The Virgin Birth: Nothing Will Be Impossible With God (Luke 1:26-38)- Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

And so I invite you now to take your copy of

God's word and open up. To the gospel, according

to Luke. Luke, chapter one. We're going to be

in verses 26 through 38 today, and what we're

doing is really. Working backwards. Because in

the sermon series, we have seen the miracles

that Jesus has done. Lord willing we'll see more

that he does as we continue through this but

we have seen Jesus perform healings we have seen

him casting out demons we have seen even Jesus

raise the dead here but now we're going backwards

just a little bit call it Benjamin Button style

backwards to see not the miracle that Jesus performs

today but instead to see the miracle of Jesus

And so would you give your attention to the reading

of God's holy word, Luke 1, 26 through 38. In

the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from

God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a

virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph

of the house of David. the Virgin's name was

Mary and he came to her and said greetings who

favored one the Lord is with you but she was

greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern

what sort of greeting this might be and the angels

said to her do not be afraid Mary for you have

found favor with God and behold you will conceive

in your womb and bear a son and you shall call

his name Jesus he will be great and will be called

the son of the Most High and the Lord God will

give to him the throne of his father David and

he will reign over the house of Jacob forever

and of his kingdom there will be no end 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, therefore the

child to be born will be called holy, the Son

of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth,

in her old age, has also conceived a son, and

this is the sixth month with her who was called

barren, for nothing will be impossible with God.

And Mary said, behold, I am your servant of the

Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.

And the angel departed from her. The grass withers

and the flower fades, but God's word stands forever.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, this is your word.

And we thank you for it. We thank you that it's

true. We thank you that it's inspired by your

spirit. We thank you that it's inerrant and it's

infallible. It will accomplish its purposes.

Father we ask that you would help us to hide

this word deep in our hearts and grant us understanding

these things we ask in Christ's name amen When

we began this sermon series on the miracles of

Jesus I talked about how about a hundred years

ago Liberalism was on the rise in America within

the American Church and that there were Christians

who were denying very important components of

our faith. And there was a group of so -called

ministers who published something called the

Auburn Affirmation in which they rejected the

miracles of Jesus. They said, you don't got to

believe in the miracles of Jesus. Those aren't

necessary. Probably doesn't surprise anyone to

also learn that those people rejected the virgin

birth. Well, today, 100 years later, not much

has changed. People continue to reject the virgin

birth. But friends, if you reject the virgin

birth, you reject Christ himself. We need to

receive this truth of Scripture like Mary does.

She essentially says, thy will be done. And so

within this passage, we see the faith of Mary.

we see the submission of Mary, and these things

need to characterize who we are as Christians.

Faith and obedience. But as we look at this you

might wonder, well why is the virgin birth so

important? What are the implications of this?

What would be lost if we denied the virgin birth?

And what is so necessary to see? This is what

we want to look at. Look at verse 26. the sixth

month the angel Gabriel was sent from God. The

sixth month is simply referring us back to verse

24. After these days his wife Elizabeth, this

is Zachariah's wife Elizabeth, conceived and

for five months she kept herself hidden. And

so the events of 26 through 38 happen during

the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. Now,

where is this happening? We see the when, but

where? Gabriel was sent from God to a city of

Galilee named Nazareth. Nazareth. Later on, Jesus'

disciple, Nathaniel, would ask this question,

can anything good come out of Nazareth? And the

answer is supplied here, yes, Jesus comes out

of Nazareth. This is where Mary is. We should

understand something about Mary. And I like the

way another pastor, R. Kent Hughes, put it. He

said, Mary is a nobody in a nothing town in the

middle of nowhere. Nazareth isn't much to write

home about. And Mary is not well known here.

She is young. She's probably poor here. But you

also see this about her. She is betrothed to

Joseph. We need to understand betrothal in Jesus'

day. When we talk about that, we're talking about

legal engagement, all right? These days, if a

couple wants to get married, but then they break

it off before they get married, that's pretty

easy to do. You could do that with a text message

or over Facebook or something. You can't do that

in Mary's day. We know this from Matthew's account

that Joseph, before he knew all that was happening,

Joseph resolved to divorce quietly Mary. But

thank the Lord, he intervenes with the angel

Gabriel. And so look in verse 28. Gabriel greets

Mary, saying, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord

is with you. Now, friends, it's better to be

favored than unfavored. but no doubt Mary here

is scared. She is frightened, right? Sometimes

we read these stories around Christmas and we've

heard them so many times that we breeze right

through important moments. The moment of an angel

appearing and greeting a human being, this is

not all that common. the scriptures but when

it does happen it's monumental and so Gabriel

greets her and Gabriel has been well trained

as an angel because he knows what to say he offers

these comforting words Mary do not be afraid

angels communicate what God would have them to

say and so Gabriel uses these this this common

language here Do not be afraid. Now, why does

Gabriel visit Mary? Well, say this. It's one

thing to be visited by an angel. It's a whole

other thing to hear what Gabriel has for her.

