City Life Starter

I. The Word: Matthew 2:1-12

2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵ So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

⁷ Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

⁹ When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. ¹¹ And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Do you believe in the virgin birth?  

The virgin birth, from conception to birth, signifies the deity of Christ.  The Doctrine of Christ signifies that Jesus was fully God and fully man, in one person.  One of the most important elements to the Doctrine of Christ is the virgin birth.  Critics of the virgin birth of Jesus have questioned with two oppositions. First, a lack of harmonization of the gospels (only two gospels mention the virgin birth) and second, a narrative can’t be viable since narratives are mythical or too supernatural.  Groups such as Jesus Seminar and episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong have criticized and mocked the virgin birth, which compromised the doctrine of Christ and deity of Christ.  Today, some prominent evangelicals have been influenced by these false teachings in that the belief of the virgin birth is not necessary for Christian faith.  So the question is, is the virgin birth of Jesus essential to our faith?  The virgin birth is vital and necessary to Christian faith and without it, compromises Jesus’ deity and the doctrine of Christ.

Both Matthew and Luke’s account of the virgin birth are clear to readers back then and should be now.  We have to remember that the immediate audience believed in Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection and ascension.  All throughout church history, Christians have defended this vital truth and proclaimed the historicity and revelatory doctrine of Christ.  When we question eyewitness testimonies of the  gospel accounts, such as the virgin birth, we question not only their character but the rest of their testimonies of Christ.  For example, if there was no virgin birth, their eye-witness testimonies are no longer credible, as of the rest the gospel accounts, from turning water into wine, feeding the thousands, cleansing lepers, healing the sick and so on can all be discredited since their testimonies are no longer credible or can be trusted.

The virgin birth is vital and necessary to Christian faith and without it, compromises Jesus’ deity and the doctrine of Christ.

What does Scripture tell us in the Bible, both Old and New Testament is that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18), by fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 9:6-7), “Behold, the virgin shall be with a child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name ‘Immanuel,’ which is translated, “God with us.” (Matt. 1:23)  In Luke, there is further details, from the visitation of angel Gabriel to Mary, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) In verse 34, Mary’s question to angel signifies virgin birth, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”  Gabriel’s answer aligns perfectly with Matthew’s account (Matt.1:18), “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

According to Albert Mohler, “Christians must face the fact that a denial of the virgin birth is a denial of Jesus as the Christ.” Millard Erickson states this well: “If we do not hold to the virgin birth despite the fact that the Bible asserts it, then we have compromised the authority of the Bible and there is in principle no reason why we should hold to its other teachings. Thus, rejecting the virgin birth has implications reaching far beyond the doctrine itself.”

Do you believe in the virgin birth?  JY