Matthew 1:1-17

If you turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 1 and Matthew chapter 1, keep a finger in both.

Luke 1 · chapter mention Matthew 1 · chapter mention

I might be reading this book, The Virgin Birth of Christ by Gresham Maitin, I will speak on it next year.

It's a brilliant work, it's nearly 100 years old. It's a brilliant work, it's pretty dry stuff.

Mary Maitin, who's Gresham's mother, wrote to him and said,

your book, Gresham, is not one to read when groggy with sleep.

Which is a great, when your mother is saying that about the book.

So don't rush on Amazon and buy it.

But actually I find it really, really helpful and what I want to try and do is condense this into 25 minutes.

And you will know that there's not an original bone in my body and so what is helpful, a lot of that comes from Gresham Maitin.

And we say those words, don't we, again and again and again.

Yet how often do we think, even at Christmas time, of that wonderful truth, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.

I want to begin by saying that the Bible sets the mission of Christ Jesus and his ministry in the world between two supernatural events, two supernatural bookends.

One supernatural event by which he entered into the world and the other by which he left it, his resurrection.

The first is his virgin conception, his supernatural birth.

And the second is his bodily resurrection and his ascension to the right hand of God.

Both are supernatural, aren't they?

In the way that he came and in the way that he left.

And both are given in fulfilment of prophecy.

So in Matthew chapter 1, it tells us this happened, that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

And Matthew quotes Isaiah 7.

The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.

The resurrection, the exit miracle, again it's the fulfilment of lots of Old Testament prophecies.

You could take Isaiah 53, verse 10.

Isaiah 53:10

He shall prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

And so both of these events, his resurrection and his ascension, and his virgin conception, carry with them, don't they, the same message.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not less than man, but he is certainly more than man.

They underline his supernatural nature, his deity.

The virgin birth is unambiguously supernatural.

You cannot misinterpret the virgin birth.

What you have to say tonight is either I believe it, or I don't believe it.

The virgin birth, it's thrust like a stumbling block.

Like a test.

Right at the beginning of the Gospels, Donal MacLeod says this,

The revelation of God has placed the stumbling block of the virgin birth to offend and to test us.

To ascertain whether we are prepared to do justice to Jesus' uniqueness,

and to the inability of human wisdom to know him,

and to the utter discontinuity between him and all else that could conceivably explain him.

Here at the right of the start of the Gospel,

God sets before us this biblical, attested truth that Jesus entered into the world by supernatural conception.

Three things tonight.

First of all, the biblical evidence for the virgin birth.

Does the Bible really teach this?

And then secondly, I want to talk just about some common objections to it.

And then thirdly, I want to talk about two implications and the relevance of it.

The biblical evidence.

It's in Matthew 1 and Luke 1.

And the two focuses of those genealogies,

and Ruben didn't do well in reading their list of names.

The first of them, Matthew, focuses on Joseph's story.

The second focuses on Mary's story.

They are separate and independent accounts,

and yet strikingly harmonious.

Most people think that Luke was closely allied to the Apostle Paul,

and much of Luke's theology comes from the Apostle Paul,

who calls him the beloved physician, the beloved doctor.

But it is significant.

The Luke, right at the start of his gospel,

if you look there in Luke 1, verse 1,

Luke 1:1

he's a careful historian.

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative

of the things that have been accomplished among us,

just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word

have delivered them to us,

it seemed good to me,

also, having followed all things closely for some time past,

to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

that you may have, what's the purpose of Luke's writing?

That you may have certainty concerning the things that have been taught.

And so the virgin birth is recorded as sober history.

He's a careful historian,

he's a qualified physician,

and Luke sets out the virgin birth as sober history.

The account Matthew gives us sets out the account of Joseph,

the heartache of Joseph in many ways.

He's betrothed to be married to Mary,

and she turns out to be with child before.

So if you go to Matthew 1, verse 18,

Matthew 1:18

she's found to be with child before they come together.

And immediately Matthew says,

this conception was by the Holy Spirit,

verse 18.

It's important to realise, isn't it,

that betrothal is not the same as engagement.

