RETHINKING THE NECESSITY OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH - I

 

Christmas & New Year Special

Why was a virgin birth necessary?

Couldn't Jesus come from sexual union of Joseph and Mary?

Rethinking the necessity of the Virgin birth

 

PART 1

The Virgin birth is one of the crucial doctrines of our faith that we cannot neglect.[1] It isn’t just about birth of our Lord but there is much more theological significance connected to it. The Virgin birth has been considered miraculous but have we ever realized its significance in our salvation? Even Islamic community admits Jesus’ birth as miraculous (Surah 19:19-21, 21:91)[2]. However, Christian community should now reconsider and rethink the Virgin birth beyond a matter of just a mere miracle.

The Virgin birth has been understood as;

The virgin birth refers to the supernatural birth of Jesus Christ apart from the normal, physical process of procreation. Instead, Jesus was uniquely conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. The virginal birth is the means by which the eternal Son of God became incarnate as fully human. He was born of Mary with a true body and a reasonable soul. The virgin birth also is the means by which Jesus was born holy and sinless, in distinction from all other children born naturally since Adam. Jesus was not represented by Adam when the first man sinned, and is therefore not “in Adam.” Instead, Jesus is the head of new creation.[3]

Before we navigate our pivotal concern, we must admit that Nothing is without Criticism. Criticisms against the Virgin birth can be like[4]:

1.      Not all the Gospels (only Matthew and Luke mentioned it) and rest of the NT mention the virgin birth.

2.      Paul didn’t mention it.

3.      This is rarely mentioned in the first three centuries of the church history.

4.      Luke and Matthew used Septuagint translation of Isa. 7:14 which in original Hebrew predicted a ‘young woman’ rather than a ‘virgin’.

5.      It imitates the pagan and Jewish myths that credits virginal conception to spiritual heroes.

Why only Matthew and Luke mentioned the Virgin birth? Why it isn’t mentioned in other NT books? Is that a big issue to bear headache? John indeed focuses on Jesus’ divinity. Jesus is depicted as eternal Son of God who incarnates as man. John was clear in his message that Jesus was not from this world (e.g. 8:42, 17:16, etc.). Next, Mark doesn’t even include any infancy narrative. He leaps onto Jesus’ public ministry who appears in scene with great power and urgency.[5] Hence, Jesus’ infancy was not relevant account for these two Gospels. Next, rest of the NT didn’t mention it but this doesn’t lead to immediate conclusion that they denied it. NT emphasizes Jesus’ preexistence as God the Son which fits hand in glove with the virgin birth.[6] When theological significance of the virgin conception is clearly understood, we shall bear no issue with other NT books not mentioning it.

Just because Paul didn’t mention it, does that lead to the conclusion he didn’t believe it? Paul didn’t discuss it since it wasn’t a controversial issue.[7] However, his Adam-Christ parallel provides enough fuel that he must have believed in Virgin conception. He discusses both as representatives of humanity whose actions bear consequences for others.[8] He didn’t even deal with Jesus’ earthly life. We are taught Jesus was born, served, persecuted, arrested, executed, buried, resurrected and ascended. But Paul applies all these to a spiritual significance. Pauline theology indeed discuss what Jesus means for our life rather than repeating the whole story that the Gospels already discussed. Think in this manner: studying science is like learning Jesus’ earthly life while on the other hand studying engineering and medical field under application of science is studying Paul’s explanation on Jesus’ role from a spiritual lens.   

Did early church neglect the Virgin birth? Not that close! The church leader Ignatius of Antioch, writing perhaps as early as A.D. 110–117 mentions the virgin birth on several occasions. The second-century church fathers Aristides of Athens (d. ca. A.D. 138), Justin Martyr (d. A.D. 165), Melito of Sardis (ca. A.D. 170), and Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. A.D. 180) all affirm the virgin birth.[9]

Does word play from the original Hebrew regarding a virgin vs young woman i.e. almah vs bethulah really bear a problem? Under the Mosaic Law, a woman could be stoned to death for having a child out of marriage. What can be said is that almah is consistent with the idea of a young woman who has not had any sexual relations with a man. Consequently, she would be a virgin. Next, the Old Testament was translated from the original Hebrew into Greek some two hundred years before the time of Christ which is known as the Septuagint, or seventy. When they translated the Hebrew word almah in Isaiah 7:14, they used the Greek word parthenos. It was a usual word for virgin.[10] This word is used in the New Testament of the Virgin Mary (Matt. 1:23; Luke 1:27) and of the ten virgins in the parable (Matt. 25:1, 7, 11).  If the Hebrews translated the Hebrew word almah into the Greek word for virgin, then they understood what the Hebrew text meant here.[11]

