Virgin Birth       Christmas celebrates the miraculous birth of Christ Jesus our Lord over two millennia ago. Miraculous meaning not in the ordinary course of nature. As the angel Gabriel told Mary, “With God, nothing will be impossible” ( Lk 1:37 ). Jesus puts that truth this way: “What is impossible with men [humanity] is possible with God” ( Lk 18:27 ; cf.. Mt 19:26 ; Mk 10:27 ).       Last week we discussed Isaiah’s prophecy: “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [Emmanuel]” ( Is 7:14 ). The Hebrew word translated “virgin” here is “ almah ,” which can mean “virgin” or “young woman,” and virginity was expected of every young woman. There is a separate word, “ bethulah ,” that means a virgin specifically, and the two terms can be used interchangeably as with Rebekah ( Gen 24:16, 43 ).       The Greek Septuagint translation (3rd Century ...