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Virgin Birth – Myth or Reality?
Introduction: The Bible says Jesus was born of Virgin Mary. Was Jesus really born to a virgin or was Jesus born out of an illegitimate relationship out of wedlock? Did the first century Christians try to cover up the story of their saviour with the idea of a virgin birth? Does other God’s of this world too also claim to have had a virgin birth?
Subject: Virgin Birth – Myth or Reality?
Scripture: Luke 1:26-38 & Matthew 1:18-24
This Sunday we are going to see from various angles of the proof of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. We are also going to see how exactly that birth could have happened.
I want to start by telling you that there are other God’s of this world who claim to have had a virgin birth. Many deities among Greeks, Babylonians, Egyptians, and India were reported to be born in an unusual manner by a virgin birth. I will explain 2 of them.
The birth of Zoroaster: Zoroaster was the greatest prophet among the ancient Iranians. He took his birth in order to establish the worship of Ahura Mazda, the Supreme Lord of the Universe. The birth of Zoroaster was miraculous. The glory of Ahura Mazda descended from heaven and entered the house of the future mother of the prophet. When she was pregnant, archangels came to her and worshipped and praised the unborn child.
The birth of hanuman: When Agni, the god of fire, gave Dasharath, the king of Ayodhya, a bowl of sacred dessert to share among his wives so they may have divine children, an eagle snatched a part of the pudding and dropped it where Anjana was meditating, and Pavana, the god of wind delivered the drop to her outstretched hands. After she took the divine dessert, she gave birth to Hanuman. Thus Shiva incarnated as a monkey, and was born as Hanuman to Anjana, by the blessings of Pavana, who thus became Hanuman's godfather.
If the worldly gods claim to be born of a virgin how is Jesus different?
The worldly gods do not have any historic and archeological proof of existence. They have their sacred writings but no proof of validity or authenticity. Such stories are called myths.
Jesus was a true man in history and there are historic and archeological proofs of His existence. Moreover, the Bible which speaks of Jesus is a true and living book with parallels from the world history. The Bible itself testifies that it is a true book.
2 Peter 1:16(AMP) 16For we were not following cleverly devised stories when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty (grandeur, authority of sovereign power).
(KJV) 16For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
The Bible is a true book and every account in the Bible is nothing but the truth.
Let us see what the Bible says about the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
New Testament
Luke 1:26-38
26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He 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, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
35The 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. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."
38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. This is the account of Luke about the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 1:18 18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
The New Testament writers Matthew and Luke clearly speak without doubt that Jesus was born of a virgin called Mary.
Old Testament
Genesis 3:15 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
The moment the first man and woman sinned God told that the seed of the woman will crush the head of the devil. It is very interesting that God did not say seed of man but seed of the woman. In Bible all children are addressed as the seed of their father.
Genesis 12:7 7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.
Genesis 19:32 32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
The Bible addresses the children as the father’s seed. Here God told the seed of the woman will crush the head of the devil. The Lord Jesus Christ is the seed of the woman without a man being involved. This proves the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Even before creation God decided to send Jesus into this world through a virgin birth.
Isaiah 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Now God says very clearly through Isaiah that Jesus will be born of a virgin and will be called Immanuel, means God with Us. In other words Jesus existed before his birth and God decided to send Jesus to us. Since Jesus already existed he never required a father to be born. Jesus just needed the means to be born that is a virgin womb. Moreover the Bible says the birth of Jesus is a sign to us. Isaiah 7:14. There was no need for Jesus to be born and then become God. He already preexisted as God and Jesus was born as a sign for you and me.
The sex of Jesus was already known. He was a male. Jesus who was existent as God in eternity entered into time and space from eternity for a short while to give you and me salvation through his blood.
Therefore both the Old Testament and the New Testament proves that Jesus was born to Virgin Mary which was the eternal plan of God.
What has History to say about Jesus’ virgin birth?
Ignatius: A bishop of Apostle John and also the Bishop of Antioch who died in 117 AD wrote, "For our GOD, Jesus the Christ, was conceived in the womb by Mary according to a dispensation, of the seed of David but also of the Holy Ghost."
