Two Evangelists record the miraculous birth of Jesus. Mark and John do
not refer to it, and their silence has led some opponents of
Christianity to discredit the statements of Matthew and Luke. But while
there is no direct account given by Mark or John of the miraculous
conception and birth of Jesus, the fact of His Divine descent is implied
in many portions of their Gospels. The words with which Mark opens his
narrative clearly express it, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God;"[070] as does the statement he makes that at His
baptism there came a voice from heaven saying, "Thou art my beloved Son,
in whom I am well pleased."[071] John is equally explicit in declaring
his belief in the Divinity of Jesus. The opening words of his Gospel
assert His Divine nature: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made
that was made."[072]
It is evident, therefore, that each of the Evangelists believed in the
Divine origin of Jesus, for they would not have used such language
regarding one who in their opinion was a mere man, the son of Joseph the
carpenter and of Mary his espoused wife. Matthew, who wrote for Jewish
converts, shows how fully the Old Testament prophecy was accomplished
that Christ should be born, not at Nazareth but at Bethlehem, and
especially that Isaiah's prophecy, "Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD with us,"[073] was fulfilled
in the birth of Jesus Christ. Luke, who is termed by Paul "the beloved
physician," gives the fullest account of the Nativity. His writings are
characterised by minuteness of detail and historical accuracy. Recent
investigations have shown that, even in regard to matters about which he
was long thought to have been mistaken, Luke's statements are strictly
correct.[074]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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