Matthew and Luke are the only two gospel writers who focus on the birth of Jesus, with Luke giving the fullest account.
Mary was "found to be with child through the Holy Spirit". Many people object to the virgin birth, but we should not consider it unreasonable for the situation. We are talking about the incarnation, about God coming to earth in human form. And not just appearing as a man, but coming as a man from the point of conception. If we believe that God became man, then there is nothing surprising about the birth being a "virgin birth".
[Now this next bit here is a bit speculative, so be warned. While there was no sperm from Joseph involved, most people seem to assume that there was an egg cell from Mary, but I am not convinced that even this is necessary. Could God not have just implanted an embryo, and Mary carried the child? I emphasise that this pure musing on my part. Feel completely free to disagree, not even sure if I believe it myself. If this is any way diminishes the humanity of Christ, then it is definitely wrong. ]
Anyway, lets end speculations now and focus on what we know for sure. Joseph and Mary had not had sexual relations, and Mary was pregnant as a result of the Holy Spirit.
Joseph was a righteous man, and assumed that she had had relations with another man. The notion that first century people were gullible and believed anything and everything is nonsense, they were perfectly aware of how the world normally functioned. He did not want to cause any unnecessary upset, so was prepared to divorce her quietly. Betrothal, or engagement, in those times was as serious a commitment as marriage.
God sent an angel to Joseph that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that the son was to be called Jesus, which means "The Lord Saves". Joseph did what the angel commanded. This must have taken great faith, both in God, and having trust in Mary's fidelity.
Matthew quotes from Isaiah 7:14, seeing this as a fulfilment of this prophecy. Some sceptics make great play of the fact that some versions of the Isaiah verse refer to a "young woman", but within its context it clearly refers to a virgin.
The virgin birth is important, because it demonstrates the humanity and deity of Jesus. He was fully human, being born of a woman. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, being fully God. It also demonstrates that the sin line with Adam was broken. This raises the question about why did Jesus not inherit sin from Mary? This is why the Catholic church has the (erroneous) doctrine of the immaculate conception. It is also the reason for my earlier musings.
Whatever the details, we can be sure that God knew exactly what He was doing.
The virgin birth is important, because it demonstrates the humanity and deity of Jesus. He was fully human, being born of a woman. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, being fully God. It also demonstrates that the sin line with Adam was broken. This raises the question about why did Jesus not inherit sin from Mary? This is why the Catholic church has the (erroneous) doctrine of the immaculate conception. It is also the reason for my earlier musings.
Whatever the details, we can be sure that God knew exactly what He was doing.
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