Why is Jesus’ Virgin Birth so important? Why is it stressed frequently in the Bible and in Christian Creeds? Does it make any difference?
The Virgin Birth
Jesus’ birth of a virgin was foretold hundreds of years before it occurred. The prophet Isaiah wrote about this saying “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel” (7:14). The words “young woman” in the Greek Septuagint says “young virgin” and the word “Immanuel” means “God with us” which if you read the first chapter of the gospel of John it says something very similar. “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son full of grace and truth” (1:14). Matthew indicates that Jesus’ virgin birth was the fulfillment of that prophecy as he wrote, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)” (1:22-23).
Born into Sin
The Bible clearly teaches that people are born into sin and have at birth, a sinful nature. Paul addresses this in Romans 5:12-14, 17 saying “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come… because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Jesus was the only human that was not born into a sinful state and had no sin nature at all because He was born of the Holy Spirit and God was His Father. He had no human father; therefore, Adam’s nature was not passed down to Jesus. Actually, it was by “one trespass [that] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience [Jesus] the many will be made righteous” (Rom 5:18-19).
The Sinless Savior
Because Jesus was sinless, He could be the perfect sacrifice for a sinful people. Jesus was the “one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb 4:15b). Indeed, “the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God” (Heb 9:14). And Jesus left us “an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.” In the Old Testament, God stressed that the sacrificial animal had to be without spot – without blemish. It could have no defect whatsoever and prefigured the perfect, sinless nature of the once-and-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. By Jesus’ death on the cross He “does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb 1:9-10) because “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb 1:4). That is why Christ came into the world…to save sinners, not condemn them (John 3:17).
Why is the Virgin Birth so Important?
Jesus virgin birth is of primary importance because of the Divine Father being Jesus’ real father and not Joseph. Every other man or woman born of a woman has had a human father and thus, was born into sin. David said that we are not only born into a sinful state, we are conceived in sin. Read what David wrote in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” So clearly we were not only born into a sinful state but even at conception we had the sinful nature, that is mankind was born with the disposition to sin. Not so with Jesus who had God as His Father. No perfect sacrifice means no perfect forgiveness. With a perfect sacrifice, there is perfect forgiveness of our sins.
You simply have to repent today and confess your sins to God and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9) because “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). If you want the peace of God (Rom 5:1) then you need to repent of your sins, confess them to God, apologize to Him, and put your trust in Christ to save you. At that time, the Father looks at you differently. Jesus died for sinners but for the one that doesn’t trust in Him, “the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). Here is why the gospel of good news: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21). Today may be your decision day and one that you will either live to rejoice in forever or live to regret for all eternity (Rev 20:11-15).
Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want to Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.Article by Jack Wellman