Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-38

Here we read the beautiful story of the birth of Jesus foretold. The angel of the Lord visited Mary at the sixth month mark of the pregnancy of her relative Elizabeth. The pregnancy of Elizabeth was a miracle in itself, but this announcement to Mary was the greatest act of God. The angel foretold of a virgin birth that continues to mystify people in and outside the church.

The doctrine of the virgin birth was one of the first miracles questioned by researching minds. In the modern era many have flat out denied it. They use reasoning like only two of the four gospels mention it and that Paul didn’t preach it in his sermons in Acts. But belief in the virgin birth is essential to our faith.

First, we must recognize that this is not a simple story spun by uneducated gospel writers. As you study the life of this writer, Luke, he was a highly educated man of his day and a medical doctor. Wow, a medical doctor talking about a virgin birth. Plus, as he mentions in Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-2, Luke was meticulous in gathering his facts as he wrote about the life of Jesus and the adventures of the early church. Belief in the virgin birth is essential to our faith.

Second, this is a fulfillment of a 700 year old prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” What this angel proclaimed to Mary was not a brand new thought that God suddenly revealed but something He had in place for centuries – even before the beginning of the world. Now, the Roman world was seeing the fulfillment of the designs of God. Belief in the virgin birth is essential to our faith.

I like how Albert Mohler states it, “Implications, indeed. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, who was His father? There is no answer that will leave the Gospel intact. The virgin birth explains how Christ could be both God and man, how He was without sin, and that the entire work of salvation is God’s gracious act. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, He had a human father. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, the Bible teaches a lie.”

Pause and reflect today on this wonderful start of the Christmas story.

Weekly Memory Verse: O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! Psalm 34.8