Engagements can be broken,

but a betrothal could only be broken by a legal divorce.

And that's why we go on to read that Joseph comes to the conclusion, doesn't he,

that she has been unfaithful to him, Mary.

There's heartbreak there.

She was bound to him in the same way as a wife is to her husband,

and her husband Joseph,

being a just man,

unwilling to put out a shame,

he resolves to divorce her quietly.

He clearly thought, didn't he, Joseph,

that Mary had been unfaithful.

But to him then,

the angel of God appears to him

and interprets the situation in a completely different light.

Look at verse 20.

But as he considered these things,

Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,

saying, Joseph, son of David,

do not fear to take Mary as your wife,

for that which is conceived in her

is from the Holy Spirit.

Supernatural conception.

You'll notice, won't you,

that Jesus' birth is natural.

His conception is supernatural.

And the messenger of the Holy Spirit of God,

he interprets that as the Spirit of God at work

to fulfill the promise of Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14.

Isaiah 7:14

So verse 20 again,

Joseph, son of David,

do not fear,

so it marries her wife,

for that which is conceived in her

is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son.

You shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins.

And all this took place,

why did it take place?

Verse 22,

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 Emmanuel.

Now, some people have suggested

that perhaps the word in Isaiah chapter 7,

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

and verse 14,

the word virgin,

it may mean young woman.

It doesn't strictly mean virgin.

But that actually isn't the case.

The overwhelming balance of probability of the word

is that it is,

the word is that of a virgin,

somebody who's not had sexual intercourse.

But for those of us who believe the Bible tonight,

when you come to Luke chapter 1,

Luke 1 · chapter mention

what you discover is, again,

when the angel comes this time to Mary,

Mary is greatly troubled, isn't it,

in verse 30.

Can you see why?

I do not be afraid, Mary,

verse 30 of chapter 1,

Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

for you found favor with God,

and behold,

you will conceive in your womb

and bear a son,

and you'll call his name Jesus.

He'll be great,

he'll be called son of the Most High,

and the Lord God will give to him

the throne of his father David.

He'll reign over the house of Jacob forever,

and of his kingdom there'll be no end.

That is the announcement

of the angel to Mary.

Now, can you see what Mary's response is?

This is the key thing.

Verse 23.

Verse 33.

And Mary said to the angel,

how will this be?

Since I'm a virgin.

She's saying, isn't she,

the reason why this is such a mystery

is I've never known a man.

I've never had that kind of union.

She's describing herself, isn't she,

in the clearest possible terms as a virgin.

And so whatever the ambiguities are

of Isaiah chapter 7,

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

there's no ambiguity in Mary's mind.

She says, I am a virgin.

So the New Testament sets these facts before us

and presents us a virgin birth.

It is an account, isn't it,

of supernatural conception.

The real issue that the virgin birth

presents us with is not a biological

or a philosophical issue.

It is an issue of the authority of the Bible.

If I live and think under the authority

of the Bible,

the virgin birth is a clear part

of the teaching of the Bible.

And I believe it.

And so you either accept the Scripture

or you do not accept the Scripture.

But you cannot deny that Scripture clearly teaches it.

So let's look, secondly,

at the common objections to this.

The first objection is it's a biological absurdity,

isn't it?

The virgin conception.

Of course it's an absurdity.

So,

is the resurrection of Jesus as well,

isn't it?

Biology is no more sympathetic

to a dead body being raised

than it is to a virgin conceiving.

And the problem people have is not with science,

but with the supernatural.

Do I believe the supernatural possibility

of God raising the dead?

Well, if I do,

then the virgin conception

is in the same category.

If God is able to enter

into the whole realm

of the working of his created order

and to produce such phenomenon,

miraculously bringing into being

the Lord Jesus Christ

in a virgin's womb.

It's a question of whether I'm willing,

again,

to believe the Scriptures.

The other objection is

that this makes Jesus

less than fully human.

It's more of a doctrinal objection,

isn't it?

You might say,

well,

it affirms his deity.

You might say the virgin birth

protects his godness.

The whole issue of the supernatural entry

of Jesus into the world.

And it protects his deity,

but it detracts from his humanity.

