What Scripture says
Two Gospels report that Jesus was conceived without a human father:
- Matthew tells the story from Joseph’s side. Before they came together, Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18, ESV). An angel tells Joseph in a dream to take her as his wife, and Matthew says it fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy, “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Matthew 1:23, quoting Isaiah 7:14). Joseph “knew her not until she had given birth to a son” (Matthew 1:25).
- Luke tells it from Mary’s side. The angel Gabriel tells Mary she will bear a son. She asks, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” He replies, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:34–35).
What the evidence says
Scripture
Two independent accounts
Matthew and Luke tell very different birth stories:
| Feature | Matthew | Luke |
|---|---|---|
| Point of view | Joseph | Mary |
| Angel visit | To Joseph, in dreams | To Mary, in person |
| Visitors | Magi from the east | Shepherds |
| Other events | Flight to Egypt, Herod’s massacre | Census, birth in Bethlehem, temple presentation |
Yet they agree on the core: Mary was a virgin, she conceived by the Holy Spirit, she was engaged to Joseph, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod, and the family settled in Nazareth. Their differences suggest neither copied the other, so the virgin conception appears in two independent sources.
Other New Testament hints
Mark and John don’t describe Jesus’ birth. Some see hints that people knew something was unusual:
- In Mark 6:3, Jesus’ neighbours call him “the son of Mary”, not, as was customary, the son of his father. Some see this as an insult implying illegitimacy.
- In John 8:41, Jesus’ opponents say, “We were not born of sexual immorality”, possibly hinting at rumours about his birth.
Paul says Jesus was “born of woman” (Galatians 4:4), which is consistent with the virgin birth, though it doesn’t mention it.
Context
Isaiah 7:14
Isaiah 7:14 says, “the virgin [Hebrew almah] shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”.
- The Hebrew almah means a young woman of marriageable age. It doesn’t specifically mean virgin; Hebrew has a more specific word, betulah. In the Bible, however, an almah is generally an unmarried young woman (Genesis 24:43, Exodus 2:8), who would be expected to be a virgin.
- The Greek translation of Isaiah, the Septuagint, made by Jews before Jesus, used parthenos, which normally means “virgin”. Matthew quotes this translation.
- In its original context, Isaiah gave this sign to King Ahaz around 735 BC, about a child born in his own time (Isaiah 7:15–16). Many Christians see a double fulfilment: a near one in Isaiah’s day, and a fuller one in Jesus, “Immanuel… God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
Pagan parallels?
Some critics compare the virgin birth with pagan stories of gods fathering children with human women, such as Zeus and the mother of Perseus. But those stories involve physical union between a god and a woman. The Gospels describe a conception by the Holy Spirit, with no sexual union, and are set in a thoroughly Jewish context (see 6.3).
History
Early belief
Belief in the virgin birth appears very early outside the New Testament. Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 110) says Jesus was “truly born of a virgin”. It appears in the Apostles’ Creed (“born of the virgin Mary”), whose earliest form goes back to the 2nd century.
A miracle claim
The virgin birth is a miracle claim, so historians can’t verify it in the usual way. It stands or falls with the rest of the case for Jesus. If Jesus rose from the dead (see 7.9), a miraculous beginning is not surprising; if miracles are ruled out, it must have another explanation.
Where they meet
Matthew and Luke independently report the virgin birth, and it was believed very early. As a miracle, it can’t be proven historically, but it fits with the overall case for who Jesus was.
What’s still open
- How Isaiah 7:14 related to its original context.
- How Matthew and Luke learned of it, perhaps from Mary and Joseph’s family.
Bottom line
Matthew and Luke report it independently. It’s a miracle claim, so it stands or falls with the rest of the case for Jesus. This is rated Debated.