Now, can you turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Matthew,
as we continue to explore the early chapters of Matthew's Gospel.
Matthew's Gospel, we're going to read from chapter 1, verse 18 to verse 25.
And we're going to consider today the virgin birth and the incarnation of Jesus
becoming flesh and dwelling among us.
Matthew chapter 1, verse 18.
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 Emmanuel, 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.
Amen. This is God's word.
Now, as we come to a passage like this,
as we begin to explore together the virgin birth,
perhaps some of us will be here with questions,
wondering how this can be.
We are dealing with a profound mystery here,
as J.I. Packer puts it,
and we're talking about the babyhood of the Son of God.
And we're talking about the union of God and man
in the person of Jesus,
and all that by the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we come to this passage,
we discover striking things about the identity of Jesus.
So as we've been thinking through this morning,
in verse 23,
we are told the child in the manger was God.
But then as the angel speaks to Joseph,
we discover that the child in the manger was God
who became human by the creative power of God,
the Holy Spirit.
And we're told something striking too about the purpose,
about the mission of this child.
He is, verse 21, God's promised Savior.
So as we sit here today,
what do we make of this?
Is this truth that causes us to worship?
Or perhaps it causes us to wonder
and to have questions?
You maybe saw in the news this week
of the sale of Einstein's so-called God letter,
selling for two million pounds.
It was a letter written a year before he died.
Einstein was a man who,
through his life,
seemed to wrestle with science
and his own sort of Jewish faith.
But in that short letter,
he speaks of the Bible.
And he calls it a collection of venerable,
but still rather primitive legends.
And he speaks on religion in general
as an incarnation of a primitive superstition.
Words that are echoed by folks in our own day,
like Richard Dawkins,
who would describe miracles
and the virgin birth
as a story for unsophisticated people
and for children.
And so that's the understanding
of some within the scientific community
and some within our community.
Perhaps you're here today
and you have significant questions
about what we just read.
Or maybe you're having conversations
with friends at work
or in your community
and they have questions
at this time of year
about what we believe
about the virgin birth.
Or maybe we're wondering,
even as Christians,
is the virgin birth something
that really matters anyway?
Is it something that should be central
or can we,
and some parts of the church
are doing this,
shall we just sort of ignore it?
It's kind of embarrassing
and hard to deal with.
Well, before we really get into the text,
can I suggest two reasons
why I think the virgin birth
and the incarnation
are reasonable
and are crucially important
for our faith,
that they're not just
a primitive superstition.
The two things that I would say,
first of all,
is just thinking about the text,
think about it in terms
of the difficult detail
that this is giving to us.
The virgin birth
is not something
that's going to make Christianity
seem more plausible.
If people were writing this
as a work of fiction,
they would have no good reason
for making that up.
It's a unique claim.
You look around
all of the various religions
and you're not going to find
another example
of God taking on
full humanity
to live in his creation.
This isn't something
that's been copied
from another belief system.
central to our text
in Matthew
is that passage
and especially Isaiah 7.14
that Donald read for us.
And we need to understand
that that was not
a key messianic prophecy.
There weren't lots and lots
of Jewish people
waiting,
looking around for virgins
who would give birth
to a baby
who would be God's savior.
If this was a work of fiction
and if the writer
was wanting to say,
here is a special child
who's come into the world,
there would be other ways
to do it.
In the Old Testament,
what happens when
God is going to do
something new,
when God is going to
provide a deliverer sometimes
or provide a child
a promise,
that child will be born
to a barren woman.
That's often the pattern
in the Old Testament.
So it doesn't fit
with an existing type
or pattern.
And there doesn't appear
at a human level
to be any benefit
whatsoever
in giving Jesus Christ
such dubious origins.
And we find all
through his life
people asking questions
and people being scandalized
because of questions
about who his father was.
So it's a difficult detail.
And when we come
to difficult details,
it leads us often to think,
well, the best explanation
for it is because it's true.
