Matthew tells us that the virgin birth of the child fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. In Isaiah 7:14 we read, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” The theologians make much of the Hebrew word in that passage that’s translated as “virgin.” It has been argued that Isaiah’s word for the young woman, “Almah”, does not necessarily mean “virgin,” though it usually does. It can mean merely a young woman of marriageable age. I did a study of the word and found that in over half of its uses in the Old Testament it definitely does mean “virgin.” One must not overlook the fact that the New Testament writers translate that with a word that always means “virgin.” Therefore, any confusion on the right translation is cleared up for us.
The significance of Christ’s virgin birth is an essential doctrine of our faith. It’s the evidence of his ability to pay for the sins of the whole world. A simple, normally conceived, sinful human being couldn’t pay for my sins, let alone the sins of the world. It’s truly a defining issue. If we reject it, we must reject the entire message of the bible.
When asked, “If you could select any one person across all of history to interview, who would it be?” talk-show host Larry King said he would like to interview Jesus Christ. When asked, “What would you like to ask him?” King replied, “I would like to ask him if he was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me.” When Ravi Zacharias requested permission to quote Larry King, King responded, “Tell him I was not being facetious.”
Truly, the question of Jesus virgin birth defines history!
Chuck
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23