Why the Virgin Birth Still Matters


Every Christmas season, conversations about Jesus surface in predictable ways—nativity sets, carols, sermons, and the familiar story of Mary, Joseph, angels, and a manger. But beneath the nostalgia lies a serious question many people quietly ask: Why does the virgin birth actually matter? Isn’t it enough to believe Jesus was a great teacher, or even that He was the Son of God, without insisting on something as seemingly unbelievable as a miracle at His conception?

For Christians throughout history, the virgin birth hasn’t been optional. It’s one of the core truths that has defined the faith from its earliest centuries. And understanding why it matters actually strengthens convictions about Scripture, about Jesus, and about salvation itself.

Let’s explore four reasons the virgin birth isn’t just a theological side note—but a foundational truth of Christianity.

1. The Virgin Birth Upholds the Truthfulness of the Bible

The Bible doesn’t whisper about the virgin birth; it states it plainly. Both Matthew and Luke record it as historical fact, not metaphor or imagery. Matthew was one of the twelve disciples, and Luke claims to have investigated everything carefully, consulting eyewitnesses. These aren’t mythical stories floating in from ancient folklore—they’re presented as real events in real history.

To deny the virgin birth requires more than a rejection of one miracle. It requires denying the reliability of Scripture itself. This is why the conversation often comes down to worldview. If someone assumes naturalism—Miracles can’t happen because miracles don’t happen—then of course the virgin birth sounds impossible. But the Bible begins with a different assumption: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. If a supernatural Creator brought the universe into being, then suspending natural laws to bring His Son into the world isn’t irrational—it’s entirely consistent.

Luke anticipated Mary’s own question—How can this be?—and recorded the angel’s response: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Belief in the virgin birth isn’t blind faith; it’s faith in the God of creation, the God who acts, the God who enters history.

2. The Virgin Birth Protects the Deity of Christ

Here’s where the doctrine becomes absolutely essential: if Jesus had a human father in the ordinary biological sense, then He was simply another human being. A remarkable one, perhaps. A man filled with God’s Spirit, perhaps. But not God in the flesh.

Yet the New Testament insists again and again that Jesus is fully, eternally God. John says, “The Word was God… and the Word became flesh.” Hebrews calls the Son “God.” Thomas worships the risen Jesus as “My Lord and my God,” and Jesus accepts it.

A merely human Jesus can be admired, but He cannot be worshiped.

The virgin birth guards this truth. Jesus didn’t come into existence at conception. He entered the world He had already created. The miracle of His conception wasn’t a divine-human partnership—it was God taking on human flesh without ceasing to be God.

Without the virgin birth, the deity of Christ falls apart. With it, the incarnation stands firm.

3. The Virgin Birth Safeguards the Sinlessness of Christ

Christianity teaches that humanity has inherited a sinful nature going all the way back to Adam. That’s why no human being—no matter how disciplined or moral—ever manages a sinless life. If Jesus had been born in the exact same way every other person is born, He would share that same inherited corruption. He might be a better example than we are, but He couldn’t be our Savior.

Jesus needed to be fully human, sharing our nature. But He also needed to be without sin.

The virgin birth is the way God accomplished both truths simultaneously. Through Mary, Jesus is truly human. Through the Holy Spirit’s miraculous work, He is truly holy. The angel told Mary that because of this miraculous conception, “the holy child shall be called the Son of God.” No ordinary birth could produce a sinless Savior.

This wasn’t a random miracle—it was the miracle that made redemption possible.

4. The Virgin Birth Confirms That Jesus Is the Savior We Need

All of Christian salvation hangs on who Jesus is. If He is only human, He cannot save. If He is only God, He cannot stand in our place. Only someone fully God and fully man could bear the sin of the world and reconcile us to God.

That’s why the angel told Joseph, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Jesus didn’t come just to inspire us or teach us or comfort us. He came to rescue us. The virgin birth is God’s declaration that salvation is His initiative, not ours. Just as Mary did nothing to conceive Jesus, we do nothing to save ourselves. The new birth God gives to sinners mirrors the miracle He worked in Mary—His power, His initiative, His grace.

Bishop Handley Moule once wrote, “A Savior not quite God is a bridge broken at the farther end.” The virgin birth ensures that the bridge from God to humanity—and from humanity back to God—is whole.

In the End, the Virgin Birth Isn’t Just About Christmas

It’s about the character of Scripture.
It’s about the identity of Jesus.
It’s about the reality of sin.
And it’s about the hope of salvation.

You can believe the doctrine and still refuse the Savior, just as you can admire Jesus and never come to Him. But the truth of the virgin birth invites us to something deeper: to trust the God who came near, took on flesh, and offers eternal life through His Son.

The miracle isn’t just what happened in Mary’s womb—it’s what God still does in hearts today.


Rooted in Jesus Grace,

Mara Wellspring 




Credit: 

Steven J Cole

Christmas [1996]: The Virgin Birth--Why Believe It? (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38)

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