There are some who teach the New Testament (NT), but don’t fully believe a basic gospel truth…the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. That includes some who have knowledge of Bible Hebrew and Greek.
There was uncertainty about Jesus’ birth in 1st century Judaism. The Jews said to Jesus/Yeshúa in Jn.8:41, 48 “We weren’t born from sexual immorality. You’re a Samaritan and have a demon.” Those disbelieving Jews implied that Jesus was racially variant and demented. There was hostility between Jews and the mongrel Samaritan people. Samaritans resembled Jews but were considered imposters. v.42-44 Jesus’ reply was, He came from God and the father of those Jews was the devil.
In 178 AD, the Greek philosopher Célsus spread the false Jewish story that a Roman soldier called Pantéra (‘panther’) had an affair with Mary, and was Jesus’ biological father. Rabbinic writings of the Middle Ages called Jesus/Yeshua, ‘Yeshu ben Pantera’. Let’s see what the Bible says about Jesus’ birth.
The supposed parents of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, were Galileans betrothed. But they hadn’t yet come together. God sent the angel Gabriel to inform Mary in Lk.1:26-34. “You will bear a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus [Yeshua]. He will be the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.’ Mary replied, ‘How can this occur, since I’m a virgin?” Mary hadn’t had sexual relations with Joseph or any other man.
Mary went to visit her pregnant aunt Elizabeth for 3 months, 75 miles to the south (Lk.1:36-56). When Mary returns to Galilee, Joseph sees she is 3–4 months pregnant. What?! Mt.1:18-19 “She was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit [HS]. Joseph, being a just man, didn’t want to disgrace her publically, so he intended to divorce her privately.” Divorce annulled a betrothal. If a betrothed woman has sexual relations with another man, it was adultery (De.22:13-14, 20-27). Although stoning for adultery was a neglected law, Joseph could have thrown the first stone (De.17:7). Or Joseph could put Mary away privately by giving her a writ of divorce (De.24:1), and paying the legal cost.
Before Joseph could divorce her, an angel came to him in a dream. Mt.1:20-21 “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son and you shall name Him Jesus [Yeshua], for He will save His people from their sins.” Joseph knew then that Mary hadn’t been impregnated by another man. And Mary knew she hadn’t.
Gabriel had also informed Mary 3–4 months earlier in Lk.1:35. “The angel [Gabriel] said, ‘The Holy Spirit will come, and the power of The Highest will overshadow you [Mary]; therefore the Holy One to be born shall be called Son of God.” Orthodox Study Bible Lk.1:35 “Note the revelation of the Holy Trinity: The Father (The Highest), the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The Father overshadows the HS upon Mary, and God’s Son Jesus is conceived. Chinese preacher Witness Lee was part of the Christian work started by Watchman Nee. Lee’s Living With and In the Divine Trinity, p.39 “Lk.1:35 shows the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary…the Most High, God the Father, overshadows Mary…and the birth of the holy thing, the Son of God. Thus the entire Divine Trinity was involved in the conception.” The Son was conceived into Mary by His Parents, who are God! (See the topics “Holy Spirit versus Mariolatry”, “Holy Spirit Personification”, and “Holy Spirit’s Identity”.)
Jesus was Fathered by God Most High. Jesus said in Jn.16:28, “I came forth from the Father”. Mary gave birth to Jesus, and her husband Joseph became Jesus’ legal father. Lk.3:23 “Jesus, supposedly the son of Joseph.” Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ biological father. Mary & Joseph both knew that Joseph didn’t father Jesus. Mt.1:24-25 Joseph married her and “kept her a virgin until she gave birth to Jesus”. Jesus was carried and birthed by a virgin, Mary/Miriam.
Father God is Jesus’ Father. Jesus referred to Himself as the Child of Wisdom (Lk.7:35), His Mother. In the NT, nowhere did Jesus call Mary, “mother”! Jesus referred to the surrogate Mary tenderly as “woman”. Jn.2:4 “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what have I to do with you?” Jn.19:26 “When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!” John and other writers customarily referred to Joseph & Mary as Jesus’ father & mother, his parents. But Jesus didn’t. Jesus indicated His Mother is Wisdom, the HS. (Connect in order seven verses to identify the HS: Jl.2:28a, Pr.1:20, 23, De.34:9a, Nu.27:18, Mt.1:18b, Lk.7:35.)
Father God didn’t somehow have sexual relations with Mary, who was engaged to the man Joseph (Mt.1:18). It would’ve been adultery to have relations with a married or betrothed woman. De.22:23-27 God’s penalty for such adultery was severe! Needless to say, Father God (or the HS) didn’t commit adultery! Furthermore, Mary was of a different kind…she was of the human kind, not the Godkind. Father God is Spirit, not flesh (Jn.4:23-24). The term incubus pertains to a spirit having sex with a human woman. Heathen mythological gods, such as Zeus/Jupiter, had sex with mortal women and produced offspring. Le.20:15-16 the penalty for beastiality (sex with a different kind) was death!
