“Born of the virgin Mary,” so goes many an ancient creed. Modern people can sometimes snicker at the idea, but God thought it important enough to make it a point of emphasis in the Christmas story (See Matthew 1:18-25). Why is Jesus’ birth from the womb of a virgin so important?
If Jesus is just the son of some Galilean lothario who had an affair with Mary and got her pregnant and then disappeared off the scene; if Jesus is just the son of a purely human being then I cannot trust him to forgive my sin and get me through death. I need someone to get me through death, take me to heaven, and cause me to be accepted before God. So far, no individual born of a non-virgin has been able to do any of that. If Jesus is the son of a Galilean lothario, then I can’t trust him to get me through death. That’s why I need the virgin birth. I need someone who is fully man and fully God if I’m going to enter heaven one day standing blamelessly before God. No virgin birth, no eternal life.