Look in verse 31. And imagine this is you. Gabriel

says, Behold, you will conceive in your womb

and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

This is incredible. Jesus is the greatest name.

Jesus is the name above all names. And Jesus's

name is not an arbitrary name. Gabriel doesn't

look through a baby book and find a name. No,

the name Jesus has the utmost significance to

it. But what does it mean? I want everybody in

here, everybody in this sanctuary. to know this

and to memorize this. The name of Jesus means

Yahweh saves. I want everyone to know that. There

will be a test as you exit the sanctuary doors.

Yahweh saves. This name has so much significance

to it. And I believe that Mary would have known

what Gabriel was saying. Gabriel is speaking

her language and this, while she is young, She

is no doubt a good Jew. And she knows what creation

has longed for. She knows that they have been

in need of a savior. And so, Gabriel, are you

telling me right now that the savior of the world,

that Yahweh saves, is going to be conceived and

born of me? I would be thinking, I think you

got the wrong person in the wrong town, right?

And yet Gabriel continues to explain, to help

her understand this, look in verse 32. He will

be great and will be called the son of the most

high. This is Old Testament language, this name

of the most high. This is harkening all the way

back to, do you remember when Melchizedek visited

Abraham and blessed him? And he used the same

words, the blessing of the Most High God. And

so Jews would have understood this kind of language.

But just in case that gets past her, look in

verse 33. And he will reign over the house of

Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be

no end. This is harkening back to 2 Samuel chapter

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

7, the Davidic covenant. That there would be

one coming from David's line who would be king.

forever. So again, you're telling me, Gabriel,

the King of Kings is going to be in my womb.

I'm going to birth him. So you see, we cannot

read this just like it's just another day. Been

there, done that, heard that. No. Friends, this

time of year, it's a beautiful time. It's a wonderful

time. We've We've seen it before. We've had the

lights. We've had the trees. We've sang the carols.

We've given the presents. But friends, what Jesus

does as he takes on flesh is the moment when

God busts into all of creation and does the very

thing that he promised throughout redemptive

history. Jesus came for Mary. Jesus also came

for the shepherds in the field. Jesus came for

an old devout Jew named Simeon in the temple.

Jesus came to an old widow named Anna, according

to the Scriptures. And guess what? Jesus also

came for you. He came to save you from your sins.

Jesus came to save those who are weighed down

by their sins and could not save themselves.

And all of this comes through the Virgin Mary.

Now, at that point, you might say, well, hold

on a second. Just stop a minute. Time out. How

does this happen? How does this happen? And what

would be lost if there were no virgin birth?

Three essential reasons the virgin birth is so

necessary. One, because it was prophesied about

in the Old Testament. And so this gets to our

doctrine of Scripture. We're going to look, Lord

willing, at Isaiah 714 a little bit next Sunday.

But the prediction that the Christ would come

through a virgin. And so if we dismiss the virgin

birth, we dismiss really the truth of Scripture.

Additionally, we would dismiss the whole purpose

for Luke writing this gospel. Look in Luke chapter

one. One through four. This gives you the purpose

for why the Holy Spirit had Luke write all of

this down. Luke one, one through four. In as

much 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

theophilists, that you may have certainty concerning

the things you have been taught. Why did Luke

write all of this down? He wrote it down for

the sake of history, so that you would believe.

Luke, who was a physician, by the way, writes

this down to give an orderly and historical account

of the events of Jesus. And so what would be

lost if we dismiss the virgin birth, what would

be lost is the truthfulness of Scripture. Secondly

though, what would be lost if we dismissed it

would be the historical faith of Christianity.

Because from the time that Jesus was, from the

time that Jesus was born, Christians, people,

believers, followers of Jesus have always understood

the birth to be a virgin birth. Consider the

affirmation of faith that we'll say in a few

minutes. The Apostles' Creed, born of the Virgin

Mary. And so what would be lost is the historical

Christian faith. But thirdly, what would be lost

would be our salvation. Yes, our salvation depends

upon the virgin birth. We need all of Christ.

Not a little bit of him. Not most of him. We

need all of Christ from eternity past to conception

to birth to ministry to crucifixion to resurrection

to ascension to his return. We need all of Christ

and how does Christ save us? Christ saves us

really there's two facets to it in his life.

his death both being substitutionary Jesus lives

for us and Jesus dies for us but without the

spirit birth neither is accomplished I like how

church father Irenaeus put it he said if one

does not accept the son of God's birth from a

virgin how can he accept his resurrection from

the dead we believe as Christians that Jesus

really did die on the cross for us. But if we

get it wrong from the beginning, we will always

have it wrong. We will be off track. And so look

at verse 35. There's nothing sexual about this.