This proves the historical account of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
Quran: The 19th Sura (chapter)of the Quran named after Maryam, the mother of Jesus. According to the Qur'an, Jesus (called 'Isa in Arabic) was born miraculously by the will of God without a father. His mother is regarded as a chaste and virtuous woman and is a highly respected figure in Islam.
Now we have seen the proof of the virginal birth of Jesus Christ.
• Bible is not a myth and the virginal birth of Jesus is real.
• The New Testament and the Old Testament speak of the virginal birth of Jesus.
• The historians of Jesus’ time speak of Jesus’ virginal birth.
• The Quran speaks of Jesus’ virginal birth.
How was Jesus born of a virgin? How was that possible?
For knowing the miracle of the birth of Jesus we have to look into our Bibles.
Luke 2: 34-35 34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35The 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.”
Matthew 1:18 Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
The birth of Jesus was the work of the Holy Spirit.
How can the Holy Spirit give birth to Jesus Christ?
Let us study the work of the Holy Spirit.
In Psalm 104:24-30 the psalmist is speaking about the providence of God’s creation and see what he says.
Psalm 104:30 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. God’s spirit (Holy Spirit) is a spirit of creation.
Genesis 1:2-3 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. It was the Holy Spirit which did the creation in the beginning.
How are you and I created in the womb of our mother?
Job 33:4 4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
John 6:63 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.
Now see what the Holy Spirit did to Mary
Luke 2:35 35The 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.”
The Holy Spirit is the creator of all things. There is life in the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit came upon Mary and the power of the Most High God overshadowed her Jesus was born in her womb because the Holy Spirit gives life and is the creator.
Conclusion: Jesus was born by the Holy Spirit upon Virgin Mary. The Bible is true and the power of the Holy Spirit is true. Jesus is true. Understand today the same Holy Spirit is in our midst today. When He comes inside you He will create something new. He will give life to the lifeless things in your life. Commit your hopelessness in God’s hands today. Ask the Holy Spirit to come inside you. When He comes he will do something new.
Extra Material for proof on the Virginal Birth
Jesus claimed he was the son of God.
Matthew 26:63-65 63But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." 65Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.
Luke 22:70 70They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am."
When Jesus claimed to be the Son of God Jesus was also telling that he was not the seed of man. Jesus was the seed of the woman and he was born by the Holy Spirit.
What does science say about the virgin birth of Jesus?
Parthenogenesis: There is a biological process called parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis is a biological reproduction that involves development of a sex cell without fertilization. Natural parthenogenesis occurs commonly among lower plants and invertebrate animals such as rotifers, aphids, ants and bees.
Parthenogenesis in mammals is not possible but it does happen rarely. In 1956 the medical journal Lancet published a report of 19 cases of virgin birth among women in England. It was self fertilization (a very, very, very rare phenomenon) where the women have male sex glands within her system. It is very, very rare and if at all a child is born through parthenogenesis the offspring can only be a female.
Scientifically, the virgin birth of Jesus cannot be proved or it is not parthenogenesis as Jesus was a man and his sex was already determined as per the book of Isaiah 7:14. If the parthenogenesis theory is true Jesus should have been a female.
Cloning: Cloning is a technique of producing a genetically identical duplicate of an organism by replacing the nucleus of an unfertilized ovum with the nucleus of a body cell from the organism. Female to female and male to male cloning is possible. Science later proved that male to female cloning is possible because male has X chromosomes and that can be doubled to produce a female chromosome. A female has Y chromosome and it cannot be used to make a male clone. Therefore female to female cloning is only possible. If a female has to be cloned to a male then the X chromosome has to come from a donor. Jesus was a male child from a female virgin. So scientifically speaking a male cannot be cloned from a female. Therefore, Jesus is the son of God born through virgin Mary. However, the technology of cloning was developed only in the 1990’s.
Jesus existed before time and there was no need for him to be born. He just wanted a media to enter this world of time and space; therefore, the Holy Spirit enabled Mary to conceive the Lord Jesus Christ.
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