Born of a Virgin

Was Jesus born of a virgin? Of course he was! However, I don't think you can use Matthew 1:23 as support for this. But we are so accustomed to doing this that we miss the greater message that Matthew is trying to convey, and that is, Jesus is "God with us". Matthew is not as concerned about biology as he is about the significance of Jesus' identity. See my previous post on "hook phrases".

I view Jesus' birth as the beginning of the re-creation of Israel embodied in one person. And from this one person God will reserve and preserve a remnant of others who see in Jesus exactly what God was up to. In other words, beginning with Jesus God will reconstitute His chosen Israel, raising God's children from the dust and ashes. St. Paul will make the bold claim that anyone who is in Christ Jesus is a new creation.

Many do not believe that Jesus was virgin born. And while I respectfully disagree, I don't believe that it's a point worthy of debate. I'm not downplaying the significance of the event. I just don't think that it's worth getting into a tizzy over because when we do we miss out on something that is so wonderful and profound. And while the virginal conception (which is a more correct term than "virgin birth") could be considered miraculous, the greater miracle is that God never gives up wooing God's people back to God's embrace.