This is a work of the Holy Spirit in the womb

of the Virgin Mary that the child will be called

holy. And so contrast your birth with Jesus's

birth. And what is different? We are born in

iniquity. Every single one of us born in sin.

Consider David's words from Psalm 51. Behold,

I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did

my mother conceive me. All of us. born with a

sinful nature, but not Christ. He was not born

of natural generation and no sin then was born

in him. Jesus is born of the Spirit. I love how

Westminster Larger Catechism 37 puts this, Christ

the Son of God became man by taking to himself

a true body and a reasonable soul. being conceived

by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of

the Virgin Mary of her substance and born of

her yet without sin. Friends, if Jesus is born

in sin, he cannot be our savior. And so what

would be lost by a natural birth here, it would

be our salvation. And so you see the virgin birth

is of critical importance. This strikes at the

fundamentals of our religion to deny this, right?

And yet I also understand. It's difficult to

understand, isn't it? It can be difficult to

wrap our minds around this. Well, guess what?

If it's difficult for you to understand, you're

in the right boat. Look at verse 34. And Mary

said to the angel, how will this be since I am

a virgin? How will this be? Mary knows how these

things work. But please notice this. Mary is

not questioning God on this. She is simply asking

the question that we would all ask, how will

this be? I think we can know that she's not questioning

God on this because of her response. Look down

at verse 38. And Mary said, behold, I am the

servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according

to your word. Mary has faith. Mary has faith.

But you also see this kindness of God in here

to assure her of her faith, because look at verse

36, and behold, your relative Elizabeth in her

old age has also conceived a son, and this is

the sixth month with her who is called barren,

for nothing will be impossible with God. And

so whether it's the barrenness, or whether it's

the virgin birth, Gabriel says this important,

crucial statement, nothing will be impossible

with God. Friends, I don't know what all you

have going on. I know some of your stories. I

know some of the things that you struggle with.

But perhaps there are things that are just weighing

you down and you wonder, God, can you do anything

about this? Will you do anything about this?

I'm thinking most specifically of family and

friends and co -workers people that you long

to see believe in Jesus Christ and maybe you

think they will never believe Nothing will be

impossible with God Consider Jesus's words from

John 6 40 for this is the will of my father in

heaven That everyone who looks on the Sun and

believes in him should have eternal life and

I will raise him up on the last day everybody

who believes in the name of Jesus will be saved

and so keep praying for those loved ones keep

sharing the gospel keep seeking to reach the

community for Christ keep going after those people

that you think are too far gone because scripture

shows us time and time again how Jesus saves

people that we would have said that person is

unsavable because really What happens when you

think about it? What happens with Jesus physically

is what happens with us spiritually. Let's look

at Romans 5 for just a minute. Romans 5, 18 through

19. Romans 5, 18 through 19. Therefore, as one

trespass led to condemnation for all men, So

one act of righteousness leads to justification

and life for all men. For as by the one man's

disobedience the many were made sinners, so by

the one man's obedience the many will be made

righteous. Jesus for the believer undoes the

curse. He undoes the curse and he regenerates

us. We are born again. But Romans 5 leads to

Romans 6. Justification to sanctification. That

we who are born again, we must live like it.

We must live like people who are born again because

you are no longer a slave to sin. You are a servant

of the Most High. And God doesn't bring people

to himself kicking and screaming with gritted

teeth. He doesn't do that. Instead, he changes

the inclinations of our hearts such that we can

love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.

I have seen this in so many of you, your sanctification,

your growth in Christ. God is at work in your

lives. And just in case you're not sure, just

in case you wonder, is God really working in

our lives? Is God really changing hearts? I want

to share a story. as I begin to close from one

of you, a story from one of you this week, and

I won't say any names, but this is a remarkable

and yet simple and common and wonderful story.

There was once a believing woman, a Christian,

and she was married to an unbelieving husband.

Her husband had no interest in Christ, he had

no interest in the church, but the wife, she

was faithful. and she went to church every single

Sunday and every Sunday that she sat on that

pew, she prayed and she longed for God to bring

her husband with her to worship. She longed for

God to change her husband's heart. One Sunday

she was getting ready and she was putting on

her Sunday best and she gathered her things and

she walked out the door and do you know what

she saw? She saw her husband sitting in the car.

ready to go to church. And he rarely ever missed

a Sunday after that. Friends, nothing will be

impossible with God. God changes our hearts to

believe in him and serve him in such a way that

we can say along with Mary, I am yours, oh Lord.

Let it be to me according to your word. Let's

pray.