A century ago, the famed Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton lamented, “The world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.”
Indeed. Astonishing realities, even miracles, are all around us, but our recognition of and appreciation for the admirable is often lacking. Such is the case with the familiar details of Christmas.
RELATED: For more articles on faith and culture by pastor Adam Dooley, click here.
Approaching the nativity of the Christ Child often evokes little more than a yawn as we apathetically admit that this is the reason for the season. Limited by the pressures that we sometimes feel this time of year, the extent of our celebratory wonder is usually tied to contemplating how much food it will take to feed the family or how many gifts we really need to buy.
Children are busy wondering how Santa can visit every house in a single night; how he can eat so many cookies without getting sick; and how he enters homes without chimneys. Many young people find Arthur Christmas, Elf, or Tim Allen’s version of St. Nick more captivating than the Son of God who made a manger His home.
‘History’s greatest gift’
Yet, the biblical record of the first Christmas lauds history’s greatest gift, which came in the most miraculous way possible.
God not only gave His only begotten Son, but He did so through the remarkable means of a virgin’s womb. Some will gloss over the particulars of Jesus’ birth as if they are unimportant. Others will dismiss the notion of virgin birth outright due to its supernatural element.
Faithful Christians, however, understand that the virgin birth of Jesus is essential for salvation.
Interestingly, the Bible offers little defense of the virgin birth, simply stating it as a fact instead. The Old Testament prophets repeatedly predicted the coming Messiah’s miraculous birth (Isa. 7:14; Jer. 31:22) while the New Testament authors consistently proclaimed its reality.
Matthew simply reports that Mary was with child by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18) before also recording Joseph’s dream where an angel of God affirmed the same (Matt. 1:20). Luke shares the birth announcement Mary received (Luke 1:31-33) as well as her confusion due to her virginity and the angel’s resulting explanation (Luke 1:34-35).
Addressing the skeptics
At this point some are quick to dismiss the narrative as superstitious myth. Even those who celebrate Christmas sometimes doubt the historicity of these highlights. Though our modern skepticism is disturbing, it is not all that surprising.
The first critics of this account were the most religious people during Jesus’ day. The Pharisees chided the Lord, “Where is your Father? (John 8:19).” The inquiry was less about geographical curiosity and more about accusatory antagonism. Lest we doubt their cynicism, they later boasted, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father — God (John 8:41).”
Admittedly, different words (Hebrew and Greek alike) appear and translate as virgin in the Bible. While writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, though, Matthew chose the Greek, parthenos, which in every circumstance refers to a virgin girl (Matt. 1:23). Even those who disagree with the conclusion should not dismiss the clarity with which Scripture establishes the supernatural nature of Jesus’ birth.
But why does all this matter? Simply put, Christianity crumbles if Jesus Christ was not born of a virgin in Bethlehem. But why?
Three clear reasons
Apart from the virgin birth, the Scriptures would be inaccurate. If you cannot take at face value what the Bible so plainly states about Jesus’ birth, why would you have confidence in what it says about His death and resurrection?
Rejecting this central doctrine undermines everything else the Bible says. The moment you begin picking and choosing which parts of the Word are reliable, the entire witness of Scripture unravels.
Apart from the virgin birth, our Savior is imperfect. Think about the alternative to the biblical narrative.
If Jesus was not virgin born, He was an illegitimate son born to an immoral, promiscuous woman. Furthermore, if Jesus had an earthly father, He was born under the curse of sin like every descendant of Adam (Rom. 5:12). Practically, He would have needed a Savior like the rest of us. If He was not born of God at the cradle He would have been defeated by Satan at the cross. If Jesus was unworthy as a sacrifice for our sins, we remain dead in our trespasses (Eph. 2:1).
Apart from the virgin birth, our salvation is impossible. As far back as the book of Genesis, the Bible prophesied a Messiah who would overcome the Fall, rescue us from our sins, and crush the head of the serpent by way of a virgin’s womb (Gen. 3:15).
There, the emphasis on the “seed of the woman” should not be lost on us.
In a book that emphasized the fatherhood of every family (Gen. 5), God declared that the offspring of a woman would rise, though no woman possesses the seed necessary to birth a child. Instead, Holy Spirit would overcome a virgin in order to bring forth the promised child who would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21) because nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Adam Dooley, pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, and author of Hope When Life Unravels.