Jesus was fully God in the flesh…both His Father and Mother are God! The womb of Mary, the “woman” as Jesus called her, served to form Him in the flesh to become the God–Man. The 300s AD Apostles Creed has it, “I believe in Jesus Christ, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary”. Mary birthed Jesus. Paul knew of the virgin birth, writing in Ga.4:4, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman”. We already read where Matthew and Luke knew.
In Mk.6:3, Mark calls Jesus the “son of Mary”. A matrilineal reckoning isn’t the usual practice seen in scripture. So it seems Mark also knew of the virgin birth. Jesus in the flesh most often referred to Himself as the Son of Man/humanity/ánthropos (Strongs g444, Greek)…not the Son of Male/áner (g435).
The first Bible prophecy is Ge.3:15, where God told the serpent, “I will put hostility between your seed and her seed”. Her seed, not the male Adam’s. Yet Bible genealogies are almost always patrilineal, not through females. (e.g. Ac.16:1-3 Timothy hadn’t been circumcised because his father was Greek.)
The prophecy of Is.7:14 foretold the Lord’s virgin birth. “The Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold! The virgin shall be with child and she will call His name Emmanuel.” The “Lord Himself” would be the sign! (also ref Ge.22:8, “God Himself the lamb”.) And a pregnant virgin would be so remarkable…something to “behold”! Whereas a non-virgin who is with child is commonplace; it happens every day in every city. It seems Is.7:14 cannot refer to King Hezekiah. When Isaiah visited King Aház (Is.7:3-14-ff) and spoke of the future virgin birth of the Child, Hezekiah was already 8 years old or so (when Ahaz was age 20–21). cf. 2Ki.16:2, 18:2.
The Greek term translated as “virgin” in the Septúagint/LXX Is.7:14 is parthénos (g3933). In Greek, this term meant virgin. The temple shrine of the mythological Greek virgin goddess Athena in Athens was called the Parthenon. LXX Ge.24:16 of Rebekah, “She was a virgin [parthenos], no man had known her”. LXX Jg.21:12 “Young virgins [parthenos] who had not known a man by lying with him.”
Matthew quoted the old Greek in his Mt.1:22-23 passage about Mary’s virgin pregnancy. “This was done to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Behold! The virgin [parthenos LXX] shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, meaning “God (is) with us.” Yeshua/Jesus is God. (see “Jesus Is God…Jesus Has A God”.)
Another prophecy about Jesus is Je.23:5-6. “Declares the Lord, ‘I will raise up for David a righteous Branch. He will reign as King. This is The Name by which He will be called, “YHVH our righteousness.” Jeremiah indicated the Branch/Messiah will be both a descendant of David and…YHVH/God! Je.30:9 “They will serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.” The Messiah was referred to as David or the son of David (e.g. Lk.18:38).
Also Is.9:6-7, “A Child will be born to us. His name will be called Wonderful, Mighty God…on the throne of David forevermore.” As Is.7 & Je.23, the Child to rule as ‘God with us’, on David’s throne.
Note: Other subjects connected to the virgin birth are the Davidic covenant (it’s not the Solomonic), the so-called curse of Jeconiah (some think Zedekiah is meant), Jesus’ genealogy. see “Jesus’ Genealogy”.
Fathers name their own sons. Mt.1:21 God chose the name Yeshua/Iesoús/Jesus for the Son of God. The name wasn’t of Joseph or Mary’s own choosing. The Greek name Iesous/Jesus is from the Hebrew Yehoshúa/Joshua (h3091), meaning ‘salvation’. “He will save His people from their sins.” Nu.13:16 “Moses called Hoshéa the son of Nun, Yehoshua [h3091 Joshua].” The name Yeshua/(Iesous/Jesus) is the shortened form of the name of Moses’ successor in the Old Testament (OT), Yehoshua/Joshua. They had the same name. And phonetically, Jesus the Savior also was a ‘son of Nun/none’, since He wasn’t the son of human parents in the normal sense!
We see in Zec.6:11-13 another OT type who had the same name as Jesus. “Make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Jehoshua [Joshua, LXX Iesous/Jesus] the high priest. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold a man whose name is the Branch.” Around 520 BC, God raised up a high priest whose name was the same name the Branch/Messiah would have (ref Je.23:5). God had predetermined to name the Son of God…Yeshua/Jesus! (See the topic “Savior’s Name in Bible Languages”.)
1Jn.4:9 “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world.” Jesus is the monogenés (g3439) Son, the unique one-of-a-kind Son of the Most High. He had heavenly genes, if you will. Jesus is Deity! He.1:8 “Of the Son, ‘Thy throne, O God, is forever.” Jn.20:28 “Thomas said to Him [Jesus], “My Lord and my God.” Jesus was the Lord God of ancient Israel. see “Jesus Was The Old Testament God”.
There is another very significant purpose for Jesus to have been born from a virgin! It pertains to His DNA (the self-replicating material that contains genetic characteristics), and His blood. Blood has great significance throughout the Bible! Le.17:11 the life or soul is in the blood. De.12:23 the blood is the soul/life. Ge.9:4 the soul/life is the blood. It was prophesied in Is.53:12, “He [Jesus] poured out His life unto death”. The Lord God Jesus poured out His soul/lifeblood for our sins!
