“Why A Virgin?”
Isaiah 7:14
Introduction: Christmas time is celebration time. Kurisumasu, omedeto gosaimasu! People around the world, many of whom have no grasp of Christianity, will be celebrating Christmas this year along with the rest of us. Hindus, Buddhists, Shintoists, Taoists - you name the group– well, except the Muslims, maybe. I can’t imagine the Talibani celebrating Christmas.
Christmas for many people is a series of questions that go unasked and therefore unanswered. I want to try and answer some of these unasked questions in this series that will lead us up to Christmas eve Sunday. Today’s question is perhaps the most baffling of all three questions: Why a virgin? Why did God use a virgin named Mary to be the mother of Jesus? Wouldn’t it have been more logical to use an experienced set of parents rather than two novices, one a young teenager at that! And how does a virgin come to be pregnant – and still remain a virgin? Enough questions - on with the answers.
I. THE PROMISE
We read these familiar words every Christmas. We sing them, too. But what do they really stand for? In order to answer that question we have to know why God stated these words to the prophet Isaiah. Herein lies the history lesson of the promised messiah.
In Isaiah 7, we learn that King Uzziah’s grandson, Ahaz, has ascend-ed to the throne of Judah. And as happens many times in history, when a new king is enthroned, other kings gather their armies and go out to battle the new king, to see if they can defeat this novice ruler.
Two kings, Rezin of Aram and Pekah of Israel, have allied them-selves to challenge and possibly defeat Ahaz. This allegiance shakes the people up and they are afraid of being overthrown.
God sends Isaiah to Ahaz and assure him that he will not be defeated by these kings and their armies. To prove that he will bring victory to Ahaz, he speaks: “Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.’” (7:10-11) But the young king is reluctant “...to put the Lord to the test.” (7:12)
The Lord doesn’t always give believers the opportunity to “put him to the test.” If God were to tell you to put him to the test, would you? Do you suppose that you’re going to be able to give him a test that he can’t complete? I don’t think so. For whatever reason, Ahaz did not want to put the Lord to the test.
Isaiah conveys the Lord’s response in the next two verses: “Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.’” (7:13-14) In other words, if you won’t ask for a sign, I’ll give you the one I intend. And God pronounces his sign for Ahaz.
The scripture has two interpretations: one immediate sign, and one future sign. A child will be born during Ahaz’s reign, born of a virgin - and this is God’s immediate sign that Ahaz will not be defeated. The future sign of course deals with the Messiah, Jesus, who will also be born of a virgin.
Isaiah 9 tells us more about this Messiah: “The people walking in darkness have see a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonder-ful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the in-crease of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” (9:2, 6-7)
We immediately recognize that God must be speaking of some future person, and that person embodies ideals found in no one of human origin. The last sentence is God’s promise that He will bring this to be: “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Is there any promise that God has made that has never been accomplished? None that I know of. The Bible is full of promises from God - some have been fulfilled, some are waiting to be fulfilled.
God gave this promise to Ahaz - you will not be defeated by these armies. God gave this sign to Ahaz as proof of his promise - a virgin will conceive and bear a son. God gave this promise to his people - your Messiah will come one day, born of a virgin; he will rule over his followers. And he has come, and will one day come again - but that’s another question and another sermon.
II. THE PREMISE
Scriptures are mostly silent regarding the Messiah from Isaiah to Malachi. There are fewer words, except in Isaiah. And the people of Israel struggled throughout this period. They were defeated, captured, enslaved; their pride and joy, Jerusalem, had been sacked, the temple put to the fire, David’s magnificent palace ravaged and destroyed, and only partially rebuilt by Ezra and Nehemiah. Where is God in all this?
But God was not late, as people regard time. He was waiting for the right time to send the Messiah to his people. Why was now the right time? From the time of Jesus’ birth and for the next three decades, all the elements of Old Testament prophecy would combine to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophets of old. He had to be born of a virgin. He had to be born in Bethlehem. Mothers had to be weeping over the loss of their babies. The second Elijah had to be born as a forerunner of the Messiah. Jesus had to ful-fill all the prophecies about himself just as God had planned for him to do.
III. THE PARENTS
We know so much about Jesus’ parents, don’t we? We know his mother’s name - Mary, the virgin teenager who was visited by the Holy Spirit and became pregnant. This scared young lady, betrothed to the older Joseph, a carpenter by trade from Nazareth. Mary, who offered her womb for the conception and gestation of the baby Jesus for nine months. How hard it must have been for her family to stick by her when the word came: “I’m pregnant!”
Naturally everyone thought it was Joseph’s child. It was normal for a betrothed couple to become intimate before the wedding event. Until Joseph had been visited by God’s angel, he wasn’t in favor of upholding the impending nuptials. “Because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” (Matt. 1:19)
So serious was a betrothal in this era it could only be broken by giving a bill of divorcement. And bills of divorcement were given very pub-licly in the synagogue – written by the groom and posted on the bulletin board for all to see and read. “Joseph, the carpenter, son of Jacob of Nazareth, hereby divorces Mary. Reason - infidelity.” But instead of this public humiliation and possible stoning, Joseph thought he would take care of it quietly. What a man, to love her so much!
But the angel intervened: “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 1:20) What a man. He heard all the angel had to say, changed his mind, and gladly took Mary to himself.
As loving and humble as Joseph was, so, we find, was Mary. Demure, young, probably barely fifteen years old, she finds herself face-to-face with the angel Gabriel. “But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.’” (Luke 1:30-31)
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin.?” The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the most high will overshadow you, so the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34-35)
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38) Humble and accepting of the Lord’s will. Mary and Joseph were ready to become parents - without experience, without help, on their own. They were finding out what it means to let God lead you to the mate he has for your life; to let God lead you into parenthood; to let God lead you build a home and family that honors him.
IV. PONDERINGS
What promises guide your life? We give promises to our families quite often, don’t we? We make promises we may or may not keep. Promises of spending time with the kids, especially as there are growing up and we’re trying to build rules and respect into their lives.
We make promises when we marry. We promise our spouse that we will stick with them no matter how hard it gets, no matter how hard the road is. And then some find themselves breaking that marriage promise.
We make promises to our Lord. We promise a commitment of time; we promise a commitment of our wealth; we promise many other things. And sometimes they don’t all get done. And they just go by, forgotten and put out of mind.
God has never missed a promise. Whatever he has promised, he has fulfilled; and if he hasn’t fulfilled it yet, he will one day in the future. I wish I could say that. I wish I could say I’ve never left a promise unfulfilled. But I haven’t. You, too? Let’s be thankful for a God that doesn’t.
