What’s the Deal with Mary? Why is the Virgin Birth so Important?
The virgin birth of the Messiah (Greek: Christ) was prophesied by Isaiah: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV).
It was announced by the angel Gabriel to Mary:
“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30–35, NIV).
It was announced to Joseph, the Betrothed of Mary by the angel:
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:20, 24-25, NIV).
The virgin birth of Jesus was a miracle on par with His resurrection from the dead, and like the resurrection it marks Jesus as the promised Messiah (Christ).
More importantly, the virgin birth of Jesus explains the fact that Jesus is both human and God. He took His human nature from His mother, Mary. His divine nature had no beginning. Rather, the Son of God – the second person of the Holy Trinity – was “conceived by the Holy Spirit and made man.” Jesus has two natures. The natures are not mixed together, producing some sort of third nature. His human and divine natures remain completely intact – 100% of each. They are joined together in one person, Jesus Christ, so intimately joined that there can be no separation of the two just as their can be no mixing of the two.
Our salvation depends completely on Jesus having two natures. As a human being, with a human nature, He can suffer the human, personal death that is the punishment for human sin. As God His the death of His human body can “count” for, or cover, the punishment for sin for every single individual person who has ever, is, and ever will live.
So the virgin birth marks Jesus as the promised Messiah – Immanuel (which means “God with us”) who lives, suffers, dies, and is resurrected to bring about the forgiveness of our sin and so with that forgiveness Salvation, Eternal Life. The virgin birth is a core doctrine (“teaching”) of the Bible and Christianity.
What’s the Deal with Mary? Why is the Virgin Birth so Important?
The virgin birth of the Messiah (Greek: Christ) was prophesied by Isaiah: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV).
It was announced by the angel Gabriel to Mary:
“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30–35, NIV).
It was announced to Joseph, the Betrothed of Mary by the angel:
“But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Matthew 1:20, 24-25, NIV).
The virgin birth of Jesus was a miracle on par with His resurrection from the dead, and like the resurrection it marks Jesus as the promised Messiah (Christ).
More importantly, the virgin birth of Jesus explains the fact that Jesus is both human and God. He took His human nature from His mother, Mary. His divine nature had no beginning. Rather, the Son of God – the second person of the Holy Trinity – was “conceived by the Holy Spirit and made man.” Jesus has two natures. The natures are not mixed together, producing some sort of third nature. His human and divine natures remain completely intact – 100% of each. They are joined together in one person, Jesus Christ, so intimately joined that there can be no separation of the two just as their can be no mixing of the two.
Our salvation depends completely on Jesus having two natures. As a human being, with a human nature, He can suffer the human, personal death that is the punishment for human sin. As God His the death of His human body can “count” for, or cover, the punishment for sin for every single individual person who has ever, is, and ever will live.
So the virgin birth marks Jesus as the promised Messiah – Immanuel (which means “God with us”) who lives, suffers, dies, and is resurrected to bring about the forgiveness of our sin and so with that forgiveness Salvation, Eternal Life. The virgin birth is a core doctrine (“teaching”) of the Bible and Christianity.