Sermon Central
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The Virgin Birth Of Jesus Series
Contributed by Jonathan Mcleod on Dec 7, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: Jesus was conceived in the womb of His mother Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and without a human father.
[For free weekly sermons delivered by email, please contact jonrmleod@yahoo.com]
JESUS IS BETTER THAN SANTA
Depending on one’s beliefs, either Jesus or Santa Claus is the main character of Christmas. Here are ten reasons why Jesus is better than Santa:
Santa lives at the North Pole
Jesus is everywhere.
Santa rides in a sleigh.
Jesus walks on water.
Satan comes but once a year.
Jesus is an ever present help.
You have to stand in line to see Santa.
Jesus is as close as the mention of His name.
Santa’s little helpers make toys.
Jesus makes new life, mends wounded hearts, and builds mansions in heaven.
Santa fills your stocking with goodies.
Jesus satisfies your deepest needs.
Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly.
Jesus has a heart full of love.
Santa says, “You better not cry.”
Jesus says, “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.”
Santa comes down your chimney uninvited.
Jesus stands at your heart’s door and knocks.
Santa puts gifts under your tree.
Jesus became our gift and died on a tree.
A MIRACULOUS BIRTH
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town of Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendent of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 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. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 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.
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. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
“Some theologians have stressed that the main significance is virginity in conception, not birth, and so offer the more precise term virgin conception. This may be helpful in capturing the key emphasis, but we likely are in no need of a new term because Matthew 1:25 states that Joseph ‘had no union with [Mary] until she gave birth to a son.’ Mary was a virgin at Jesus’ conception, and she was still a virgin at his birth.” (David Mathis, “The Virgin Birth”)
Here is the accounts of Matthew and Luke tell us about the virgin birth of Jesus:
• Jesus was conceived in the womb of His MOTHER MARY.
Mary contributed to Jesus exactly what any human mother contributes to her child. He was “the fruit of [Mary’s] womb” (Luke 1:42 ESV).
• Jesus was conceived by a miraculous work of the HOLY SPIRIT.
Christ’s humanness was not created ex nihilo (“out of nothing”), but ex Maria (“out of Mary”). As Adam was made from “the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7), Jesus was made from the substance of Mary. Jesus is called the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). His humanity was a new creation in the womb of Mary.
