THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
“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 7:14
“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:26-35
Several doctrines are absolutely critical regarding our salvation. Inasmuch as not one of these can be proven or refuted scientifically, it becomes a matter of faith, or the lack thereof, Recognizing that the following great truths are not intended to be a comprehensive list of essential doctrines, we nonetheless submit these five for your consideration.
1. The Bible is the divinely inspired word of God.
The Bible is the Book that tells us the truth about God and about ourselves. To deny its divine inspiration is to reject its ultimate authority in all matters of faith and life. To question any part is to call the whole into question. If part of the Bible is fallacious and part is true, how do we accurately determine which is which? The God who created the universe, in the expression of His almighty power, is most certainly able to give to man His Word and, having given it, preserve it for all generations. Once our minds and hearts are settled on the divine inspiration of the Word of God, these other essential truths will follow in its wake.
2. The existence of one holy, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God who manifests Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. The virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
5. The bodily resurrection, ascension and return of our Lord.
Today’s focus will be on the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I. THE VIRGIN BIRTH WAS A MIRACULOUS OCCURANCE
“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:34-35.
Make no mistake about it; the birth of the Messiah was a miraculous event. If a man, any man, had impregnated Mary, then the child would have been just a little baby, a mere human, and nothing more! In that little baby would flow the bloodstream of Adam. And the bloodstream of Adam that flows in your veins and mine cannot redeem a single soul for a single second. Only the blood of God’s Lamb can provide redemption. I Peter 1:18-18 declares it so well, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Many church members have a problem with the miracles recorded in the Bible. Beloved, if you can get past Genesis 1:1 without a problem, then you will never have a problem with any other miracle recorded in the Bible! If you accept by faith the biblical account of God speaking this overwhelmingly vast and marvelously designed universe into existence from absolute nothingness, you will encounter no problem accepting that “with God all things are possible.” If you can accept the miracle of creation, the other miracles will pose no difficulty.
On a flight back from a medical convention, two widely acclaimed neurosurgeons were seated next to each other in the first class section of the jumbo jet. During the course of the flight, their conversion turned to the importance of faith in the healing process following extensive and dangerous surgery. One was a dedicated Christian who shared his faith on every possible occasion; the other was a professed agnostic.
The agnostic asked the Christian doctor if he really believed in the virgin birth of Jesus. His reply was one we would do well to adopt for ourselves. The doctor told his friend that if a person lived the kind of life that Jesus lived; performed the miracles that Jesus performed; healed the sick and raised the dead as Jesus did; taught great truths that transcended current philosophical thought as Jesus did; was crucified on a cross as was Jesus; bodily arose from the grave on the third day as Jesus did; and ascended into heaven before many witnesses as Jesus did, he then added “Yes, I think I might be inclined to believe in the virgin birth of such a one!"
II. THE VIRGIN BIRTH IS A SCRIPTURAL NECESSITY
The Old Testament prophecies regarding the birth of the Messiah are absolutely clear! Our text reads “the virgin shall conceive…”
Isaiah 9:6 declared “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
For us to declare so dogmatically that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah, as prophesied by the Old Testament prophets, it is absolutely imperative that every such prophecy be fulfilled without exception or a single deviation.
III. THE VIRGIN BIRTH IS A REDEMPTIVE NECESSITY
The Bible states clearly, “… without shedding of blood there is no remission (of sin).” Hebrews 9:22. As Peter declared, we were not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Romans 3:23 tells us that the entire human race has a sin problem. But Jesus is the answer to that tragic situation. In the words of the hymn we often sing, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”
Not the blood of Jesus plus our good works or plus anything else except our faith in Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) What Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailor in Acts 16:31 is still in effect today, just “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
