The Virgin Birth Of Christ

-December 1, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive a bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23).

The virgin birth of Christ is one of greatest miracles in all the Bible, along with the resurrection. Both serve as strong pillars of the faith. Detractors, skeptics, atheists, and opponents of Christianity have long sought to disprove them, only to fail miserably. If they could be destroyed, Christianity will crumble into the dust.

The virgin birth as prophesied by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before, was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. Only God could do such a great miracle. Things which are impossible to mankind, are possible with God. The angel appeared to Joseph and commanded him to take Mary as his wife. Matthew 1:24-25 says, “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.”

The name Immanuel means, “God with us. This is one of the titles of the Messiah, and it speaks of how Jesus the Son of God came down from from heaven to dwell among men. His name was called Jesus, meaning, “Savior.” Immanuel speaks of how He came, and Jesus tells us why He came: to save us from our sins.

In the case of the virgin birth, man was not involved in any way. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The word conceived is literally means “begotten.” Jesus was God’s only begotten Son. It is His wonderful and miraculous birth that we celebrate on Christmas. We rejoice in His coming into the world with every Christmas tree, with every gift, and with all the bright, beautiful lights. Christmas is a season of giving as we remember how God gave His Son to save us. Christmas is the only holiday where it is celebrated over a period of a whole month, not just a single day.

John 1:13 says of those who receive Christ, “who were born, not of blood, nor the will of man, but of God.” Jesus was born into the world completely from God and not of man. No human could have ever devised such an incredible plan for man! The hymn writer wrote, “O Come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

Let us rejoice and give thanks to God that Jesus came to dwell among us and save us. Jesus is the reason for the season. May we have a blessed and wonderful Christmas. Stay safe and healthy.

O what a Savior we have,

Dean