Musings on the Virgin Birth

Christmas Day was blessed with a miracle that had never happened before and never happened again—the Virgin Birth. According to Matthew and Luke’s accounts, Mary conceived Jesus because of the Holy Spirit overshadowing her and not from the ordinary course of human procreation. The only remotely close parallel in Scripture is in Genesis 2, where God makes Eve out of Adam’s rib. Musing on this subject for Christmas Season, here are some observations of mine.

1.     The Old Testament clearly predicts, and the New Testament clearly depicts the Virgin Birth

I once had a discussion with my nonbelieving biology teacher about whether Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 7 really indicates that the Messiah will be born from a virgin. He said that the Hebrew word used in that prediction (almah) means a young, unmarried woman, not a virgin. I have since found out that that is true, and that Hebrew does not have a specific word for virgin. Its words describing women focus on their family status (unmarried, married, mother, etc.), not whether “they have known a man intimately,” the usual terminology Hebrew uses for identifying a virgin. On the other hand, there is nothing miraculous about a young woman normally conceiving (at least, nothing “against nature,” which is what defines a miracle), so even if Isaiah is predicting someone’s birth and Israel’s and Syria’s defeat before he grows up, he must have something bigger in mind. This comes in to focus when we consider that when God promises a savior who will bruise the head of the Serpent, He describes Him as the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), not the seed of the woman and the man.

The New Testament, both Matthew and Luke, say that this prophecy is fulfilled by Mary’s impossible conception. Matthew cites this prophecy, using the explicit term “virgin” (parthenos, as in the Parthenon), and Luke says that when Gabriel tells Mary she will bear a son, she asks in confusion, “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” (1:34, KJV), using standard Hebrew terminology for designating a virgin. Gabriel doesn’t even mention Joseph; he attributes the conception, like Matthew, to the Holy Spirit.

There is nothing miraculous about a young woman normally conceiving (at least, nothing “against nature”) 

2.     Why God chose the Virgin Birth

One could wonder why God chose to send His Son into the world this way, for it seems to have caused Him some trouble. In John 8:41, Jesus’s hearers tell Him, “We be not of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (KJV). Interpreters from the Church Fathers on through the ages have read this as a jab at Jesus’s mother being unmarried when she conceived. Certainly, this must have been an issue for Him throughout His life. So why would God choose to perform a sign that would tend to sully His Son’s reputation rather than enhance it?

            For those that believe it, though, Jesus’s messianic credentials are bolstered by this sign. In fact, when Gabriel announces Mary’s conception to her, he explains that, “Therefore also the holy thing which shall be borne of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35, KJV). Jesus didn’t need a human father since He already had one Father, even God. What He needed was a mother to bear Him once He had begun a life as a man.

3.     Mary’s Courage

Mary displays great faith when she gives her fiat in Luke 1:38: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” After all, if Jesus is going to be taunted as an illegitimate child, Mary’s going to bear the brunt of the people’s scorn. In fact, Joseph almost divorces her over it, and there is a realistic possibility of her being stoned. On top of all that is the pressure of knowing she will be responsible for the upbringing and well-being of the Savior of the World Himself. It’s an awful lot for anyone to bear, let alone a Galilean peasant with little to no standing, status, or wealth. When I was in choir in high school, we sang “Breath of Heaven” for Christmas one year, and I think it beautifully captures some of the thoughts that Mary must have had with all this weight upon her.

Jesus didn’t need a human father since He already had one Father, even God.

4.     But Let’s Not Get Carried away about Mary

Now, clearly Mary had a special role and was uniquely blessed to be the mother of the Messiah. Luke says so twice in Luke 1. Still, I believe the extent the Roman Catholics go to about her is misguided at best and blasphemous and idolatrous at worst. The Roman Catholic “chain of salvation,” or whatever they officially call it, goes a little something like this: When you sin, God the Father and Jesus are mad at you. So, first you have to entreat Mary, and once you’ve got her on your side, Jesus can’t refuse His mother, and then once you’ve got Him on your side, God the Father can’t refuse His son. I translate this quite literally as: “Mary loves you more than God.” There isn’t one iota of a hint of this in Scripture! And to say so, to me, is blasphemous and an insult to God.

Roman Catholics blow Mary’s role so out of proportion it doesn’t fit on the page. There was a movement by some to name her Co-Redemptrix with Jesus as Co-Redemptor because of this one statement. Again, this is blasphemous and idolatrous. There’s not a hint in Scripture that Mary saves us. In fact, Jesus may have had Roman Catholics on His mind when He reined in enthusiasm about his mother in Luke 11:27-28: “And it came to pass as He spake these things, a certain woman of the company lift up her voice and said unto Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bare thee and the paps which thou hast sucked.’ But He said, ‘Yea, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it” (KJV). Yes, Mary had a completely unheard of and inestimable privilege, but let’s not forget who the real Savior of the World is. Mary’s fiat is nothing compared to the supreme value of Jesus’s fiat before He bore the sins of the world: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39, KJV).

What we have at Christmastime is a one-of-a-kind miracle, one that God has only done once and will almost assuredly never do again. From the beginning, He planned this as the way to bring His Son into the world to undo the curse of sin. It is beautiful and full of promise and meaning. So, don’t let the skeptics get you down!