The best explanation
for the virgin birth
is that Matthew,
the New Testament writers,
the eyewitnesses,
the church,
through most of history,
believed it to be true.
Scaling back a little bit,
the question of whether
we think the virgin birth
is reasonable or ridiculous
will in large part
depend on our worldview
and on certain faith beliefs.
So for people like Einstein
and Dawkins,
if you believe in a closed universe
that where either
there is no God
or there's no God
who intervenes,
then of course,
something miraculous
like a virgin birth
seems pure following.
There's a Christian scholar
and debater and writer
by the name of
William Lane Craig.
He said when he first
came across
the idea of the virgin birth
before he was a Christian,
he wrote it off
as being something absurd.
I mean,
he didn't have
the ability
to create from nothing
a male child.
Where did the male
Y chromosome come from
was one of his questions.
But nevertheless,
he kind of
pinned in that doubt
and continued to explore
the life of Jesus.
And as he read
into the life
and the teaching
and the death of Jesus
and the significance
of his death for sinners
and as he looked
at the historical
reliable evidence
for the resurrection,
Lane Craig was persuaded
that the Bible speaks truth.
And when you understand
that the Bible speaks truth
and you go to the beginning
of the Bible,
you meet the God
who created a whole cosmos
just by speaking.
And therefore,
Lane Craig concluded
creating a Y chromosome
is child's play
compared to that.
So it depends
on our view
of the world.
It depends
on our understanding
of the universe.
The God of the Bible
didn't wind up the world
and let it go
and then stands back
and doesn't get involved.
He intervenes
in supernatural ways,
in miracles.
So if we believe
in a God
who created
by intelligent design,
then the virgin birth
stands as
entirely reasonable.
How do you and I
or how can you and I
believe this kind
of deep mystery?
Something that
on the surface
seems as Craig
but it absurd.
Well, it requires faith,
doesn't it?
And it needs for us
to know Jesus
personally.
Let me try and illustrate
how this process works.
So I had to visit
a friend in St. Andrews
for the first time
this week
and I wasn't entirely
sure where he lived
so that was my first question
where exactly
am I supposed to be going
but then when I arrived,
second question then
is after making
that journey,
is my friend in?
So as I got out
of my car,
I saw that his car
was also parked
on the street.
That was a good sign.
As I got closer
to the door,
I saw that the lights
were on
and the front door
was unlocked.
So those are
good signs,
aren't they?
They're good clues
but they're not decisive.
Could have been his wife,
could have been another
family member
that was in the house
but
as soon as I
knock the door
and my friend
opens,
now the question
is answered
once and for all
with absolute
certainty.
Those clues,
that's secondary evidence,
not as important
as meeting
my friend
face to face.
And that's at the
heart of Christianity
is meeting
with Jesus
and that's a gift
that he gives.
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus
in John chapter 3
and he said,
I tell you the truth,
no one can see
the kingdom of God
unless he is born again.
We need that miracle
of new life
to be worked in us
before this makes sense.
Ultimately,
to see the child
in the manger
as God's chosen king
requires
the gift of faith.
So if you're here
and you want
to believe,
you want to believe
in Jesus,
you want to know more,
then ask God
for the gift of faith.
And for our family
and friends
who don't believe,
that's what we need
to pray for them,
that God would give
to them
the gift of faith
that they might hear
and believe.
So that just by way
of introduction
to say that I think
the virgin birth
is both reasonable
and really important
for our faith
and I hope we'll see
that as we go.
Let's think now
about our text,
let's think about
the history
of the incarnation.
Read with me again
verse 18.
This is how
the birth
of Jesus Christ
came about.
Now notice,
Matthew writes
presuming
that his first readers
know
about the virgin birth,
about the virgin conception.
So he's writing
sometime between 60
and 80 AD.
He's writing
at a time
when some of the eyewitnesses
were still alive.
he's writing
of a truth
that was accepted
by the church
for some 1800 years.
He's presuming
that they know
this story.
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.
