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The Virgin Birth: Myth or Historical Fact?

The Virgin Birth: was Jesus born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit? Scripture teaches that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin: that is, Mary conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit with no relationship with a man. Skeptics and modernists deny or doubt the truth of the Bible record. What does the Bible say? What evidence is there that the miracle of the Virgin Birth is true or untrue?

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Introduction:

A well-known preacher taught as follows:

“… one of the challenging things about [Jesus’ birth] is the ‘unbelievable’ nature of stories in the Bible describing Jesus’ miraculous conception.

“A lot of people don’t believe it, and I understand that… Maybe the thought is they had to come up with some kind of myth about the birth of Jesus to give him street cred later on. …

“Matthew gives us a version of the birth of Christ, Luke does, but Mark and John, they don’t even mention it. A lot has been made about that.

“Christianity doesn’t hinge on the truth or even the stories around the birth of Jesus. It really hinges on the resurrection of Jesus.” (Baptist News Global, December 21, 2016)

Liberalism like this characterizes many denominations and preachers who doubt or deny the inspiration of Scripture. Consider the consequences:

Bible Teaching about the Virgin Birth

The Bible accounts of the Virgin Birth affirm Mary conceived without a man.

Matthew 1:18 – Mary was found with child before she and Joseph came together.

Matthew 1:22,23: Luke 1:27, 31,34 – She was a virgin; she had not known a man.

Luke 1:28,30,42,43,48 – Both an angel and an inspired woman (Elisabeth) told Mary she conceived because she was blessed and highly favored by God. God was with her.

The Bible says an angel revealed this to both Mary and Joseph. If this is not historic fact, why believe anything the Bible claims to be from God? In short, why profess to be a follower of Jesus?

(Matthew 1:16; Luke 3:23)

The Virgin Birth fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.

Matthew 1:22,23 – The birth of Jesus to Mary fulfilled the promise of Isaiah 7:14 that a virgin would conceive and bear a son.

Fulfilled prophecy is a major proof that Jesus was Christ and Savior and that God exists. If we deny prophecy, why claim to believe in God or Jesus at all?

The Virgin Birth was a miracle to prove Jesus was Christ, the Son of God.

Matthew 1:18,20; Luke 1:35 – The fact the power of the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus shows He is the Son of God. Had Mary conceived Jesus by natural relations with a man, how would this show He was the Son of God?

Matthew 1:21 – He would save people from their sins. If the account is not accurate, why should we believe He can save us from sin?

To deny the Virgin Birth is to deny that the Holy Spirit did a miracle to prove Jesus was Christ. If we deny the proof of His claims, why claim to believe in Him at all? Such denials lead to complete rejection of the authority of the Bible and of Jesus as God’s Son.

The Consequences of Denying Miracles Such as the Virgin Birth

Unbelief is progressive. When people begin to deny the accuracy of the Scriptures, there is no basis for believing anything the Bible says. There is no logical stopping point. Skeptics deny more miracles and more doctrines because they have undermined the foundation of belief.

2 Peter 1:21 – Prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

The preacher we quoted doubted the account of the Virgin Birth because only two of the four accounts of Jesus’ life record it. But if the Scriptures are inspired, why do we need more than one or two accounts? Why must a teaching be found in all four accounts?

2 Timothy 3:16,17 – Bible writers claimed the Scriptures are the inspired source of authority and guidance in religion. They said we must obey all that is taught (Acts 3:22,23; Matthew 28:18-20). They said Jesus’ teaching will judge us on the last day (John 12:48).

Galatians 1:8,9 – We should not follow human doctrines or anything different from the Scriptures. (Matthew 15:9,13; 2 John 9-11; Colossians 3:17; Jeremiah 10:23; Proverbs 14:12; 3:5,6; Revelation 22:18,19)

The preacher claimed the accounts of the Virgin Birth seem unbelievable, yet he professes to believe in the resurrection. Why? How does he know the resurrection is true except based on Scripture? If we accept the resurrection, why is it so hard to accept the Virgin Birth?

The modernist approach leaves us with no authority except human wisdom and opinion. By undermining Scripture, men leave themselves free to disregard God’s word and do as they please.

Conclusion

The claims of Bible writers will not let us take the middle ground of modernism. Either we accept the Bible as completely God’s word with no errors, or else we completely reject it as having no authority at all. To compromise and say we believe some of it but not all of it, is to take a position that the Bible itself will not allow. There is no point in even claiming to be a Christian.

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