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.
Then about 500 years AFTER Jesus was born, a guy called Mohammed. Like Buddha, he developed a group of teachings that impressed his followers, and those followers became a religion we call ISLAM. But there were no prophecies that a man would come along like Mohammed. 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.
But when Jesus came along… He didn’t just pop up in history. For hundreds of years - prophets prophesied about the Messiah (Jesus). So, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the whole of Israel was looking for Him. ;They were looking for a King who would fulfill 100s of prophecies, and those prophecies told about where he’d be born, what He’d teach, and how He would die. And they told that the grave would not hold Him – He would rise from the dead! God spent a LONG time setting things up so that when Jesus was born, lived, and died, so that we’d know HE was the one we were to look for. Jesus had a paper trail of prophecies that no other founder of any other religion could ever possibly match. And the first prophecy of any importance was this: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
But why was Jesus born of a virgin. Did He do it just to prove it could be done? Well, no. We have to remember that Mary was chosen to be the mother, BUT GOD was the Father. The angel told Mary “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—THE SON OF GOD.” Luke 1:17
But why? Why would God do it this way? Why the virgin birth? Why have this child be born of a MORTAL woman and an IMMORTAL God?
Well, the Bible teaches us that we’ve all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And Scripture also teaches us that the wages of sin is death. Sin had to be paid for, so throughout the Old Testament God’s people were taught that a flawless sacrifice was needed to pay price for their sins.
The Law called for repeated animal sacrifices. But everybody knew the blood of animals really didn’t fix the problem. What was needed was a perfect SOMEONE who would willingly die for our sins. But no mortal man could be found that was sinless enough to die in our place
In Isaiah 59 we’re told: “(God) saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.” Isaiah 59:16-17
There was no one who God could find to save mankind. No one who could intervene on our behalf. WHY? Because we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. I could never die for your sins. I’ve sinned and I can’t even pay for my own failures – let alone yours.
But God was different. Only God could be perfect, sinless and pure enough to be our perfect sacrifice. But there was a problem. By definition, an IMMORTAL God can’t die. God could NOT become our sacrifice because a sacrifice has to die.
He would have to become HUMAN in order to die. So God had decided - way back in the days of Adam and Eve - that He would personally pay the price for sins. But (of course) that meant, He had to become mortal. That’s why Philippians 2 says: “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8
That’s why the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 declared “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
Now, one more time - what does IMMANUEL mean? It means “GOD WITH US.”
In that one word (Immanuel) God declared that this Jesus was God in the flesh. God became a baby boy because He wanted to be WITH you.
CLOSE: When my Grandson Benjamin was 2 years old he got really excited Christmas. He didn’t understand the story about Jesus quite yet, but whenever he saw Christmas decorations he shouted… “CHRISTMAS!!” But then came Christmas, and he was sitting around a Christmas tree with his family and opening presents with his name on them. Those presents belonged to him! They didn’t belong to another child or to his parents, or to me. Those presents were precious to him because THEY WERE HIS! And if he really liked certain gifts, he’d drag them all over the house, because he wanted those presents to be where he was.
When you and I became a Christians, Jesus told us we were really precious to Him. He had died so you could be His precious possession. 1 Peter 2:9 says “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” And just like Benjamin wanted his precious possessions with him, so also – you who are Christ's precious possession - Jesus wanted wherever He is that’s where He wants you to be. THAT’S WHY WE GET TO GO TO HEAVEN. Jesus wants us where He is going to be. And so we’ll go to heaven because we get to go with Whom we belong.
So, the question this morning is this? Do you belong to Jesus? Are YOU His precious possession? Have you believed that Jesus is the Christ? Have you accepted that you’ve sinned and you need to repent? Have you decided to make Jesus the LORD of your life? And have you been buried with Christ in the waters of baptism?
Footnote: The Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14 is “almah,” and its inherent meaning is “young woman.” “Almah” can mean “virgin,” as young unmarried women in ancient Hebrew culture were assumed to be virgins. Seizing on that truth, many skeptics will tell you that the word in Isaiah (translated virgin) didn’t necessarily mean virgin… and it probably didn’t. It was a common word for a young maiden. However, the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint (translated by Jews who knew the language) translated Isaiah 7:14 - which refers to a young woman conceiving - used the Greek word "parthenos" meaning "virgin". The Septuagint was a translation of the Old Testament by Jewish theologians which was completed in 250 B.C.