So we've got
this human couple
in focus
who we met
last week
in verse 16
in the family line
of King David
and they are
Mary and Joseph
and they are betrothed.
So there's this
binding agreement.
They're not married yet
but it's binding
like a marriage.
It's a legal
commitment
to one another.
But
in their
situation
where they're
unmarried
and where they've
never slept together
Joseph discovers
that Mary is pregnant.
You see that
the information
is told
from Joseph's
point of view.
But just imagine that.
We get used to the
Christmas story
don't we?
We've heard it
lots of times before
but imagine
the shock
and the hurt
and confusion
when Joseph
discovers
his bride-to-be
is pregnant.
Bear in mind too
that he lives
in a very conservative
religious society.
Remember the shock
and the shame
and the scandal
that comes
with this
kind of news.
Verse 19
what do we discover
about Joseph?
Joseph her husband
was a righteous man
and did not want
to expose her
to public disgrace
so he had in mind
to divorce her
quietly.
He's a righteous man
he's living by God's law
and in God's law
if someone is unfaithful
you do not need
to marry
or remain married
to them.
And so Joseph
doesn't want to
marry Mary
but he still
cares for her
doesn't want to
publicly
disgrace her
so he has in mind
a quiet
divorce.
He doesn't know
about the angel's
announcement
to Mary
and what God
by the Holy Spirit
has done
in Mary
at this stage.
So he's made
that decision
I'm going to
divorce her
quietly
I don't want
that scandal
and to live
with that hurt
but after his
decision
verse 20
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's
conceived in her
is from
the Holy Spirit.
So the angel
comes in a dream
and says
do not fear.
Now a lot of times
when the angels
come to people
they say
do not be afraid
because people
are quaking
in terror
because of the
appearance
of the angels
in power
and glory
but here
it's not the angel
that Joseph
is afraid of
rather
he had been afraid
to take Mary
home as his wife
but he's told
don't be afraid
she's not been
unfaithful
what's conceived
in her
is from
the Holy Spirit
there's been
a new life
creative work
through the Holy Spirit
in the womb
of Mary.
Notice it's
Joseph son of David
a reminder
that Joseph's
in King David's
family line
verse 21
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
it was Joseph
you are to name
him Jesus
in naming
Jesus
that would be
a sign
of legal adoption
that would be
a sign
of Jesus
being taken
legally
into
the family
line
of King David
which is so important
as we'll see
to the promises
and we thought
about that
last week
as well
how does
Joseph
react
verse 24
when Joseph
woke up
Joseph
stands like
other figures
of faith
you can read
about in the
Old Testament
and did like
Mary
as we discovered
in Luke's
gospel
with obedience
to the word
of God
in his case
that meant
taking Mary
home
as his wife
but we're told
importantly
there is no
sexual union
until after
Jesus is born
and
Jesus
is legally
adopted
given
the name
Jesus
now two points
of application
as we think
about the
history
the events
that we have
here
the first
general point
about labelling
people
we discover
in the story
of Jesus
and his
family
they were
labelled
wrongly
as it turned
out
but labelling
people
is damaging
this week
I've heard
of two
stories
of women
who were
looked down
on
ignored
rejected
within
their churches
because of
their past
because of
accusations
about their
past
because of
disapproval
about family
situation
labelled
and
rejected
that's wrong
isn't it
we must
both believe
and live
out
the gospel
of grace
grace that
covers sin
and shame
grace that
gives people
welcome
so labelling
people
as we see
in the story
of Jesus
and his
family
is damaging
and his
wrong
and the
second thing
we see
at a very
basic level
is that
faith in
God
is not
always easy
faith in
God
comes with
a cause
you read
the gospels
and you
sense the
shame and
the scandal
that Mary
and Joseph
lived under
the accusations
against Mary
the questioning
of who
Jesus
father is
rejecting him
because of his
unknown
parentage
it was
costly
for Joseph
to obey
and faith
will always
come with a
cause
of different
kinds
perhaps for us
it might be
the loss of
our reputation
because of
our Christian
beliefs
because we
hold things
like the virgin
birth to be
true
perhaps it
will be for
us a loss
of independence
where we're
no longer
free to
say I'm
just going
to do
whatever I
want regardless
of consequences
because we
want to
submit to
God
it's costly
in the sense
that we're
called daily
to die to
ourselves
for the sake
of God
and the good
of others
we're called
constantly to
put others
ahead of
ourselves
so that
costs us
in our time
and our energy
and our
resources
in the
emotion
and care
that we
pour out
for the
sake of
others
it's costly
to say
Jesus is
my Lord
because it
means submitting
with all
of our lives
and all
of our
hearts
to him
a couple
of weeks
ago at
the church
planting
conference
up in
St.
