In a December 2007 poll conducted by the Barna Group, three quarters of the people polled said that they believed in the literal virgin birth of Jesus. My first reaction to those results was that the number was actually much higher than I expected based on my familiarity with the results of other similar polls that indicate that a much smaller number of Americans are truly “born again” Christ followers. But after thinking about it some more, the conclusion I came to is that while that many people may indeed believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, a much smaller number actually understand it’s significance, and, even more importantly, even fewer have actually had their lives impacted in any meaningful way by their belief.
So this morning, I’d like to take some time to make sure that we understand not just the fact of the virgin birth, but also why it’s so important and how we need to change our lives in light of that. Since we’ve been spending some time in the Book of Isaiah over the last several weeks, we’ll begin there, in chapter 7:
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” 13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:10-14 (ESV)
As always, we need to put this passage in its proper historical context, which is given to us in the first part of Isaiah 7. I encourage you to go back and read that for yourself later, but for time’s sake, let me summarize what is taking place.
The king of Syria, Rezin, has aligned himself with Pekah, the son of king Remaliah of Israel – the northern ten tribes. They are planning to attack the southern tribes of Judah and set up a puppet king there, but Ahaz, the king of Judah, becomes aware of their plans. So God sends Isaiah to Ahaz to assure him that what Syria and Israel are planning will not come to pass.
It is in that context that God, through Isaiah, tells Ahaz to ask for a sign that will confirm what Ahaz has just heard from Isaiah. But Ahaz, a wicked king who has consistently rejected God, refuses to do what God has commanded, claiming that he is too pious to test God. But God gives him the sign anyway.
Because of our familiarity with the New Testament, particularly the passage in Matthew’s gospel that we’ll look at in a moment, most of us immediately associate the sign that God gives with the virgin birth of Jesus. But in its historical context, that sign had to be something that had meaning to Ahaz and the people of Judah in the midst of their current situation. In fact, the description of the sign for Ahaz and his people doesn’t end in 7:14 – it continues all the way through the end of chapter 8. The promise of the birth of a child who would be called Immanuel was a sign that guaranteed that God’s promise to foil the plans of Syria and Israel to replace Ahaz as king of Judah would be fulfilled. It was a sign to a believing remnant that the birth of a child of promise that God would keep His promises to them.
It is difficult to discern from the text the exact nature of that sign, but it seems most likely that it is connected with the birth of a son to the prophet Isaiah as described in Isaiah 8:3. But there is no doubt that there was a birth of a child to a young woman very close to the time that God promised a sign to Ahaz that Ahaz would have been able to observe and recognize as the confirmation of God’s promises to him and his people.
Certainly neither Ahaz nor Isaiah viewed this sign as a prediction of an event that would not occur until over 700 years later. And yet, Matthew, in his gospel, quotes Isaiah 7:14 to show that Jesus fulfilled this verse by His virgin birth. Let’s look at that passage and see if we can’t make the same connection that Matthew did:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV)
Let’s take a moment to focus on the word “fulfill” in verse 22. It is a word that is used frequently by Matthew in his gospel to show how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. That is what we would expect since Matthew’s gospel is written primarily for the Jews to prove that Jesus is the Messiah King.
But there are actually two different types of fulfillment that we find in Matthew’s gospel:
• Predictive fulfillment
Predictive fulfillment occurs when the prophet is speaking specifically of the coming of the Messiah in the future and then that prediction is fulfilled literally by Jesus. Matthew does use this kind of fulfillment in his gospel, most notably when he quotes Micah 5, but in those cases, Matthew does not typically use the word “fulfill”, but rather the phrase “it is written”.
• Typological fulfillment
Typological fulfillment, on the other hand, occurs when events in the life of Jesus give the fullest expression of a significant pattern of events. In other words events that take place at a later date correspond to and add significance to an earlier set of events.
Perhaps the best example of this would be when Jesus refers to the “sign of Jonah” in Matthew 12. The events of Jonah’s life were not predictive of the Messiah, but in the life of Jesus those events are given a fuller meaning and have deeper significance.
Another example in Matthew would be when Jesus compares His second coming to the “days of Noah”. Although the events in the days of Noah were not a prediction of the second coming of the Messiah, the events associated with Jesus’ return to this earth will resemble the events in the days of Noah, but they will only find their complete significance in that latter event.
