The Virgin Birth: Hoax or Fact
In our secular society, we have lost something unique to humans. We have lost our ability to combine evidence with our faith. We have plenty of faith. We have faith that the sun will shine tomorrow. We even have plenty of evidence. We use the internet to search and find evidence for any question we might have. In this age of information overload, we tend not to use both together to make an informed decision. Especially when it comes to matters of our belief system. We believe that “The Church” no longer has the answers and every answer we seek is based on science. As Christmas approaches, we throw logic and reason out to believe in a virgin who bore a child. We do not stop to take the time to ask ourselves, how can a virgin give birth to a child? What are the facts around the virgin birth or is this just one big hoax? The fact of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ requires us to use our logic, evidence, and faith to come up with an answer to the possibility of the virgin birth. Because if the virgin birth is real, then as humans, we must face the ultimate question, if God can come to Earth as a baby, then what isn’t God able to do? If this God is all powerful what does He have to do with me?
The Bible prophesied that virgin would bear a child. In the book of Isaiah 7:14 states, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (KJV). The prophet Isaiah wrote over 500 years before Mary met the angel. A virgin having a child was indeed unique. There has never been in history a virgin carry and bare a child. God used this sign to point all of humanity to the fact that God is above all that we could know and understand. Our finite minds can not grasp the depths a Holy, Righteous God would go to meet His creation on their level. This act is what we would call a miracle. We have no rational explanation for what an Infinite Creator has done to “crash” into the lives of his creation. Miracles are beyond what we could explain or know with science. In the book Miracles, Author Eric Metaxas, states “There is no standard definition for a miracle to which we may all turn. In fact, what is and isn’t a miracle is extremely subjective.” Miracles then would be natural for a Creator to perform. We can logically accept that God, who is beyond our understanding, would indeed come to earth as a child.
The Gospels of Mark and John make no mention of the virgin birth. They certainly should be hostile witnesses on the story of the virgin birth. Matthew and Luke hold the only account of the story of the pregnancy being found out by Mary’s husband (Matthew) and birth (Luke). In a court of law, eyewitness testimony only needs two witnesses to confirm its accuracy. Matthew and Luke would be those witness. Both are men of the Jewish faith, they both testify to the facts that the Jews knew from the books of the Old Testament there would be a “messiah” that made his appearance through a particular sign. Luke is a particular person in the witness of scripture because not only is he a Jew, he is also a Greek. He wrote his gospel to convince a non-Jewish world (Gentile) of the birth of the Savior of the World
We must look at the culture into which this virgin birth was inserted. We cannot apply our modern culture and attitudes to a time and period that is very different. No young woman would be allowed to be alone with her fiancée. This action would bring shame and reproach upon a young woman who was a devout Jew. As a young woman having intercourse with the man, she was engaged to, or any other man for that matter would have been highly unusual. The punishment for a woman having sex outside of marriage was death by stoning. No woman would have risked certain death for having sex outside of marriage.
The argument against the virgin birth would be that these two Jews, Matthew, and Luke, made this story up. Yes, that is a possibility. We must then look at the evidence of the Jewish culture of that time. No person would die for a lie. Both Matthew and Luke suffered horrible deaths. Matthew was martyred in Nadabah, A.D. 60. Luke, who was a Doctor, was hanged on an olive tree by idol worshipping priests in Greece. Matthew and Luke both were eyewitnesses to the life Jesus Christ and would have indeed not fallen for a lie and die a horrible death for that same lie. Dr. Luke is a compelling witness. His gospel is written for Gentiles. Being a doctor and a historian, he carefully lists out details not found in any other gospel. He intently interviews Mary getting every detail. From the announcement of the pregnancy to the birth of Jesus, Dr. Luke has a thorough examination of the facts of the virgin birth. Matthew, being an orthodox Jew, would not have used the story that came from a Gentile doctor. Gentiles and Jews rarely kept the same company. Even these apostles believing is the same story is an interesting paradox.
