Virgin Birth

Scholars place the active ministry of Isiah the prophet from about 740 to 680 B.C.  The Book of Isiah contains a number of prophesies about the Messiah.  In one such prophesy, Isiah foretold that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. “ … Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isiah 7:14 NASB)*

Centuries later, the prophesy was fulfilled:

Now in the sixth month (of her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy)** the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 
And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 
But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 
"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 
"He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." 

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 

"For nothing will be impossible with God." 

And Mary said, "Behold, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1: 26-38 NASB)*

Mary was engaged to Joseph, but Joseph was not the biological father of her child.  Nevertheless, he took Mary into his home to be his wife.  (Matthew 1:18-24)  Further, Augustus Caesar had decreed that a census be taken of the entire Roman world; which was possibly a prelude to taxation.  So, Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem, during her pregnancy, because Joseph was a descendent of King David.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Luke 2:1-7) Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until after Jesus was born. (Matthew 1:25)

If Jesus is the biological child of Joseph, then He cannot be the Messiah.  God promised that the Messiah would be a descendant of David (2Samuel 7:12-17). Although Joseph was a descendant of David, he was also a descendant of Jeconiah (aka Jehoiachin). (Matthew 1:11)  Jeconiah was so evil that God cursed him, and none of his descendants could be king. (Jeremiah 22:24-30)  Thus, the Messiah could not be a descendant of Jeconiah, or of Joseph.

Mary was also a descendant of King David, but she was not a descendent of Jeconiah. (Luke 3:23-38)  Therefore, the Messiah could come from her bloodline.

When Jesus asked Simon Peter who he believed Jesus was, Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Then, Jesus said, “ Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven …” (Matthew 16:16-17 NASB)*

Even after her brother Lazarus died, and before Jesus raised him from the dead, Martha said she believed He is the Christ and the Son of God. (John 11:27)  The Roman soldiers who crucified Him recognized Jesus Christ as the Son of God. (Matthew 27:54)    On the Mount of Transfiguration God Himself testified that Jesus is His Son (Matthew 17:5)

When they deny the Immaculate Conception and virgin birth of Jesus Christ, scoffers deny the words of the Archangel Gabriel, the Apostle Peter, Martha, the Romans, and Almighty God.  In doing so, they deny that Jesus is the Christ, whether they realize it or not.  Jesus cannot be the son of Joseph, or somebody else, and still be the Messiah.  Jesus of Nazareth was conceived in Mary by a miracle of the Holy Spirit, and she was a virgin when she gave birth to Him.  He Is the Son of God!

It is Christmas, and in this season when we celebrate Jesus’ birth, please remember the things the Apostle John said about Him:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
(John 1:1-5 NASB)*

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:10-14 NASB)*

*  https://www.biblestudytools.com/nas/

** clarification added