Matthew 1

Matthew 1 The Virgin Birth

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (v. 23)

The virgin birth of Christ is so fundamental that, without it, or the belief of it, we lose the redemptive power of Christ on our behalf. You see, here is the “workings” of it: Sin is passed down from generation to generation through the seed of man, (Rom. 5:12). If there were a man involved in the birth of Christ, He would have had the sin--seed ingrained in Him, and could not have been the “Lamb without spot or blemish.” Jesus had no earthly father, but a step-father, if you will. I believe that Mary remained a virgin even after Jesus was born, otherwise Joseph would not have married a virgin woman, as the devout Jews were supposed to do. The miracle was indeed a great one.

Doctors say that the blood of the babe is the Fathers’ blood, and not the mothers. This is why, with forensic science today, it can be proven who the father of a baby really is, through his DNA. That being so, Jesus had His fathers’ blood in Him, through the power of the Holy Ghost. This is why we say He was God, wrapped in flesh, there was no mortal blood in Him at all.

This verse quotes Isaiah 7:14, and is prophecy fulfilled. It is amazing that the virgin birth fulfilled a prophecy in Scripture, but even more so, that Jesus humbled Himself and took on the form of a man, and suffered at the hands of those he created, and paid the price for sin once and for all. Jesus subjected Himself to His subordinates, and willingly took upon Him the sin of the world, and hung them on the cross. All this would not have been possible without a virgin birth. God’s plan is so thorough, and so wonderfully planned that it is almost unbelievable! That is the problem for many though, unbelief. Take a few moments to ponder this, and let it “sink in” to your mind a little, and you will see how truly miraculous, and wonderful it really is.