Notes compiled by Marty Zide and Steve McAtee
The virgin birth of Jesus is very important because this is the way God chose to enter the human race. The Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary, who was a virgin, by the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. This wonderful event was prophesied in the book of Isaiah.
Is. 7:14 - Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Two truths surface when considering the birth of Jesus:
Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit - Matt. 1:18, Luke 1:35.
Jesus’ mother was a virgin at conception and was kept so until His birth - Luke 1:26-27, 34, Matt. 1:25.
Matt. 1:18 - Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.
Luke 1:35 - The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:26-27, 34 - Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I am a virgin?
Matt. 1:25 - but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
It’s important to remember that Mary was totally passive in the entire procedure of the virgin birth. Although much has been made of her by the Roman Catholics, she was a sinner in need of a Savior just like the rest of us.
The Importance and Necessity of the Virgin Birth
The divine conception preserved His sinlessness which qualified Him to make the necessary payment for our sins.
His divine conception kept Jesus from inheriting Adam’s sinful nature.
1 Cor. 15:22 - For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive.
Heb. 7:27 - who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
1Pet. 2:21-22 - For you have been called for this purpose, since Messiah also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.
1 John 3:5 - You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
The divine conception paved the way for Jesus to one day sit upon the throne of David as King forever. Because of a sin that was committed by one of David’s descendants, none of them would be allowed to sit upon the throne of David. By the virgin birth, Jesus avoided this divine curse and will one day occupy the throne.
2Sam. 7:16 - Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.
Jer. 36:27, 30 - Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.
As a result of His incarnation, Jesus became the Last Adam. As such, He is the head of the new humanity that God is creating from all saved people. In Adam, all of humanity is lost, but in Messiah, all who are saved by Him have eternal life.
1 Cor. 15:22, 45-49 - For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive. So also it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
If Jesus were not born of a virgin, He could not have qualified to be the Messiah and Savior. He would have been in need of a Savior Himself because He would have been born in Adam in full possession of a sinful nature.
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