The Virgin Birth Series

For many years the great battlefield of the Bible critics was the subject of the resurrection of

Christ. They felt that if they could demolish this truth and prove it to be only a myth, the whole

structure of Christianity would crumble. But the resurrection was in impregnable, and they could

not even crack it, let alone shatter it. The evidence was over whelming, and there were too many

witnesses, for over 500 persons saw the resurrected Christ. The critics changed their strategy then

and decided to attack a biblical truth that did not have such strong evidence.

The virgin birth, by its very nature, could only have one who experienced it, and so the

evidence would be scarce to support it. The critics began to attack the virgin birth, and they have

persuaded many that it is a doctrine that is no longer needed. Many have been duped by the clever

reasoning of these false prophets. The best way to avoid being doped is to know what the Bible

teaches, and so we want to examine what it says about the virgin birth. This passage has more to say

then all the rest of the Bible put together.

Verse 26. In the six months after Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and announced the birth of

John the Baptist he was sent by God to the city of Nazareth. What a place for an angel to be sent

with one of the most magnificent and mysterious messages ever delivered. This little town had a bad

reputation. It was a hot bed of corruption. It was located on the highway between Tyre and Sidon

and Jerusalem. It was a place where Roman soldiers often stayed overnight living in drunkenness

and immorality. It was a wild place, and one in which you would not go looking for those of pure

lives and character. That is why Nathaniel, when he heard that Jesus was from Nazareth, said, "Can

any good thing come out of Nazareth?" It was a city of evil, and yet this is the city to which God

sends His angel. One would suspect that when an angel is sent to such a city it would be with a

message of wrath, but not so in this case.

Verse 27 says that he came to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph. She was a virgin in

the midst of vice. She was a pure white lily in the putrid pond of iniquity. What an unlikely place

for God to find a girl worthy of the honor of bearing His Son. Even a godly man like Nathaniel

would never have looked in such a place, but God sees what no man sees. His eyes penetrate the

external, and He sees into the hearts of people. This is an assuring truth for the struggling believer

in a corrupt society. You need never feel it is a useless and hopeless battle to stand for purity in a

culture that lasts at such a standard. God sees, and He will honor and reward those who honor His

standard and not that of the culture. It is always better to be pleasing to God than popular with the

world.

Mary was not one to conform to society. She was engaged to a carpenter named Joseph. The

engagement period for Jews was about one year, and it was during this waiting period that the angel

came to announce the virgin birth. The timing here shows the wisdom of God in handling a delicate

problem involved in bringing His Son into the world. Had He chosen a girl who was not engaged

there would be only shame to face, and there would be provision of a home. On the other hand, if

He chose a married woman she would no longer be a virgin. So God chose Mary who was engaged,

but not yet married. Jesus then would have a godly home and adequate provision. Joseph was able

to provide well and so Jesus was not born into poverty. It is of interest to note that this is the only

verse in the Bible where the word virgin is used twice, and both times it refers to Mary. Some

modern versions do not use virgin even once, but use young woman or girl instead.

In verse 28 we see that the angel apparently came to Mary at her home and greeted her with a

statement that has become famous as the, "Hail Mary," or as it is in Latin, "Ave Maria." Protestants

have rebelled against the Catholic exalting of Mary, and the result is they have often gone to the

other extreme of ignoring her. She was highly favored of God, and so if anyone in the Bible

deserves honor, it is the Virgin Mary. To go beyond honoring her to the point of worshipping her is