Columbus
the minister
of a new
church plant
in Glasgow
Christ Church
Glasgow
Jonathan
de Groot
was speaking
about their
first convert
he is an
Iranian
student
who began
reading the
Bible with
a friend
began exploring
the claims
of Jesus
and came to
faith
in the Lord
Jesus
and began
to tell
his Iranian
friends
about what
he now
believes
now one
of those
friends has
since reported
back to
the authorities
in Iran
and so
Jonathan
de Groot
was talking
to this
man who's
newly started
trusting in
Jesus
and he was
asking him
do you
realize
the cost
that will
be involved
for you
and the man
said yes
I know
that if I
go back
to Iran
there is a
fair chance
that people
will want
me killed
but he
said
since this
is true
since Jesus
is Lord
he said
it's worth
it
faith is
costly
faith in
Jesus
is worth
it
now that's
the historical
events
around the
incarnation
but let's
think together
for a few
minutes
about the
significance
of the
incarnation
of Jesus
taking on
human flesh
and dwelling
among us
the big
so what
question
why do
you and
I need
the story
of the
birth
of Jesus
Christ
well we
find in
our text
three words
that take
us right
to the
heart of
the gospel
the first
word to
think about
is salvation
we find it
in verse
21
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
are you
discovering
your footnote
the name
Jesus
means
God
saves
here is
the rescuer
here is
the saviour
promised
and what do
we discover
about him
in verse
23
he is
God
the psalm
that we
read
just before
the psalm
that we
sang rather
just before
reading from
Matthew
ends in
this way
psalm 130
let me
remind you
of the
closing two
verses
oh Israel
written to
the people
of God
put your
hope
in the
Lord
for with
the Lord
is unfailing
love
and with
him
is full
redemption
release from
slavery
another way
of talking
about
salvation
and then
it says
he himself
will redeem
Israel
from all
their sins
in the
Old Testament
the Lord
himself
will redeem
Israel
from their
sins
New Testament
what do we
discover
Jesus
will save
his people
from their
sins
what's the
angel saying
the child
in the
manger
is God
the Savior
Jesus
is how
God is
going to
carry out
his
rescue
now
just to
think for
a moment
about Jesus
unique birth
what does
that teach
us that
we need
somebody
we need
the Son
of God
to come
to be
our Savior
it says
to us
we need
a rescuer
who comes
from outside
in order
to save
us
so on the
one hand
we think
about the
virgin birth
it speaks
a word
of judgment
on us
because it
says that
none of us
by ourselves
are good
enough for
a holy
and perfect
God
and that
none of us
by ourselves
have the
ability
to find
our way
back to
God
that left
to ourselves
we would
all
remain
under
the
judgment
of
God
with
no
hope
of
mercy
and
forgiveness
but
the
virgin birth
doesn't
just speak
judgment
to it
it also
speaks
grace
to us
because
who is
the baby
in the
manger
he is
Jesus
the God
man
born in Bethlehem
to die
on the cross
at Calvary
now does it
matter to us
that Jesus
is both
human
and divine
as the
Bible
makes clear
absolutely
it does
he needs
to be
fully
human
to save
us
to save
us
he must
identify
with us
he comes
to be
a perfect
representative
to be
one of
us
he's not
like
Superman
the comic
book hero
he appears
to be
like a man
but he's
actually
from another
planet
he's not
human
at all
that's
not
how
Jesus
