Was Jesus born of a virgin?

JesusIn theological review

The short answer

Yes, according to the Gospels and the prophecy they quote. Isaiah promised a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son called Immanuel, God with us. Matthew records that Mary was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit before she and Joseph came together, and the church has confessed it ever since in both its great creeds.

The fuller answer

The promise comes first. Isaiah, speaking to a king who refused to ask for a sign, announces one anyway: the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Matthew quotes this directly when he tells the story of Jesus's birth.

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14 (BSB)

Matthew's account is careful, because Joseph's first reaction was not celebration. Mary, pledged to be married, was found to be pregnant, and Joseph, a righteous man who did not want to expose her, planned to end the engagement quietly. It took an angel's word to change his mind, and the Gospel says plainly what the angel said the source was: what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Joseph obeyed, took Mary home as his wife, and did not consummate the marriage until after the birth.

Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:19 (BSB)

When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.

Matthew 1:24 (BSB)

Luke gives Mary's own side of it, including her startled question and her final answer: I am the Lord's servant. May it happen to me according to your word. The church held the fact tightly. The Apostles' Creed confesses Jesus Christ as conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, and the Definition of Chalcedon calls her the Mother of God precisely because the one born of her is truly God and truly man. The virgin birth is not decoration on the story. It marks Jesus as both fully human, born of a woman, and not merely human, conceived by the Spirit.

Sources

Berean Standard Bible (BSB)
The Apostles' Creed (received text)
The Definition of Chalcedon (AD 451)

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