Pastor Andy Stanley recently said:

“If somebody can predict their own death and then their own resurrection, I’m not all that concerned about how they got into the world because the whole resurrection thing is so amazing. And in fact, you should know this… that Christianity doesn’t hinge on the truth or even the stories surrounding the birth of Jesus. It really hinges on the resurrection of Jesus.”

Okay, Andy… so you’re not amazed about the fact that the Old Testament prophets predicted his birth – specifically the virgin birth – and that it happened?! Not just the lineage and the time, but the exact place?

  • Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son… (Isaiah 7:14)

  • I will bring a righteous Branch from David… (Jeremiah 33:15)

  • But you, O Bethlehem… from you shall come forth… (Micah 5:2)

We shouldn’t be all that concerned with those details, even though it’s literally the first event we read in the New Testament?

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to e with child from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18)

Just how important is the virgin birth?

Well, if Jesus was not conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, that means He was conceived by the seed of man. The Bible says everyone born of Adam is born under the curse of Adam inheriting his sin nature.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death thorough sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… (Romans 5:12)

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

We would not be able to call Christ sinless if this were the case. But because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Jesus is perfect. When the angel said, “He will save His people from their sins.” We know that’s true because he was virgin born.

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus… the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.” (Luke 1:31-35)

“She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

He is God incarnate – the pure and spotless lamb who takes away the sins of the world.

“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”! (Jon 1:29)

The virgin birth is as important as Christ’s death and resurrection.

God it, Andy?

“The thing that makes the Christmas story so believable is the fact that the entire story is so remarkable. No one would’ve made this up. No one could’ve made this up.” (Andy Stanley)

No. The thing that makes the Christmas story so believable is the Holy Spirit, Who discerns for us spiritual mysteries such as the virgin birth… when we understand the text.

And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they’re spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:13-14)

 (This video is by WWUTT. Discovered by e2 media network and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not e2 media network.)