Born of the Virgin Mary...Continued from page 2

In the following verses, we see that Mary questions the angel, "'How can this be, since I am a virgin?'" The angel says to her, "'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.'"

Mary was obviously greatly troubled by the annunciation of the angel that she is going to have a baby. How can this be, she declares, I have never had sexual relations with a man. I am a virgin. But the angel makes it clear to her that this conception will be brought about by the Holy Spirit of God.

Matthew describes another side of the story, the part that involves Joseph, in Matthew 1:18-25, how Joseph is engaged to Mary. This betrothal was a sacred arrangement in the first century, more serious than we view engagement today. There was not to be sexual intercourse during this betrothal period. Couples were even referred to as husband and wife. It would take a writ of divorcement to sever the betrothal, but, nonetheless, there was to be no sexual cohabitation. Matthew explains how Mary was found to be pregnant. Joseph, being a righteous man and a man of honor, did not want to embarrass her publicly. He decided to dismiss her quietly. Matthew describes what happened in these terms:

But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Do you see the building blocks? You have the anticipation of the woman's offspring who will ultimately crush the head of the tempter Satan, but, in the process, be severely wounded. We have the prediction of Isaiah, which, if it isn't totally clear in the Old Testament context, Matthew, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, clearly refers to it, using not the word for "young maiden" but the word for "virgin," making clear what is happening is the fulfillment of that prophecy.

Both Matthew and Luke go on record to declare that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
Why believe in the virgin birth? Because the Bible teaches it. That's what it says about the parentage of Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He was born of the Virgin Mary.

Do I personally understand how this can happen? No! It goes beyond my human understanding.