John MacArthur talks about the youthfulness of Mary and Joseph
Sandro Botticelli's Annunciation, painted from 1489-1490, is an example of Quattrocento art. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew needs only one verse (1:18) to announce the fact of Christ ’s virgin birth . Such a concise statement, though it doesn’t all by itself prove the point, strongly suggests that the notion of our Lord and Savior’s virgin birth was not simply a man-made story. A human author, writing strictly on his own initiative, would characteristically tend to describe such a momentous and amazing event in an expansive, detailed, and elaborate manner. But not the apostle Matthew. He does relate additional circumstances surrounding the virgin birth, but the basic fact is stated in one simple sentence: “After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit .” Matthew devotes the previous seventeen verses to Jesus’ human genealogy but just this part of one verse to His divine genealogy. As the Son of God ,