Matthew actually uses this form of fulfillment much more frequently in His gospel and normally introduces this kind of fulfillment with some form of the word “fulfill” that is use in Matthew 1:22.
So it seems quite clear that Matthew is writing of a typological fulfillment of God’s words in Isaiah 7 when he uses them to give support to the concept of the virgin birth. The actual birth of a son to a young woman in Judah during the reign of Ahaz was fully fulfilled and finds it significance in the virgin birth of Jesus.
So if that is the case, it behooves us to explore the significance of that event in some more depth this morning.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH
Several weeks ago, Pastor Dana called to my attention a book titled The Chemistry of the Blood written by Dr. M.R. DeHaan and after spending some time reading portions of that book and doing some further research, I must admit that I have been sorely lacking in my own understanding of the significance of the virgin birth. So I’d like to share with you this morning some of the things that I’ve learned and discovered over the last several weeks and then see if we can’t make some application to our lives.
In order to do that, we’ll have to go all the way back to the book of Genesis and the account of creation:
then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Genesis 2:7 (ESV)
When God first formed the body of man, that physical body was without life until God breathed life into it. And later on, in the book of Leviticus, we get some more insight into that process.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood…
Leviticus 17:11 (ESV)
Although we certainly can’t completely understand the process, the breathing of life into Adam and Eve somehow involved the blood which contained the life. But we do know that at that point Adam and Eve had a perfect blood relationship with God. That relationship existed for some period of time – we don’t know how long – until that fateful day in the Garden when Adam and Eve sinned. And even though we can’t understand exactly how it occurred, it is obvious that something happened to the source of life within Adam and Eve – their blood – because now death is introduced into the world.
And when Adam and Eve begin to reproduce as God had commanded them to do, that tainted blood is passed down to future generations. Paul described that process in the book of Romans:
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned
Romans 5:12 (ESV)
What is really interesting in this passage, and in many other corresponding ones, particularly in the New Testament, is that even though Eve is the one who was first deceived by Satan, it is the man, Adam, who is responsible for passing down the sin nature of man and the related tainted blood from generation to generation.
That is because according to the Bible, and as confirmed by science, the power to create life rests in the seed of the man. Scientists and doctors have learned that the blood that flows through the veins and arteries of the unborn child is not derived from the mother, but is produced within the body of that child only when the sperm enters the egg and the embryo begins to develop. Although the mother provides the unborn child with the nutritive elements necessary for the development of the new life, all the blood that forms is formed by the embryo itself. Not one drop of blood ever flows from mother to child.
Not surprisingly, we begin to get a clue of the significance of the virgin birth all the way back in the book of Genesis. Right after Adam and Eve sin, God pronounces this curse on the serpent:
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
Notice the phrase “her offspring”, or, as it is translated in some other versions “her seed”. Although I can’t be 100% sure that I haven’t missed a reference somewhere, I can’t find anywhere else in the Bible where “offspring” or “seed” is referred to as coming from the woman. In every other instance, the offspring or seed comes from the man, which is consistent with Biblical teaching and scientific evidence that the seed of man is the source of passing on life, and the associated sin nature, to the next generation. So here in Genesis God was looking forward to the time when a woman would produce offspring without a human male being involved in the process.
And it is clear from what we have looked at this morning why that had to occur. A virgin birth in which God Himself was the initiator of life in the womb was the only way that the tainted blood, which began with Adam and which had been passed down through succeeding generations through the seed of the man, would not also be passed on to Jesus. That is the only way that the blood of Jesus could save us from our sins.
Before the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, the blood of animals was used as a means to cover sin, but that blood could never save us from our sins or take those sins away:
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hebrews 10:4 (ESV)
But because His blood was not contaminated by the seed of man, the shed blood of Jesus was the only blood that could save man from his sin. Remember the words of the angel recorded for us in Matthew 1 that we read earlier:
She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
It was the virgin birth of Jesus that enabled the blood of Jesus to be an adequate payment to save us from our sins. Here is how Peter described the importance of Jesus’ uncontaminated blood:
…you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:18, 19 (ESV)
By being born without the seed of man, Jesus could be the Lamb that was without spot or blemish who could save us from our sins.