1Pe.1:18-19 “You weren’t redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold, but with the precious [g5093] blood of Christ.” Silver & gold are closer to being incorruptible than are other substances. Yet even they are corruptible. Ellicott Commentary 1Pe.1:18 “By contrast, the blood of Christ is implied to be not corruptible.” Pulpit Commentary 1Pe.1:19 “As opposed to the corruptible things of v.18; it is precious, because it is the blood of Christ. Christ’s holy body saw not corruption; the precious blood in its virtue and efficacy abides evermore.” Bengel’s Gnomen “The blood of Christ is incorruptible.” Ac.13:37 “He [Jesus] whom God raised saw no corruption.” Pr.3:15 LXX “Wisdom is more precious [g5093] than precious stones.” Lk.7:35 Jesus is Wisdom’s Child. She and His blood are so precious!
As the God-Man, Jesus was flesh and blood (He.2:14). The life is in the blood. For Jesus, that life was the eternal Life of God in His blood! Jesus’ blood speaks better things than that of Abel (He.12:24). We’re saved by Jesus’ transcendent blood. And His blood figuratively never loses its effectiveness.
Jesus said in Jn.6:54, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal Life”. v.66 but after Jesus uttered those figurative words, many quit on Him. His wasn’t just a man’s blood…Jesus’ perfect Life was in His blood! Ac.20:28 “The church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” God’s own blood! Ellicott Commentary “The ‘blood of God’, which this passage suggests.” Benson Commentary “How precious it is! Here the blood of Christ is termed the blood of God.” Matthew Poole Commentary “The blood of Christ, called truly the blood of God.” Jesus’ blood is incomparable!
There are those who even say that the ascended Jesus as High Priest sprinkled some of His shed blood on the mercy seat of the ark in heaven (as they interpret He.9:11-12, 23-24, 12:24, Re.11:19), where it remains forever. JFB Commentary He.12:24 “He entered the heavenly holiest place ‘by His own blood’, carrying it separately from his body.” Bengel’s Gnomen “This Priest Himself carried into the sanctuary His own blood separately.”
Geneticists understand that the DNA of the father and mother is passed on to the fetus, half from each. Geneticists say that very little, if any, of a surrogate mother’s DNA is absorbed by the fetus (and vice versa). None of the surrogate’s characteristics significantly affect the fetus. (ref e.g., Dr. Julie Granka Does A Surrogate Mom Contribute DNA to the Child?.) An expectant mother’s cells and the blood circulating in her body cannot penetrate the placenta screen or reach her unborn baby. The baby’s own blood is formed in its little body. However, nutrients do pass to the unborn through the placenta.
Mt.1:18-20 since Jesus’ Father is Father God, and the HS is Jesus’ Mother…there was divine DNA, so to speak, in Jesus’ blood (or soul or life)! He received mitochondria DNA from His divine Parents. Perhaps God miraculously placed the zygote of Jesus within Mary? (I’m not a biogeneticist.) Jesus said in He.10:5, “A body you [God] have prepared Me”. And Jn.5:26 “As the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son to have life in Himself.” Eternal Life (zoé g2222) was within the Son Jesus! That point is missed by people who don’t believe the great miracle of the virgin birth. So Jesus, having divine DNA, didn’t reproduce while on earth. A woman, having human DNA, would’ve been a different kind. And any offspring they had would be a hybrid, with DNA part God and part human!
The life is in the blood (Le.17:11, De.12:23), and all men have sinned (Ro.3:23). Jesus wasn’t a man with corruptible human blood/life as we, yet was somehow able to obediently live a sinless life and become the Savior of mankind. His blood/Life was unequaled, having no corrupted sin nature! Mary contributed nutrients, but no blood, cells, or DNA to Jesus. Paul referred to Jesus as the last Adam (1Co.15:45). The first Adam didn’t receive DNA from a human mother either! If Jesus was only a good man/martyr who obeyed God fully, then others (with the HS) could too! We wouldn’t need a Savior. But we’ve sinned and do so need the Savior…Yeshua/Jesus!
Jesus wasn’t solely man in the flesh. He was also Deity. Col.2:9 “In Him [Christ] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” Both of His Parents are God. Jesus was the fullness of Deity in a human body (as was glimpsed in Je.23:5-6). He was Emmanuel, “God (is) with us”. Jesus’ deity was veiled with flesh (He.10:19-20). The primordial Word of God was fully God (Jn.1:1-3, 14), and was the Son of God by the Father/HS/blood/birth. Thereby, Christ didn’t inherit a sin nature. (Yet He wasn’t a docétic phantom. Jesus’ fleshly body had nerve endings; He experienced pain/suffering on the cross.)
So Jesus’ virgin birth affirms that divinity was in His precious blood; which enabled only Him, of all men, to obey God completely. His divine nature wouldn’t allow Him to submit to sin. Though Jesus looked like other men, He (and His blood) was unlike any other person born of woman.
The virgin birth is crucial to the salvation of mankind! As the song goes, Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus. Ac.4:12 “There is no other name under heaven, by which we must be saved.” Yeshua/Jesus is His name. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (2Co.9:15)!
Bible Topic Exposition 