Why is the virgin birth important?
"The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel. The name Immanuel means 'God with us'" (Matthew 1:23).
"But then the chosen time came. God sent his Son. A woman gave birth to him..." (Galatians 4:4).
When Jesus came to earth to save us from our sins, it was important for Him to have one parent who was human, but have God as His Father so he could be the perfect God-man.Many, many years ago, a prophet (someone who receives a special message from God) told God's people that a virgin was going to have a baby, and that baby would be Jesus (Isaiah 7:14). God chose a woman named Mary to be Jesus’ mother, and He did a miracle so that she was able to have a baby without a husband. Even though Mary got married later and her husband took care of Jesus like he was Jesus’ father, God was Jesus' real Father.
Besides being a sign to the people that this really was Jesus who was born to the virgin Mary, it was also important that Jesus not have an earthly father so that he wouldn’t be born into sin like everyone else. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, every other person who has been born has had something called a "sin nature" that they got from their fathers. But Jesus didn’t have that, so He was able to live a perfect life. This perfect life is what allowed Jesus to take the punishment for sin when He grew up, died on a cross, and rose again. Now, everyone who believes in Him is rescued from sin and death and can one day live with Him forever in heaven (John 3:16)!
