"The Virgin Shall Conceive" Through Isaiah, God promised to give his people a sign: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). This refers to Isaiah 7:14 (see "The Virgin Shall Conceive," below). Joseph accepted the divine plan.Īs evidence for his Jewish readers that Jesus was their Messiah, Matthew adds that all this took place "to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’-which means, ‘God with us’" (verses 22-23). But an angel appeared to Joseph and reassured him: "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (verse 20). Joseph considered quietly terminating the betrothal. Matthew is telling the story from Joseph’s point of view. Notice Matthew’s account again: "This 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" (Matthew 1:18). His was a more cosmopolitan audience-Christians of pagan origin living outside Palestine. Luke, a gentile Christian, wrote with the Greek and Roman world in mind. Matthew’s Gospel was compiled for a Jewish-Christian readership concerned with the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:34-35)Each of the writers approaches the story in a different way. "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"- which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:18, 22-23)Luke records Mary’s reaction to the angel Gabriel’s announcement of the Virgin Birth: This 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. They record Jesus’ supernatural conception as a historical fact. The doctrine that Mary was the sole natural parent of Jesus is clearly taught in two New Testament passages, referred to as the infancy narratives: Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38. Infancy narrativesI explained that the term Virgin Birth refers to the virginal conception of Jesus that is, the belief that Jesus was conceived in Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, without the agency of a human father. 1530) depicts the newly born Jesus in Mary’s arms. Gabriel also announced John the Baptist’s birth.īelow, the Italian painter Allegri da Correggio (c. The annunciation to Mary by the angel Gabriel, below, as depicted by a 19th-century artist. The Shepherds Worship the Child, by Rembrandt (c. Later, walking on the paved expanse of Manger Square outside the ancient church, we discussed the subject at length. The Gospel writers, he speculated, simply borrowed the theme of supernatural birth from ancient pagan mythology. The man, an agnostic, offered the opinion that Jesus was probably illegitimate, and that the Gospel accounts of the Virgin Birth were attempts to cover up that embarrassing fact. I responded that, yes, I believe that Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived, but I doubted whether the silver star marked the spot of the birth. A silver star inlaid in the marble floor is said to mark the exact spot where the divine birth took place. The fortresslike Church of the Nativity is built over this grotto or cave where, according to tradition, Jesus Christ was born.
It was my first visit to the Holy Land, and I was standing in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem. "Well, what do you think?" the man then asked.
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"I’ll try," I answered, and bringing to bear the full force of my meager Latin, attempted a translation: "Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary." "Can you read that?" The tourist asked me, pointing to a large silver star bearing a Latin inscription: "Hic de virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est."