Was Jesus’ virgin birth a copied variation from the pagan? Are similarities a big burden for us? As CARM ministry responds it, there will undoubtedly be similarities in religious themes given the agrarian culture. Remember, an agriculturally based society, as were the people of the ancient Mediterranean area, will undoubtedly develop theological themes based upon observable events, i.e., the life, death, and seeming resurrection of life found in crops, in cattle, and in human life. It would only be natural for similar themes to unfold since they are observed in nature and since people created gods related to nature. Those who wrote about Jesus in the New Testament were Jews (or under the instruction of Jews) who were devoted to the legitimacy and inspiration of the Old Testament scriptures and possessed a strong disdain for pagan religions. It would have been blasphemous for them to incorporate pagan sources into what they saw as the fulfillment of the sacred Old Testament scriptures concerning the Messiah.[12] Other religions with parallel stories do not have any bearing on whether this particular story is historically true. It just indicates that the notion of a virginal conception didn’t seem absurd in that age.[13] Furthermore, deeper study suggests that the so-called virgin birth claims from other religious figures such as Horus, Mithras, Krishna, etc. have zero basis.[14]

 

References:

Crowe, Brandon D. “The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.” The Gospel Coalition. Accessed November 27, 2022. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/virgin-birth-jesus-christ/.

Galli, Mark. “The Virgin Birth: What’s the Problem Exactly?” ChristianityToday.Com. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/december-web-only/virgin-birth-whats-problem-exactly.html.

Saheeh International, and Muntadá al-Islāmī, eds. The Qurʼān: English Meanings and Notes. London: Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust, 2011.

Slick, Matt. “Doesn’t Mithra Prove That Christians Borrowed from This Myth?” Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, December 10, 2008. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://carm.org/evidence-and-answers/doesnt-mithra-prove-that-christianity-borrowed-from-this-myth/.

———. “Isaiah 7:14, in Hebrew Means Maiden, Not Virgin. Therefore, It Is Not a Prophecy.” Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, December 1, 2008. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://carm.org/bible-difficulties/isaiah-714-in-hebrew-means-maiden-not-virgin-therefore-it-is-not-a-prophecy/.

“(261) Was Jesus a Copycat Savior? - YouTube.” Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/.

“Is the Virgin Birth to Be Understood Literally? By Don Stewart.” Blue Letter Bible. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/what-everyone-needs-to-know-about-jesus/29-is-the-virgin-birth-to-be-understood-literally.cfm.

“Must Christians Believe in the Virgin Birth?” Ligonier Ministries. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/must-christians-believe-virgin-birth.

 

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[1] “Must Christians Believe in the Virgin Birth?,” Ligonier Ministries, accessed November 29, 2022, https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/must-christians-believe-virgin-birth.

[2] Saheeh International and Muntadá al-Islāmī, eds., The Qurʼān: English Meanings and Notes (London: Al-Muntada Al-Islami Trust, 2011).

[3] Brandon D. Crowe, “The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ,” The Gospel Coalition, accessed November 27, 2022, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/virgin-birth-jesus-christ/.

[4] Mark Galli, “The Virgin Birth: What’s the Problem Exactly?,” ChristianityToday.Com, accessed November 29, 2022, https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/december-web-only/virgin-birth-whats-problem-exactly.html.

[5] Crowe, “The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.”

[6] Ibid.

[7] Galli, “The Virgin Birth.”

[8] Crowe, “The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ.”

[9] Ibid.

[10] “Is the Virgin Birth to Be Understood Literally? By Don Stewart,” Blue Letter Bible, accessed November 29, 2022, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/stewart_don/faq/what-everyone-needs-to-know-about-jesus/29-is-the-virgin-birth-to-be-understood-literally.cfm.

[11] Matt Slick, “Isaiah 7:14, in Hebrew Means Maiden, Not Virgin. Therefore, It Is Not a Prophecy.,” Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, December 1, 2008, accessed November 29, 2022, https://carm.org/bible-difficulties/isaiah-714-in-hebrew-means-maiden-not-virgin-therefore-it-is-not-a-prophecy/.

[12] Matt Slick, “Doesn’t Mithra Prove That Christians Borrowed from This Myth?,” Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, December 10, 2008, accessed November 29, 2022, https://carm.org/evidence-and-answers/doesnt-mithra-prove-that-christianity-borrowed-from-this-myth/.

[13] Galli, “The Virgin Birth.”

[14] “(261) Was Jesus a Copycat Savior? - YouTube,” accessed November 29, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/.