came
Jesus
came
fully
God
and
fully
human
and he
needs
to be
fully
human
in order
to identify
with us
also
to obey
the law
for us
we need
somebody
who can
keep
the law
we need
somebody
who can
please
God
we need
someone
who is
faithful
in loving
God
and loving
other
people
it's
not
us
we need
a
representative
Jesus
comes
in his
perfect
obedience
to fully
obey
the law
for us
and
he comes
to suffer
the punishment
for human
sin
in a
human
body
we need
him
as our
perfect
substitute
representative
and sacrifice
he takes
our place
dies
in our
place
so that
we might
know
forgiveness
it matters
that he's
fully human
and it
matters
too
that he's
fully
divine
quoting
from
the
new
city
catechism
because
of his
divine
nature
his
obedience
and
suffering
would be
perfect
and
effective
that what
Jesus
does
is perfect
and effective
satisfying
the law
of God
satisfying
the just
judgment
of God
bearing
the anger
against sin
and defeating
death
in order to
give us
new life
and to
bring us
into
favor
with
God
so we
hear this
word of
salvation
in the
coming
of
Jesus
we also
hear
and it's
connected
we hear
a word
of promise
look at
verse 22
all
this
took
place
to
fulfill
that's a
word
connected
to
promise
isn't it
all
this
took
place
to
fulfill
what
the
Lord
had
said
through
the
prophet
and then
we get
that
quote
from
Isaiah
chapter
7
verse
14
God
keeps
his
promise
Jesus
comes
as
the
savior
king
that
Isaiah
spoke
of
some
700
years
earlier
now
if we
were to
spend a bit
of time
in Isaiah
chapter
7
to 11
the focus
is on
a
child
a
promised
child
who is
the
answer
to the
judgment
that the
people were
under
because of
their
rebellion
against
God
and we
learn some
remarkable
things about
that child
in that
section
so in
chapter
7
as we're
told here
the child
to be
born
is
Emmanuel
God
with us
in Isaiah
chapter
9
we discover
that among
the child's
name is
mighty
God
and then
in Isaiah
chapter 11
we discover
that this
child will
rule in
supernatural
power
God's
promise
of
redemption
comes
as
God
himself
comes
as
our
savior
king
in his
son
Jesus
Christ
this
promise
is a
sign
it's a
sign
to Israel
that they
had
endured
much
hardship
that they
had
questions
has
God
forgotten
us
will
God
be
faithful
to
his
promise
and
here's
the
answer
God
does
keep
his
promise
God
delights
to show
love
and
salvation
to
those
who
turn
to
him
and
this
sign
also
stands
as a
promise
to us
when
God
makes
a
promise
he
keeps
it
we
know
from
experience
don't
we
the
pain
of
broken
promises
sometimes
we let
other
people
down
good
intentions
but
we
become
forgetful
or we
lack
the
resources
to
keep
that
promise
and
we
know
the
pain
of
promises
made
to
us
that
are
then
broken
disappointing
maybe
we have
the
question
will
God
be
any
different
maybe
we've
heard
the
phrase
promises
are
only
as
strong
as
the
person
who
makes
them
who
is
it
that
made
this
promise
to
Isaiah
some
700
years
earlier
it's
the
one
who
delivered
on
that
promise
by
giving
us
Jesus
who
is
the
child
in
the
manger
he
is
the
perfect
son
of
God
come
to
be
our
rescuer
come
to
be
a
sign
that
God
is
faithful
that
we
can
trust
him
in
a
world
of
broken
promises
and
disappointment
here
is
one
who
will
never
let
us
down
the
third
word
that
was
to
think
about
connected
to
the
virgin
birth
and
the
coming
of
Jesus
and
connecting
us
to
the
gospel
is
that
of
presence
