Why the Virgin Conception?

“All is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin mother and child.” These are words from the most popular Christmas carol, “Silent Night!” Most of us have sung these words thousands of times. The words “virgin” and “mother” rarely go together. But that is the reality of Jesus’ birth – He was born of a virgin. Nothing like this has ever happened in all of history. And it did not take place without a purpose. God was not just flexing His muscles to show the world what He can do. It was necessary that Jesus be born of a virgin for Him to accomplish what He intended. And without the virgin conception, Jesus would have failed even before He left the womb.

Let’s begin to understand this by first seeing what Jesus was supposed to accomplish.

Jesus’ Mission

The birth of Jesus, the Messiah, was prophesied long ago in the Old Testament by God directly and also through the prophets (see here). All these prophecies included specific things that Jesus would accomplish. And primarily, His mission – the reason He came to this world – was to reconcile humans and all creation to God (2 Cor 5:19).

Humans once enjoyed close fellowship with God in the garden of Eden. However, because of sin – because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve – humans were alienated from God. Through that one act of disobedience, sin entered the world and spread to all mankind (Rom 5:12). Every person born is born under the curse of sin (Ps 51:5, Eph 2:2) and we are all separated from God (Rom 3:23). Moreover, we cannot redeem ourselves from this state because in our minds we are hostile to God (Rom 8:7-8), we enjoy our sin (Eph 2:3), and all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags before the Lord (Is 64:6). According to God’s law, the wages of our sin is death (Rom 6:23). Such is the helpless state of mankind in comparison to God’s holiness. And this is what Jesus came to rectify.

He did this by bearing our sins upon Himself and dying in our place (1 Pet 3:18); while we were still helpless, Jesus died for us and redeemed us from the wrath of God (Rom 5:6). And He could do this only because of His virgin conception.

Importance of the Virgin Conception

Before diving into this, let us keep in mind that the birth of Jesus was not miraculous but His conception was. He was born like any of us are born – He was in Mary’s womb for 9 months, and was delivered like any of us are; but unlike us, He was conceived by a virgin, without the involvement of a man. Therefore, the term “Virgin birth” is misleading.

The story about the conception of Jesus is found in the Gospels of Matthew and of Luke. Mary, the young virgin, became pregnant before she had relations with a man. The child in her womb, Jesus, was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:20) and eventually, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

As we saw earlier, everyone conceived naturally of Adam and Eve inherited sin and are sinful by nature – sin spread to all mankind. And a sinful person could never reconcile humans to God because he cannot be a suitable atonement. God revealed this truth through the sacrificial system in the Old Testament. The sacrificial animal, which was a substitute for the people, had to be without blemish. The best example of this is the Passover lamb in Exodus 12:5 – it was to be unblemished. We see the same in Lev 1:3,10; 3:1; 4:3; 14:10; 23:18; Num 6:14; 28:19, and many more. So, for Jesus to be our sacrifice, our Passover Lamb (1 Pet 1:19), He needed to be without sin. He could not inherit the sin of Adam from birth; and at the same time, He could not commit any sin either during His life on earth.

To accomplish this, according to God’s awesome and wise plan, Jesus was not conceived in a way which will automatically associate sin to Him. He was not stained with a sinful nature into which everyone is born. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was free from sin. And when we think about it, isn't that how God created man originally? Adam was created when God breathed life into him and he was created without sin, and God said that it was very good (Gen 1:31). Likewise, Jesus was also born without sin as the second and last Adam (Rom 5:14).

And when it comes to committing sin during His life on earth, the Bible is clear that Jesus never sinned though He was tempted in every way as we are (Heb 4:15). He was not subject to sin as we are and there was no desire in Him to break God’s Law. Even during His false trial before His crucifixion, He was found to be without guilt (John 18:8).

Thus, Jesus was sinless in every way and it began with His virgin conception.

Conclusion

The virgin conception of Jesus is crucial in God’s redemption story. If He had not been born of a virgin, then He would have been sinful and He would have needed redemption just like all of us. But, praise the Lord, Jesus was born of a virgin and therefore, He was sinless, and because He was sinless, He could be and was the perfect atonement for our sins.

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus this year, let us ponder on the importance of His virgin conception and how it was absolutely necessary for our redemption. The nature of the incarnation of the Son of God is intertwined with his atoning work on the cross. His unblemished nature was organically tied to His perfect life, His death, and His resurrection.

Without the virgin womb, there would not have been an empty tomb!

Merry Christmas!

Further Reading