The Virgin's Womb and the New Tomb -- Connected?
As we study the Bible we find some interesting correlations between the circumstances of the birth of Jesus and His death, burial, and resurrection. In fact, they appear to be parallel. Let's take a look:
Jesus was born to a young woman who had not yet known a man (Luke 1:34).
Jesus' body was laid in a new tomb (Matt 27:60).
The betrothed husband of Mary was named Joseph (Luke 2:5).
The owner of the new tomb was named Joseph (Matt 27:57-60).
Joseph, Mary's husband, was a just man (Matt 1:19).
Joseph, the owner of the new tomb, was an honourable counsellor (Mark 15:43).
And it is the Bible itself that directs us to expect this parallelism between birth and death. Consider Job 1:21a,
"And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither"
I believe this is one of the many things in the Bible that are hidden in plain sight. If we read it carefully, we will find this commonly known verse to be in fact astonishing! What does, 'naked shall I return thither' mean? Well, what does 'thither' mean?
According to dictionary.com, as an adverb, such as it is used in this verse, 'thither' means "to or toward that place of point" or simply, "there". As an adjective, 'thither' means "on the farther, or other side, or direction away from the person speaking; farther; more remote."
So, since the word thither used as an adverb simply means 'there' perhaps coloured with a sense of 'the more remote there', the verse might accurately be rephrased this way:
"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return that way."
So the scripture prepares us to see the parallels between Jesus' birth and His death. But the greatest parallel is the singularly unique circumstance attending both! Man born of a woman who has known a man is earthy as the first man and returns to his earth. But Jesus, the Lord from heaven:
He was born from a Virgin's womb, who conceived by the Holy Ghost.
He was lain in a new tomb and raised from the dead by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus returned thither along the pathway by which He came into the world!
His pathway was different than ours but because of His atoning work on our behalf, through faith in Him we are justified by God to share in His blessed path instead of the path bequeathed to us by our ancestor Adam. That means being saved by the life of the last Adam, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:6-11, Rom 6:3-7)!
This is also interesting from the point of view of the importance or significance of believing the Virgin Birth because it is parallel to the Resurrection. If one does not believe the Virgin Birth is this not evidence that they also do not truly believe the Resurrection? Scripture says that man returns toward his mother's womb at death, and only the Virgin Birth corresponds to Resurrection.
It is important to mention before finishing that there is another Scripture that says the same thing. 2 Cor 13:1 says that "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established", so a second scriptural witness is provided:
"As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand." Ecclesiastes 5:15
I often think that early Christianity had much understanding that is largely lost or forgotten today but it is recorded in creeds and traditions that are now honoured or recited ritualistically without the original understanding. But the deeper truth is still hidden there, right before our eyes. And so we find an emphasis upon the Virgin Birth in the Apostles' Creed (and the Nicene Creed of 381)...because, I believe, they knew that the Virgin Birth is inseparable from the Resurrection of Christ.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
- The Apostles' Creed
{Interestingly, the reference to the incarnation of Jesus by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary is absent from the Creed of Nicaea produced by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but I believe this is an overcompensation due to the intent of the Council to refute the heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus is a created being. For this cause, they wanted to omit the birth of Jesus because they feared it suggested a time of creation. But this is an error: it does not suggest that Jesus is created but, as we have shown, that Jesus would rise from the dead. This omission was corrected by the First Council of Constantinople in 381.}
Jesus was born to a young woman who had not yet known a man (Luke 1:34).
Jesus' body was laid in a new tomb (Matt 27:60).
The betrothed husband of Mary was named Joseph (Luke 2:5).
The owner of the new tomb was named Joseph (Matt 27:57-60).
Joseph, Mary's husband, was a just man (Matt 1:19).
Joseph, the owner of the new tomb, was an honourable counsellor (Mark 15:43).
And it is the Bible itself that directs us to expect this parallelism between birth and death. Consider Job 1:21a,
"And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither"
I believe this is one of the many things in the Bible that are hidden in plain sight. If we read it carefully, we will find this commonly known verse to be in fact astonishing! What does, 'naked shall I return thither' mean? Well, what does 'thither' mean?
According to dictionary.com, as an adverb, such as it is used in this verse, 'thither' means "to or toward that place of point" or simply, "there". As an adjective, 'thither' means "on the farther, or other side, or direction away from the person speaking; farther; more remote."
So, since the word thither used as an adverb simply means 'there' perhaps coloured with a sense of 'the more remote there', the verse might accurately be rephrased this way:
"Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return that way."
So the scripture prepares us to see the parallels between Jesus' birth and His death. But the greatest parallel is the singularly unique circumstance attending both! Man born of a woman who has known a man is earthy as the first man and returns to his earth. But Jesus, the Lord from heaven:
He was born from a Virgin's womb, who conceived by the Holy Ghost.
He was lain in a new tomb and raised from the dead by the Holy Ghost.
Jesus returned thither along the pathway by which He came into the world!
His pathway was different than ours but because of His atoning work on our behalf, through faith in Him we are justified by God to share in His blessed path instead of the path bequeathed to us by our ancestor Adam. That means being saved by the life of the last Adam, Jesus Christ (Rom 5:6-11, Rom 6:3-7)!
This is also interesting from the point of view of the importance or significance of believing the Virgin Birth because it is parallel to the Resurrection. If one does not believe the Virgin Birth is this not evidence that they also do not truly believe the Resurrection? Scripture says that man returns toward his mother's womb at death, and only the Virgin Birth corresponds to Resurrection.
It is important to mention before finishing that there is another Scripture that says the same thing. 2 Cor 13:1 says that "in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established", so a second scriptural witness is provided:
"As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand." Ecclesiastes 5:15
I often think that early Christianity had much understanding that is largely lost or forgotten today but it is recorded in creeds and traditions that are now honoured or recited ritualistically without the original understanding. But the deeper truth is still hidden there, right before our eyes. And so we find an emphasis upon the Virgin Birth in the Apostles' Creed (and the Nicene Creed of 381)...because, I believe, they knew that the Virgin Birth is inseparable from the Resurrection of Christ.
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
- The Apostles' Creed
{Interestingly, the reference to the incarnation of Jesus by the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary is absent from the Creed of Nicaea produced by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, but I believe this is an overcompensation due to the intent of the Council to refute the heresy of Arianism, which taught that Jesus is a created being. For this cause, they wanted to omit the birth of Jesus because they feared it suggested a time of creation. But this is an error: it does not suggest that Jesus is created but, as we have shown, that Jesus would rise from the dead. This omission was corrected by the First Council of Constantinople in 381.}