I don’t know about you, but I know have a much deeper understanding of the significance of the virgin birth. But the real test for all of is this:
HOW ARE WE TO LIVE IN LIGHT OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH?
• Jesus is the only way to be saved from our sins
The information that we have examined this morning confirms what the Bible teaches about out human nature in passages like this one:
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)
Because we are all products of the tainted blood passed down from Adam, we are all born with a sin nature, subject to the wrath of God. We certainly see that truth lived out in the lives of our children. From a very young age, even without us having to teach them, our kids sin because they can’t help it due to the blood of Adam that has been passed down to them.
And since Jesus is the only person who has ever been born without carrying that sinful nature due to His virgin birth, He is the only one who can save us from our sins. Any other way by which we attempt to overcome the wrath of God that we deserve due to the sin in our lives is somehow connected to sinful men who carry the sin nature of Adam.
Whether that is relying upon our own good works, or whether we are depending on our heritage, or whether we are following some other person or religion, it really doesn’t matter how sincere we are since we are placing our trust in something or someone that is deeply flawed by the stain of sin.
It is the virgin birth of Jesus that allows Him to make this bold claim:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 (ESV)
Because of His virgin birth, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and the only way to God. So if you’re here this morning and you are trusting in anything other than the pure blood of Jesus to save you from the consequences of your sin, then I pray that you will not leave here today before you get that right with God. But that life-changing decision is so important that I don’t want you to make it lightly.
Different churches use different methods to ask people to make such a decision. Some ask you to come forward while a song is being sung. Some ask you to raise your hand or to go to a special room. But we want to make sure that we have time to talk about all that is involved in such a decision, so if that is something you are interested in pursuing we have provided you with several ways to begin that process. There is a place on the flap of the bulletin where you can check a box that reads “I would like to learn more about how to begin a personal relationship with Jesus” and then fill out your contact information and place it in the offering plate or give it to me or Pastor Dana after the service. You can certainly talk to Pastor Dana or to me or one of the Elders after the service. Or you can go to our website where we have provided some more detailed information about how to have a relationship with God. We have also provided printed copies of that material in the literature racks in the lobby.
But the virgin birth should also have a tremendous impact on the way that those of us who have committed our lives to Jesus live our lives on a day-to-day basis. Those applications are quite numerous, but let me focus on several this morning that are described by the author of the book of Hebrews. In this passage, in which he focuses on the blood of Jesus, we find some practical ways that the virgin birth ought to impact our lives.
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:19-25 (ESV)
Since the blood of Jesus makes it possible for us to enter into a relationship with God, here is how we are to live our lives:
• Be pure
In verse 21, we are commanded to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water”. Although Jesus has opened the way to God through His perfect blood, we can still hinder that relationship because of the sin in our lives. So in order to keep our relationship with God healthy and vibrant, we need to keep our lives pure before Him.
That involves two actions on our part. First, we must strive, to the very best of our ability, to live lives that are pure and holy before God. Although we didn’t have the ability to do that before we committed our lives to Jesus, our faith in Jesus frees us from bondage to sin and give us the ability to resist sin.
But because we are human and we have that tainted blood of Adam in our veins, we don’t always live the way that we want. Although we no longer leap into sin as we once did, we still lapse into sin from time to time. And when we do that, God has commanded us to confess that sin and to repent, or turn away from, that sin so that our relationship with Him might be restored.
• Be persistent
In verse 22, we are commanded to “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,” That command implies that the life of a Christ-follower is not always going to be easy. Jesus frequently warned his followers that since the world had hated Him, they could expect that the world would hate them also. Jesus warned His disciples that they would face persecution. Jesus told His followers that they would have tribulation in this world.
But Jesus also promised that He had overcome the world and that if we persevere in the midst of those difficulties that He would be faithful to preserve and protect us.
…you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:22 (ESV)
Jesus confirms the words of the author of Hebrews who tells us that we are able to persevere because of the faithfulness of God.
But let’s be honest here. That’s a really hard thing to do. It’s easy to say we are to persist and persevere in the midst of trials, but actually doing that is much more difficult to do. But fortunately, in this passage we find some practical steps we can take to help us do that.
