The story of Christ being born to the Virgin Mary is one of the primary tenants of the modern Church. While we know that the Gospel accounts of Christ’s birth speak of Mary’s virginity at the time of his conception, it’s important that we also take the time to understand why His miraculous conception is such an important part not only of the Christmas season, but also of the Christian faith.
Unfortunately, it’s easy for us to become so familiar with the story that we fail to truly embrace the power behind it. Take a moment and allow the fact that a virgin miraculously gave birth to truly set in. We know how conception works. We understand how basic human biology operates which means we know how children are created in their mothers’ wombs. However, God, through His supernatural power circumvented the natural process in order to give the ultimate gift to the world, the gift of His Son.
Today, while you understand that Christ was born to a virgin, allow yourself to embrace the “why” of the story. Why was it so important that Christ enter the world through a virgin womb? In God’s entire plan for creation, couldn’t He have simply put Christ into the world? Of course, He could have. However, He chose to send the ultimate Christmas present into the world through a willing young woman who showed bravery and a commitment to Her God. Today, discover more about why God chose this miraculous, unconventional method of sending His Son into the world.
The Fulfillment of Prophecies
Isaiah 7:13-14 (NLT)
Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”
The promise of a coming Messiah can be traced back to Genesis 3, right after Adam and Eve committed the first sin. In that moment, God came into the Garden of Eden and confronted the world’s only couple about the decision that they had made. Satan, who the Bible says had taken on the form of a serpent, was also present. God told Satan that He would send a Redeemer through the “seed of the woman” in order to destroy the hold that the enemy had over the lives of humanity.
While there are countless other prophecies in the Old Testament that point to the coming of Christ (there are more than 500), not all of them focus on the fact that Christ was to be born through a virgin womb.
Isaiah focused heavily on the fact that the Messiah would be born to a virgin. This served two purposes. First and foremost, it indicated the unlimited power of God to work out His plan for humanity’s salvation. If God was able to bring life into the world through a virgin, He was able to bring salvation to the world through His Son. Additionally, it created such a specific prophecy that only one person would be able to live up to the prophetic word.
Some detractors say that the word Isaiah used in the original text was “young woman.” However, that’s simply not the case. If Isaiah had said, “A young woman will conceive a child,” any male who was born to a young woman would be able to claim to be the Savior. Isaiah specifically said that Christ would be born to a virgin.
Christ was born to a virgin because the prophecies given in the Old Testament said that He would be. In order for Christ to be the Messiah, He had to fulfill every prophecy that the Holy Spirit gave to the prophets of the Old Testament.
The Establishment of Divinity
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Take a moment and look at the terms that Isaiah used to describe the child that was going to be born into the world. “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” both point to the fact that Jesus was going to be 100% God while also being 100% human.
Without taking all the time to go through a biology lesson, when a child is conceived, he or she receives genes from both the mother and the father. The genetic makeup is apparent in eye color, hair color, body type, and any other number of physical appearances. The genetic makeup also influences the child’s personality.
In order for Christ to be fully human and fully divine, He could not be the byproduct of a human relationship. The Bible teaches us that Joseph and Mary had other children after Christ was born. These children were the result of Mary and Joseph’s genetics coming together to create children.
Jesus was God’s Only Son (John 3:16). He was also equal with God, as we see in the verses that we just read from Isaiah. In order for Christ to be fully divine, He had to enter the world through a virgin womb.
The Establishment of Sinlessness
Hebrews 4:14-15 (NLT)
So the, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
Finally, Christ’s arrival through a virgin womb established His sinless nature. Humans have a natural tendency to sin. If you don’t believe that to be true, think about the first time you told a lie. We know that the Bible calls us to be honest in all our dealings, so lying is a sin. With that in mind, you probably told your first lie when you were a child, even before you realized that it was wrong. Maybe you broke something when you were doing something you shouldn’t have been doing and you lied about how the item got destroyed.
Sin is a natural human tendency. That fact dates back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit that He had told them to stay away from. From that point on, we had a natural tendency to do what makes us “feel good” and what keeps us “out of trouble.”
Christ’s arrival through a virgin womb allowed Him to be fully God and fully human, as we’ve already established. However, it also cemented His ability to live a sinless life. Since He was 100% human, He would be tempted just like we are. However, since He was 100% divine, He would have the power to resist those sins.
That ability not only gave us the roadmap to overcoming temptations, but it ensured that we had a High Priest who could understand our weaknesses and ensure us the forgiveness that we so desperately need.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for taking the time to plan out every detail of Your plan for salvation. Thank You for providing me with a path to You through the gift of Your Son. I know that You wanted a relationship with me, and for that, I am thankful. In Christ’s name, Amen.