Early church fathers such as Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Origen all believe the account of the virgin birth that had been directly passed down to them from disciples or individuals who were students under the apostles. Ignatius was born no more than five years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was the closest Apostolic father to the Resurrection. He would have been able to speak directly with Dr. Luke about his findings. Some of the still living Apostles would have directly taught him. Ignatius states, “And God the Word, was truly born of the Virgin, having clothed Himself with a body like passions with our own. He who forms all men in the womb was Himself really in the womb and made for Himself a body of the seed of the Virgin, but without any intercourse of man.” Ignatius was convinced that the virgin birth was real.
The birth of John the Baptist and his unusual announcement can also confirm the unusual nature of the virgin birth. No Word from God had come through prophecy for over 300 years between Old and New Testaments. God was unusually silent. Through the prophet Micah, the birthplace of the Messiah was announced. Micah 5:2(KJV) states, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” The last word on the promised Messiah. God awaited the right moment in time to send His Son, Jesus as a baby.
The story begins with John the Baptist parents. The parents were considered barren. Elizabeth was much older than the women who would be having children at that time. Zachariah was a priest in the temple, and “luck” so happened to fall upon him to be chosen to light the incense in the temple. Based on historical evidence, over 18,000 priests were working in the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. Was it by chance that the choice fell on Zachariah? Yes, it is possible. It is not reasonable or logical to think that God would have given this special message to anyone but Zachariah himself. This conception was a time when there were no ultrasounds or advanced medical equipment to determine the sex of a child that was not yet born, let alone just conceived. God directed an angel to give Zachariah the good news about his son John. This miraculous event was predetermined over 700 years before John’s birth as well. He was the sign before the Sign.
God uses signs and wonders to point humanity to Himself. The virgin birth should be considered a sign from God, one that points corrupt and wicked humanity to a Holy and Sovereign God. Our faith ought to step in. If the virgin birth is not real, then all of the bibles is not true. God’s fulfilled promise is what the bible is. We can quickly unravel the rest of the scripture. If the virgin birth did not happen then neither did the parting of the Red Sea or the story of creation. All the old testament would be false as well as the majority of the new testament. Our belief in a God who could work outside of our human existence is impossible. Because a God who does miracles is one who is all-powerful and omnipresent and can do the unimaginable.
In conclusion, the evidence supporting the virgin birth is accurate. It takes critical analysis for one to determine its validity. We have various witnesses and testimony to believe the case for the virgin birth is correct from the early church fathers, two of the writers of the New Testament, and the mother of Jesus. It is easy to believe in nothing. It shows mental laziness not to investigate the stories of the Bible. At the end of any quest, one must answer the question of why would God come to earth and what does His coming have to do with my life? Each person who is interested in truth, facts and logical thinking should explore the virgin birth.
Citations
Foxe, John “Foxes Book of Martyrs” Edited by Harold J. Chadwick. Bridge-Logos Foundation 2001. Alachua, Florida. Web. Accessed Nov 28, 2018. http://www.Biblestudy.org
Jeremiah, David Dr., “Why Did Jesus Become a Man Part 1 & 2 (00.00-26:34) Turning Point Ministries. November 26 & 27, 2018.Web. Accessed November 28, 2018
Metaxas, Eric, Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life. Penguin Books, 2016. Pp 11-31
Townes, Elmer L., “Christology; The Virgin Birth, Section VII” Theology for Today edited by Michele Baird et. al, Cengage Learning.2008 Pp 184-191
“Transubstantiation Supported by Early Church Fathers”. puritanboards.com. Web. 06 Dec. 2018. http://www.puritanboard.com/threads/transubstatiation-supported-by-early-church
Ward, Keith Dr., “Evidence for the Virgin Birth,” Christianevidence.org. Christian Evidence Society, London, England 1987. Pp 1-16 Web. Accessed November 28, 2018
Christianity Today. “Christian History: Ignatius of Antioch”. Christianitytoday.com. Web. Accessed November 28, 2018. www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/martyrs/ignatius-of-antioch.html
“The Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians.”. earlychristianwritings.com Web. Accessed November 28, 2018. http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ignatius-brilliant-longer.html
In Him Ministries 