• Be participating
By now, hopefully you’re very familiar with verses 24 and 25. I hope you’re working on memorizing those verses. I’ve encouraged you to do that because I’m convinced that these verses contain the key to being able to persevere in the midst of trials and tribulation. And if my sense that Christ-followers are going to experience even greater tribulation in the near future is correct, then the need to live out these verses is going to be even greater than it is right now. That’s what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote that we would need to do this all the more as we see the Day of the Lord drawing near.
You can’t read these verses without getting a picture of the need to us to be joint participants in the things of God. Twice we find the phrase “one another” and we also find the word “together” in just this short passage. So it is clear from this passage that the ones who are going to be able to persist and persevere in the face of tribulation will be those who are participating with other believers in carrying out Jesus’ command to make disciples.
They will be the ones who participate in the “Connections” Bible study on Sunday mornings so that we can explore together how to put into practice the principles that we are taking from the Scriptures each week. They will be the ones who get up early on Tuesday morning so that we can work through God’s Word together. They will be the ones who come out on Thursday nights to pray for each other and be equipped to be better disciple makers. They will be the ones who work side-by-side to serve others at the Gospel Rescue Mission each month. They will be the ones who teach a class, or lead Children’s Church or work in the nursery. They will be the ones who are part of the worship team and who get here at 8:00 every Sunday morning so that together they can prepare for the worship service.
And when we do participate together in the things of God, we are to…
• Be positive
When we do participate together in the things of God, what are we supposed to do? We are to “stir up one another to love and good works” and to “encourage one another”. As followers of Jesus, when we gather together, we certainly don’t need to tear each other down. The world tries to do that to us all the time. So the purpose of meeting together is to encourage and exhort fellow believers as they carry out ministry.
Because God has made each one of us wonderfully unique and gifted us differently, we are all going to minister in different ways. We are all also at different stages and in different seasons of our lives. So I recognize that not everyone is going to be here every time the doors are open and no one is going to be able or should be expected to participate in every ministry of the church. The beauty of this local body is that every part is different but equally important for the overall function and health of the body.
And because we are unique and therefore have our own personal preferences, we are not always going to see eye to eye on everything, especially when it comes to the methods that are employed. And I think it’s a healthy thing for us to sit down like we did at the town hall last week and have an opportunity to dialogue about those things and to be willing to make adjustments from time to time where appropriate. But as we discovered last week, different people who certainly love the Lord Jesus equally as much can have some very different ideas about how to approach ministry sometimes so we’ll never be able to reach a place where everyone is going to be 100% satisfied.
But rather than focus on the differences which divide us, we need to focus on that which unites us – our love for the Lord Jesus Christ and our desire to develop mature disciples. And then we need to encourage each other and stir each other up to the love and good works that are part of that process, even when others might not be carrying out their ministry exactly the way that we would choose to do it.
I know that in preparing this message, I’ve gained a whole new understanding of the virgin birth. And I’m excited about that. But frankly, unless I’m motivated to do a much better job of applying this last principle in my own life, then much of my preparation this week was really in vain. So I’d like to close with some questions that I’ve asked myself this week, and maybe some that will cause you to pause and consider what you can do to encourage one another and stir one another up to love and good works:
o Regardless of whether the worship music suits my particular taste each week, when was the last time I thanked someone on the worship team for the time and effort that they put in to minister to our body?
o Even if the teaching style might not always be the most effective for me personally, when is the last time that I expressed my gratitude to one of the Bible teachers in this church and encouraged him or her in that ministry? Have I thanked the children’s “Connections” teachers who diligently prepare a lesson each week, not knowing if they will even have any students?
o Do I just take for granted all the people who are doing things behind the scenes each week or do I take time to notice Owen Lamb making the coffee or Dave Fulton running the PowerPoint or Mark LaVeer running the sound or the people who work in the nursery or who teach Children’s Church? And do I let those people know that I appreciate what they do to make it possible for me to participate in and enjoy the worship service.
o Do I take time to get to know the people in this body so that I can understand how they are ministering in the name of Jesus, both right here in this building and outside these walls, so that I can pray for them and maybe even help them in those ministries as I’m able?
The chances are pretty good this morning that you believe in the virgin birth – after all 75% of Americans do. But the important question this morning is: How does that affect the way that you live your life? Have you committed your life to Jesus, understanding that His pure blood makes Him the only way to God? And if you have, are you a pure, persistent, participating and positive member of His family?