To be truly human,

doesn't Jesus have to be procreated

in exactly the same way as we are?

And the Bible's answer to that is no.

Why is it no?

It's no because Adam,

Adam was not formed as we are.

Adam was not formed as we are,

and yet he was truly human.

Adam was not procreated as we are,

and yet we acknowledge his full humanity.

And God has so ordered

that if Adam's creation was different to ours,

here the creation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the last Adam,

the appearance of Jesus as a man,

was accomplished by a miracle

in the same way that Adam appeared.

Adam is the prototype

of one who has a supernatural origin.

Here's the third objection,

and I think the one I've probably heard most of.

The rest of the New Testament

scarcely mentions it.

The rest of the New Testament

scarcely mentions

the virgin conception.

It's here in Matthew 1 and Luke 1.

But the rest of the New Testament

is by and large

silent about the virgin birth of Jesus.

Matthew and Luke mention it at his birth,

which is, isn't it,

the natural place to talk about it,

but neither of them mention it again.

But that doesn't mean, does it,

that they regarded it as unimportant.

Its significance lies precisely

in the area as the entry miracle

by which Jesus came into the world.

And this argument from partial silence

is a really dangerous one

because you'll know that neither Mark nor John

say anything about Jesus' birth.

But does that mean that it's unimportant?

It simply means, doesn't it,

there's a focus and a concentration here.

Elsewhere, the virgin birth

was not a matter of controversy.

That is one of the reasons

that it doesn't occur

in the rest of the Bible.

But one of the very significant things

is that here,

by the time these books

are being written around 60 AD,

the virgin birth is being affirmed

by Luke,

who'd received his training

under the Apostle Paul.

And when you come to the early church,

the very earliest creeds of the church,

one of the primary things that is affirmed

is that the Lord Jesus was born

of the Virgin Mary.

So let me add here

that the deity of Jesus Christ

and his divine human nature

are revealed truths.

That is who Jesus was.

It's not a truth

to which the mind of men and women

have unaided access to.

It is a revealed truth

and God has revealed the truth

of the deity of the Lord Jesus

partly through the miracle

of the virgin birth.

He's saying that

in the virgin birth

there is a new beginning.

The living God

is beginning a new humanity

and he's beginning it

with one who is fully God

and fully man.

I think this is illustrated later on.

So Matthew chapter 16,

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

the issue of Peter's confession

in Caesarea Philippi.

Who do you say that I am,

Jesus says.

Who do you say that I am?

And they say,

well some say you're God's spokesman,

you're like a prophet.

Some say you're a holy man,

I'm like Elijah.

Others say various things.

But who do you say that I am,

Jesus says.

And here's the confession of faith

in Jesus as the son of God

and the Messiah.

You are the Christ,

the son of the living God.

And Jesus says to Simon Peter,

he says,

blessed Simon,

son of John,

because flesh and blood

has not revealed this to you,

but my father.

The revelation of Jesus

is in his person,

is supernaturally given.

And it is given to us

in part here

in the virgin conception

of Jesus.

And so you cannot defend

the virgin birth.

No one gives evangelistic talks

to students

defending the virgin birth,

do they?

But what do we do?

We proclaim it.

We proclaim it.

Here's the third thing.

First of all,

the biblical evidence.

Secondly,

the objections.

Thirdly,

what are the relevance to us?

Why is it relevant to us tonight?

First of all,

it's related to the sinlessness

of Jesus.

When Jesus came

to offer himself to God,

he offered himself

as the fulfillment

of the perfect Lamb of God.

Do you remember

John the Baptist

sees him behold

the Lamb of God?

He is a Lamb

and without spot

and without blemish.

He himself

bore no sin

so that he might

bear our sin.

He had no sin

of his own

to atone for

and so he was free

and able

to atone

for our sin.

The sinlessness

of Jesus

is so important.

The virgin birth

does not prove

the sinlessness

of Jesus

but it's certainly

related to it.

What the Bible teaches

is that we are not

isolated individuals.

Whether we like it

or not,

we belong to humanity.

We are members

of a union

and Adam

the first man

he is the head

of that union.

