. The message is clear: God's plan was to miraculously create a human child, Jesus, who would be born of Mary, but who would actually be God's Son, the long-awaited Savior. Amen.