Why the Virgin Birth Why the Virgin Birth
Why the Virgin Birth?
Why the Virgin Birth? • Imagine what Mary and Joseph felt when they first looked at Baby Jesus lying in the manger. • Here lay a child like no other. • Angels had announced His birth. • Prophets have foretold of this event for centuries. • Kings brought gifts to Him. • No other baby had ever been conceived the way Jesus was—by the Virgin Birth.
Why the Virgin Birth? • VIDEO ONE—Fears of Joseph & Mary
Why the Virgin Birth? • It is amazing that this simple truth—the Virgin Birth —is such a stumbling block. • Atheists mock it. • Liberal ministers deny it. • But, the Virgin Birth shows that Jesus truly is the Son of God.
Why the Virgin Birth? • Jesus came into this world by the Virgin Birth, a miraculous one time event. • There had been other children who had come by way of a miraculous birth before Him: 1. Adam had no father or mother. 2. Eve was formed from Adam’s rib. 3. Hannah’s barren womb miraculously opened 4. Sarah & Elizabeth conceived miraculously in later years. 5. But, only Jesus was born through a virgin! (Unique)
Why the Virgin Birth? Matthew 1: 18 -24 – 18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David, " the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Why the Virgin Birth? 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. " 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through His prophet: 23 "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us. '" [Isaiah 7: 14] 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. (NLT)
Why the Virgin Birth? 1. Isaiah – Over 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah prophesied that He would be born of a virgin. • This is one of the more than 300 prophecies fulfilled in the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 2. Joseph was hesitant because Mary was pregnant. • He knew he was not the father of the child. • He could have had her stoned to death, but because he was a godly man, he intended to quietly divorce her. • They were betrothed, and they would not live together until they were formally married.
Why the Virgin Birth? • SHOW VIDEO 2: Mary Comes Home
Why the Virgin Birth? • Unfortunately, today, having children out of wedlock is not that big of a deal, but then, this was huge! • They were the talk of Nazareth! • But, the Lord sent an angel to show Joseph what actually happened to Mary.
Why the Virgin Birth? • SHOW VIDEO 3: Joseph telling Mary that he believes her!
Why the Virgin Birth? • 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. • Notice that Joseph immediately obeyed the Lord and took Mary as his wife. • This was not an easy decision. • Many people thought he had impregnated Mary. • Why else would he go ahead and marry her?
Why the Virgin Birth? • Luke also has a version of the miraculous birth of Jesus. • Many scholars feel that Luke’s version of the birth of Christ came directly from Mary. • There is also reason to believe that she did not even reveal all of this until she spoke to Luke about it. • Why would she? No one would’ve believed her. • She just pondered and treasured all these things in her heart.
Why the Virgin Birth? • She bore the stigma of bearing a child out of wedlock nearly all of her life! • She willingly bore that stigma so the plans of God could be fulfilled. • Because of her willingness, she is perhaps one of the most revered women in history.
Why the Virgin Birth? • This is what her cousin Elizabeth prophesied to her: • “At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, "God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. ” (Luke 1: 41 -42) • Now, let’s read Luke’s version of the Virgin Birth of Jesus.
Why the Virgin Birth? Luke 1: 26 -38 – 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
Why the Virgin Birth? 30 "Don't be afraid, Mary, " the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David. 33 And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!" 34 Mary asked the angel, "But how can this happen? I am a virgin. "
Why the Virgin Birth? 35 The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. 36 What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she's now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God. " 38 Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true. " And then the angel left her. (NLT)
Why the Virgin Birth? • For nothing is impossible with God. That is key to understanding this. • This morning I want to focus on 2 questions— 1. What is the Virgin Birth? What actually happened? 2. Why was the Virgin Birth necessary?
Why the Virgin Birth? • First, What actually happened? • What did the angel Gabriel say would happen to Mary? • The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. . . and nothing is impossible with God.
Why the Virgin Birth? • The key word in the angel’s explanation is “overshadow. ” • The idea is a great cloud enveloping her. • The Israelites often used this metaphor to explain the mysterious presence of the Lord. • With all of His creative power, God would surround Mary through the Holy Spirit, and she would miraculously become pregnant with the Son of God.
Why the Virgin Birth? • Let me explain an important key to understanding what happened here. • The Bible refers to the Word of God as a seed 44 times. • The actual Greek word for seed = sperma. • This is where we get our word sperm. • Even in several of Jesus’ parables like the Parable of the Four Kinds of Soils, Jesus explains that: – seed = Word of God – soil = heart.
Why the Virgin Birth? • With that in mind: Did you realize that the Virgin Birth of Christ was a normal birth in every detail except one? • Like all other births, Mary became pregnant through contact with a seed. • The Laws of Reproduction were not suspended. • The one difference is the source of the seed that was used in Christ’s conception. • The Holy Spirit used the seed of God’s Word instead of the seed of a man.
