Born To Be "With Us” Series

In England, an elementary class set up the manger scene in a corner of the room. The students were excited to help set up the barn and cover the floor with straw and then arrange the clay figures of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise Men, and the animals –all facing a little crib where was a doll for the infant Jesus. One boy couldn’t seem to tear himself away from it. He kept coming back to it, and each time he wore a puzzled expression on his face. The teacher finally asked him, “Honey, is anything bothering you? Do you have a question? And the boy looked up at her and said, “What I’d like to know is, where does God fit in?”

He SAW the angels, the shepherds, the Wisemen and Mary & Joseph, and he SAW the clay figure of Jesus, but he couldn’t figure out where God fit in because he couldn’t… SEE God.

Now what I found interesting about our story today is that it starts out by saying: “BEHOLD”! “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23

What’s that word “Behold” mean? It means – this is worth looking at! Take some time, and consider what you’re seeing. It means – pay attention, this is important!! Now that little boy in England was only looking at a clay figure of Jesus, but our text is says – look at Jesus. Look at this child Who is being prophesied about. Look at Him… because this is important. When you see Jesus you’ve seen God - and THAT’S where God fits in. That’s why we need to pay attention… but we’ll talk more about that later.

First though, we need to understand HOW God fits into this story. You see, about 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem there was a prophet named Isaiah who declared: “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14

That’s almost exactly what the angels told the shepherds in the field: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:11-12

When you find a virgin giving birth to a baby boy - this will be a sign that God has come. And He has come to be with you.

ILLUS: Now just so you know, a virgin giving birth… isn’t normal! According to an article in Popular Science (Dec 2013, p. 95) it is physically impossible for a human woman to have a virgin birth. Well (pause) yeah - it IS physically impossible - that is if you ignore God. But miracles are what happens when God gets involved. God causes the impossible… to be possible. Or as Jesus said “All things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27

So, when Mary became pregnant, WAS SHE A VIRGIN? Yes. The Gospel of Matthew is very clear about the fact that Mary had not known a man. she was literally a virgin. (See footnote)

Now, why is that important? Well, first… according to A POLL by the Pew Research organization in 2015 (Michael Lipkal, “5 facts about Christmas in America,” Pew Research (12-21-15) - 75% of the Americans believe Jesus was born of a virgin; And 80% believed that Jesus was the Son of God. So when you and I talk to most Americans (most of whom are not Christians)… they already believe Jesus was IMMANUEL – God with us. It’s easier for you to talk to them about your faith.

Secondly, the Biblical teaching that Jesus was born of a virgin was a declaration of A truth that no other religion can match. Remember, the promise that the Messiah would be born of a virgin was prophesied by Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And it was one of over 300 prophecies about who Jesus was, and what He’d come to do

ILLUS: Now follow me here. About 500 years BEFORE Jesus was born, there was a man named Siddhartha. We know him as Buddha, and Buddha was born in a far-eastern country called Nepal. He had developed a view of life that impressed his followers, and they developed a religion based on his teachings. We call it… BUDDHISM.

Now, BEFORE Buddha was born, there were no prophecies that a man like him would come along. No one predicted where he’d be born; or what he’d teach; Or how he’d die. Nobody thought that he was coming. He simply popped up in history and founded the religion that bore his name.