Imagine for a moment that you were present the night that Jesus was born. Perhaps you were a shepherd or a resident of Bethlehem who heard the baby crying in the night. What do you think you would’ve thought about the significance of that night? Why was Jesus born?
One of the most unique aspects of Christmas is
that Jesus came and was uniquely born to save the world. The uniqueness of His
birth is both mysterious and necessary for our salvation. Tonight, we dive
deeper to understand why Jesus had to be born just the way He was.
1.
How was Jesus uniquely born?
a.
“conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born
of the Virgin Mary”[1]
b.
Our own statement of faith continues vastly
unchanged: “In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.”[2]
c.
It is the testimony from the early church to our
modern church that Jesus was conceived supernaturally as the Holy Spirit
implanted God inside Mary’s womb.
d.
Thus Jesus was born of a woman who had not had
any sexual intercourse. He was virgin-born, which apart from God’s supernatural
activity sounds like an oxymoron.
2.
Do the Gospels claim Jesus was virgin born?
a.
In Matthew 1:18, the virgin
conception of Jesus in Mary is expressly taught: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ
took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.”
i.
Notice first the subject: the birth of Jesus. If
this was merely a normal childbirth, why would the gospel writer devote time
and space to this account?
ii.
Matthew labors also to show that before they
came together. That is, not only before their wedding day but before they
consummated their marriage. The text is written to take away the argument (that
no doubt circulated) that Mary and Joseph had premarital sex.
iii.
The supernatural nature of Jesus’s conception
and birth is made more explicit by the final phrase, “from the Holy Spirit,”
(19). This would not be a “slam dunk” by itself as it could be argued that all
children are a gift from God. But taken with the fact that Matthew is
emphasizing the unique birth of Jesus prior to Mary having sexual intercourse
with Joseph.
iv.
Finally, the rest of the account in Matthew only
makes sense if Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary. He aimed to
divorce her quietly. Under Jewish law they were already considered married.
Joseph would only therefore want to “divorce” her if he knew he was NOT the
father.
b.
In Luke 1:34-35, Mary herself
shows us that the birth of Jesus was unique because she was a virgin when Jesus
was within her womb: “And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I
am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.”
i.
Mary has already been told by the angel Gabriel
that she will have a son.
ii.
Her response only makes sense in light of the
uniqueness of Jesus’s birth. How can this be? Makes no sense as a question if Mary
interpreted the angel’s words to mean: “You will have a son once you are
married to Joseph and you both have children.”
iii.
The literal Greek behind Mary’s question is, “since
I do not know a man,” (Luke 1:34). This leaves little doubt that Mary knows
where babies come from and that she cannot morally have sexual intercourse yet.
Hence the question, How?
iv.
Finally, the angel’s response could have merely
been, “You will marry a godly man named Joseph and with him you will raise the
Messiah.” But it wasn’t. It was, “The Holy Spirit will miraculously cause this
conception without you having any sexual intercourse.”
3.
Are there any hints in the Old Testament that
Jesus would be born of a virgin?
a.
Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity
between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he
shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
i.
I discussed this in a recent sermon. Genesis
3:15 occurs in the context of Almighty God judging and pronouncing a curse
against Satan for his part in tempting Adam and Eve to sin against God in the
Garden of Eden.
ii.
Within the curse against Satan is a promise that
one day the curse will end with (as it says in the KJV) a special child called “her
seed.” This alludes to the unique birth of Jesus because as is clear in
Genesis 5 and subsequent genealogy lists, in a patriarchal society it would
have been expected to say the man’s seed or the man’s offspring. To refer to
the Seed of the Woman subtly hints that this special child would be uniquely
born of a virgin.
b.
Micah 5:2-3, “But you, O Bethlehem
Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall
come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from
of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when
she who is in labor has given birth.”
i.
Micah 5:2 clearly refers to the Messiah, as
Matthew attests showing where the Messiah would be born – in Bethlehem.
ii.
Therefore, the next verse, making specific
mention of the birth of the Messiah from a woman is another subtle hint that
the Messiah would be virgin-born. If the Messiah was to be born naturally, then
saying, “When she who is in labor has given birth,” would be superfluous
and unnecessary.
c.
Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord
himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.”
i.
This is the clearest Old Testament prophecy that
the Messiah would be born of a virgin. Therefore, it is hotly contested by
those who don’t believe the Bible contains miracles performed by the One True
God.
ii.
Some argue that the word “virgin” in Hebrew
(Alma) does not necessarily mean “virgin” but just “young woman.”
iii.
However, in the Old Testament, the prevalent use
is clearly of a young, unmarried woman (a virgin) such as in Genesis 24:43 and
Abraham’s servant looking for a virgin for his master’s son, Isaac (God led him
to Rebekah).
iv.
Some say this must point to Isaiah’s son,
Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz, and the time when Assyria attacked. This may have been
an initial fulfillment, but the prophecy stretched beyond this initial
fulfillment (as we have seen in the Psalms when the words require one greater
than David to bear their weight).
v.
Isaiah 7:14 mentions the son will be called
Immanuel, God with us. This is something Isaiah’s son couldn’t fulfill, but
waited for Jesus, born of a virgin.
vi.
Finally, Matthew confirms that Isaiah 7:14
pointed forward to the virgin born Son of God: “All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,’” (Matthew
1:22-23).
vii.
Matthew under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration,
interpreted the greater fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 apply to Jesus who was
miraculously born of the virgin Mary.
4.
Are there any other references to the virgin
birth in the New Testament?
a.
Paul referenced the virgin birth of Jesus in his
letter to the Galatians: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent
forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under
the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons,” (Galatians 4:4-5).
b.