Why the Virgin Birth? • That’s why John 1: 14 says, “The Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us. ” (NIV) • Jesus was literally God’s Word become flesh. • God used His Word as the sperm/seed that conceived Jesus. • When God created the heavens and the earth, He spoke them into existence. • Hebrews 11: 3 – By faith, we see the world was called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see. (MSG)
Why the Virgin Birth? • God created everything by His Word. • If He created the world by His spoken Word, why is it so hard to believe that by His Word Mary conceived? • When Mary received this announcement from Gabriel, she said, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1: 38). • She received God’s Word into her womb, and at that moment, the conception of Jesus took place.
Why the Virgin Birth? • If you think about it, Mary could have rejected this whole scheme! • I can imagine all of heaven waited with baited breath at what her response would be to this amazing declaration! • She gave her consent when she said, “May it be done to me according to your word. ” • At that moment, the Eternal Word filled her womb and became flesh!
Why the Virgin Birth? • Later, in the same prophecy, Cousin Elizabeth said to Mary: You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said (Luke 1: 45). • Her faith in God’s Word conceived the miracle in her womb. • If you think about it, this is a picture of how we receive miracles from God. • In order to conceive and give birth to miracles in your life, you need to plant the seed of God’s Word in your heart.
Why the Virgin Birth? • Conception of the miracle cannot come without a seed. • Just as the seed remains in the ground for a season before it germinates, so the Word has to abide in us. • You need to stand on the promises of His word until the word germinates and gives birth to the miracle.
Why the Virgin Birth? • That is what Jesus means in John 15: 7 – If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. (NIV) • When the Word of God and faith meet, the power of God is released and your miracle is conceived. • The Word is the seed, but it is also the fertilizer to make the miracle grow in our spiritual womb until it is manifested in the natural.
Why the Virgin Birth? • For instance, God’s Word brings healing: • Proverbs 4: 22 – For [the Word of God] bring[s] life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. (NLT) • Psalm 107: 20 – He sent out His word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. (NLT) • Stand in faith and you will see the fulfillment of what you believe God for.
Why the Virgin Birth? • Now, let’s go back to our main topic of the Virgin Birth. • We have answered how it happened, now let’s explore why the Virgin Birth needed to happen in the first place. • Why did God bring His Son into the world through the Virgin Birth? • The answer is found in Jesus’ identity and in His mission.
Why the Virgin Birth? 1. Identity – Jesus was totally God and totally man at the same time. • This could have only been accomplished through the Virgin Birth. • If God would have made Him a man in heaven and sent Him here without human parents, Jesus would not have been fully human. • On the other hand, if God had given Jesus 2 human parents, He would not have been God.
Why the Virgin Birth? • But, by God providing the sperm/seed and Mary the womb, we have a God/Man. • Leviticus 17: 11 – For the life of the body is in its blood. (NLT) • Our blood type comes from our father’s side, so Jesus blood was from His Father. • His blood was pure and not stained by sin.
Why the Virgin Birth? • Remember what Gabriel told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. ” • God will overshadow you, the seed will be provided by God, so the baby will be born holy or sinless and because of that He will be the Son of God. • He had to be totally God in order to be sinless. • If He had come through the seed of man, He would not have been sinless.
Why the Virgin Birth? 2. Mission – This brings us to the mission of Jesus. • Why did He come in the first place? • He came to give His life as a sacrifice for the sins of man. • It took a holy, sinless God to do this.
Why the Virgin Birth? • PROBLEM: God is a Spirit, and a spirit cannot die. • Therefore, God had to come up with a different solution. • SOLUTION: God must become a man Himself but at the same time retain His purity and perfection. • He had to be a man and be the sinless God at the same time. • This could only have been accomplished through the Virgin Birth.
Why the Virgin Birth? • In the Virgin Birth, we can see the Master Plan of God at work! • It is breathtaking to see how God has worked throughout history to bring about our salvation. • The miracle of Jesus’ conception is a fitting bookend to the miracle of His resurrection. • He was born of a virgin and was resurrected to life supernaturally at the end of His earthly life. • We see in Christ someone who was fully man in every way, but in the way He arrived and left this earth, shows that He is God.
Why the Virgin Birth? • The coming of Jesus is the central event in all of history. • That is why His Virgin Birth is something worth celebrating and embracing! • Without it, you and I are still in our sins and should be pitied of all men. • Isaiah 7: 14 – All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us'). • How awesome are those 4 words: God is with us!
Why the Virgin Birth? • Let’s think on that as we enter this New Year! • God is with us through His Son Jesus Christ! • It is a time to reflect on our own commitment to Him when we consider the great lengths He went to providing us a way out of sin. • And let us be found as Mary when Elizabeth said: You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what He said. (Luke 1: 45)
- Slides: 39