And the Bible teaches

that in Adam

all those who are

connected to Adam

are brought down

in our sin.

You watch,

well I hope you don't

watch Eurovision

but you watch Eurovision

isn't it?

And they will say

the different countries

go around voting

isn't it?

And they will say

Great Britain

gives,

I don't know,

six points.

and all of

Great Britain

is counted

by that one person's vote.

By that one person's vote.

They carry millions

of votes

in their one vote.

And Adam,

he is the head,

it is his vote,

he is the federal head

of the old order.

He is the head

of the old humanity

and he brought us down

by his act of rebellion

and we are involved

in that.

It's not just

the things we do,

it's what we are,

isn't it?

The twist in our nature

that all of us

know so well.

The crookedness,

the tendency

in our heart

that turns us

towards sin.

But what God

is doing here

in this new creation

is that God

has brought forth

the Lord Jesus Christ

and he calls him

1 Corinthians 15

the last Adam

to be the head

of a new humanity.

And so as in Adam

all die,

so in Christ

all are made alive.

And it is in union,

being connected,

trusting,

by faith in the Lord

Jesus Christ

that we find

newness of life now.

The line of sin

goes right through

the old order

until,

until the conception

and birth of Jesus.

And by setting aside

man as the procreator,

God is saying,

here is a new humanity.

Here is a new humanity

and the head

of that new humanity,

the Lord Jesus,

is offering himself

without spot to God.

The virgin conception

of the Lord Jesus

marks a break

in the transmission

of sin.

To be fully human,

Jesus was born

of a woman.

We saw it this morning,

Galatians 4,

didn't we?

Born of a woman,

born under the law

to be sinless

in his humanity.

He was born

of a virgin woman,

not a sinless woman,

but a virgin woman.

And so the virgin conception

helps us in

that it is related

to the sinlessness

of Jesus.

Jerry Packer says this,

in the virgin

born Christ,

in the virgin birth,

Christ did not inherit

the guilty twist

called original sin.

His manhood

was untainted

by it.

So it relates

to Jesus'

sinlessness.

Second thing is this,

the last thing is this,

it's related

to the saving

initiative of God.

It's related

to the saving

initiative of God.

It's God

who's acting here.

an ordinary

conception,

an ordinary birth

of Jesus,

if it was like

our conception

and birth,

would have meant

that the initiative

in Christ,

the saving

appearance

in the world,

lay with man.

man.

But here,

what is God

doing

in the virgin

birth?

What is God

doing in the virgin

birth?

He is setting

man aside.

He's doing it

resolutely

and he's doing it

deliberately.

He is putting

man aside

and saying

from that

line,

from the line

of Adam,

there is no hope

for man's

salvation.

And so he

brings by

supernatural means

the last Adam.

The last Adam

comes onto the

field as the

firstborn of the

new creation

and he sets

man aside.

and in his

place stands

the God

man,

Christ Jesus.

And that is

the message

of the virgin

birth.

What he's

saying in the

virgin conception

is that salvation

will never ever

flow from

man's initiative.

By searching

and by seeking,

you will never

by yourself

unaided

come to God.

By working

hard,

by laboring,

by attempts

to do things

that will

satisfy God,

you will never

find acceptance

with him.

And the virgin

conception and

supernatural

appearance of

Jesus Christ

tell us that

it is God

that takes

the initiative.

It is God

who has to

provide a

divine saviour.

Not a human

saviour,

but a divine

saviour,

the God

man.

One of the

messages,

surely,

is that you

will never

find salvation

from man,

but you

will find it

from the

God of the

Bible who

sent his

only begotten

son into

the world,

born of a

virgin,

to declare

that salvation

is all of

God.

And salvation

is all of

grace.

And salvation

is all in

Christ.

Christ.

And that

is the

message of

Christianity,

isn't it?

Certainly the

message of

Christmas.

All of

God,

all of

grace,

all in

Christ.

And so the

choice that's

before every

single one of

us tonight,

the choice

that the

virgin

conception

presents you

with is

either a

Jesus who

is supernatural,

and sinless,

and God

saviour,

or a

Jesus who

is something

less,

and something

not.

Let's pray.

Amen.