When Paul says this long-awaited Son was “born
of woman” he is tying together the expectation of Genesis 3:15 (Seed of the
woman) with the arrival of Jesus. Paul is not wasting space (everyone is “born
of woman”), but showing Jesus is the unique, virgin-born Son of God.
5.
Why does the virgin birth matter, theologically?
a.
FIRST, the virgin birth is one of the most
contested miracles standing at the front of the New Testament’s first book.
Those who do not believe the Bible contains accurate, historical information on
miracles performed by God fight hard against this incredible and miraculous
event. So, establishing clearly that Jesus was born of a virgin shows not only
that there are miracles, but that there is a miracle-working God.
b.
SECOND, Jesus being born of a virgin shows that
He is uniquely both fully human and fully divine. The name the prophet and the
angel foretold reveal this: “’They shall call his name Immanuel,’ which
means, God with us,” (Matthew 1:23). How is Jesus “God with us?”
because He is the One born of both God and man, the God-man. He had to be
conceived not of two humans, but by the power of God in a human woman.
i.
The angel Gabriel makes the connection between
Jesus’s being conceived within the virgin Mary and Jesus being the unique
God-Man as God’s Son on earth: “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 1:35).
ii.
Thus, as God’s Son, Jesus is not merely one
treasured by God, but truly the Son of God who is both human (born of Mary) and
divine (conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by Joseph).
c.
THIRD, Jesus had to be uniquely born NOT in the
lineage of Adam (biologically) so that Adam’s sin was not credited to him, as
Paul made clear in Romans 5:17, “For if, because of one man’s trespass,
death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the
abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the
one man Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:17).
i.
Jesus had to be born of a virgin so that from
birth, He was holy and completely sinless. He did not have the original sin of
Adam imputed to him because Adam was not his biological great (x a lot)
grandfather.
ii.
Instead, Jesus had God for His unmediated
Father, born of a virgin, sinless.
d.
FOURTH, As the God man, born of a virgin, Jesus was
uniquely able to stand as the mediator between God and man: “Therefore he
had to be made like his brothers in every respect [He was already fully divine,
so He only added humanity to His divinity], so that he might become a merciful
and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the
sins of the people,” (Hebrews 2:17).
e.
Thus, the virgin birth is not small miracle. It
carries the weight of fulfilling the great expectation and hope of the Old
Testament and is the foundation for us and our salvation, when the God-man died
in our place on the cross for our sin as our sinless Savior.
6.
How do we answer the challenge that Jesus’s
virgin birth was only a myth, like those of Hercules or Alexander the Great?
a.
In Greek mythology, Hercules was the son of Zeus
(the highest of the gods) and the human woman Alcmene, making him half-god and
half-man or a demigod.[3]
b.
Second, Alexander the Great had numerous myths
around his birth, one of which established him as born from the combination of
the god Ammon and his mother Olympias.[4]
c.
First, seriously, I would challenge whether
someone has carefully read the accounts of Hercules or Alexander before making
this charge. Like many things, once you read them you go, “wow, these are
nothing like the Bible!”.
d.
Second, Luke especially does NOT write like a
comic-book author, but a historian, laboring hard to give us accurate
historical details such as:
i.
WHEN: “In the sixth month” (Luke 1:26).
ii.
WHERE: “a city of Galilee named Nazareth” (Luke
1:26) = an otherwise obscure city.
iii.
WHO: “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary,” (Luke
1:27).
iv.
WHAT: “How will this be, since I am a
virgin?” (Luke 1:34)
v.
HOW: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” (Luke
1:35)
e.
Third, the myths about Hercules and about
Alexander the Great were produced after the New Testament gospels. If there is
any resemblance to Alexander’s conception, it was the Greek myth that emulated
the New Testament, not the other way around.
7.
How can we celebrate Christmas and make much of
the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ?
a.
First, study the Scriptures so that you
understand and appreciate the unique birth of Jesus. I will publish this to a
blogpost for your reference.
b.
Second, pray and thank God for this incredible
miracle, privately. As we celebrate Christmas well individually in prayer, it will
spill over into the gladness of sharing renewed discovery with those we love.
c.
Third, prioritize coming to our Christmas Eve
Eve service on Fri Dec 23rd, and to the special Christmas Day
service on Sun, Dec 25th at 10:30a. These will be times to gather and
together celebrate the Lord come to earth to save us from our sins.
d.
Fourth, consider a time set aside on Christmas
Day or on Christmas Eve, to discuss the “WHY” of Christmas with children (your
kids or grandkids).
i.
Maybe it’s as simple as reading the Christmas
story together before you open presents.
ii.
Maybe it’s creative, such as having the kids
tell the Nativity story or making a live nativity as a family.
iii.
Maybe you go somewhere at night and have an
impromptu worship service like when the angels lit up the sky with their
glorious praise to the Incarnate Son.
iv.
Whatever God shows you, take this opportunity to
celebrate the Virgin-Born God-Man, Immanuel.
What does God want you to adjust this year about
how you celebrate Christmas in order to celebrate Christ?
Resources:
· Elwell, Walter A., and Barry J. Beitzel. “Virgin Birth of Jesus.” In Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, 2:2124–26. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988.
· Geisler, Norman L. “Virgin Birth of Christ.” In Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, 759–64. Baker Reference Library. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
[1] The
Apostles’ Creed, written around 300 A.D., https://www.rca.org/about/theology/creeds-and-confessions/the-apostles-creed/.
[2]
Baptist Faith and Message 2000, II.B, ‘God the Son,’ https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#ii.
[3] https://www.worldhistory.org/article/733/the-life-of-hercules-in-myth--legend/
[4] http://www.pothos.org/content/index322f.html?page=legends-birth
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