back
to
verse
23
the
virgin
will
be
with
child
and
will
give
birth
to
a
son
and
they
will
call
him
Emmanuel
which
means
God
with
us
who
is
the
child
in
the
manger
he
is
the
divine
son
of
God
who
has
come
to
be
with
us
has
taken
on
human
nature
in
order
that
he
might
be
with
us
it's
significant
that at
the
beginning
and the
end
of
Matthew's
gospel
you get
this
promise
of
Emmanuel
so here
in chapter
1
verse
23
before
Jesus
comes
into the
world
there is
this
announcement
he will
be
God
with
us
and
then
you
go
right
to
the
very
end
chapter
28
verse
20
just
before
so
Jesus
has
died
on
the
cross
and
he's
resurrected
and
he's
about
to
return
to
the
glory
of
heaven
and
he's
giving
the
commission
to
the
disciples
to
preach
the
good
news
to
all
nations
and
then
he
says
to
them
I
am
with
you
always
to
the
very
end
of
the
beginning
of
the
gospel
end
of
the
gospel
God
is
with
us
in
Jesus
it's
a
rich
promise
we
have
a
family
wedding
this
Christmas
a few
days
after
Christmas
and
thinking
about
marriage
is a
promise
of
withness
isn't
it
even
in the
vows
that we
take
we
promise
a
husband
and
wife
promise
in
riches
and
poverty
to be
with
each
other
in
sickness
and
in
health
to be
with
and
for
each
other
and
so
it's
a
joyful
celebration
of
witness
and
community
and
friendship
and
they're
all a
gift
from
God
but
in
those
marriage
promises
there's
also
that
reality
till
death
do
us
part
the
coming
of
Jesus
is
different
here is
the one
time
where we
can be
with
someone
and
it
will
never
come
to
an
end
this
is
the
withness
that
every
heart
truly
longs
for
because
it's
for
now
and
it's
for
eternity
and
it's
right at
the
heart
of
the
Bible
we
go back
to the
garden
of
Eden
Adam
and
Eve
living
in a
perfect
world
what's
God
doing
he's
walking
and
talking
with
them
in the
garden
the
nation
of
Israel
set
free
from
Egypt
and
they
camp
around
the
tabernacle
the
tent
of
God
as
the
newly
established
nation
of
God
is
literally
and
symbolically
in the
middle
of
their
national
life
and
Jesus
comes
Jesus
comes
as
friend
of
sinners
to
offer
friendship
with
God
to be
God
with
us
we go
to the
end
of
the
Bible
what's
the
hope
of
the
new
heaven
and
the
newer
God
dwelling
with
his
people
forever
what's
the
hope
of
the
hearts
of
every
Christian
that
one
day
we'll
see
Jesus
face
to
face
having
been
like
him
we'll
get
to
be
with
him
forever
God
with
us
is our
way to
enjoy
life
with
God
is our
way to
enjoy
life
the way
that it
was made
to be
it's a
wonderful
promise
to us
as
Christians
that we
are
never
alone
when we
have
Jesus
in
heaven
we
always
have
someone
to
turn
to
we
always
have
someone
who
is
there
for
us
who
is
with
us
even
when
we
think
about
why
and
who
Matthew
wrote
the
gospel
to
he's
writing
the
gospel
to
a
group
of
Christians
who
are
facing
the
persecution
of
the
Roman
Empire
and he's
saying to
them
hold on
Jesus
is with
you
Jesus
has
you
you are
secure
in him
what we
discovered in
the story of
Christmas is
that Jesus
became one
of us
Jesus
walked in
our shoes
in order
to rescue
us
in order
to remain
with us
in order
to be
our
forever
king
and
here's
why
the
Christmas
story
is
so
precious
to
us
because
it
reminds
us
of
God's
extravagant
grace
to us
that saw
Jesus
leave the
glory
of
heaven
to be
born
as a
baby
to be
born
in
that
stable
to
then
die
on a
cross
for
the
sins
of
his
people
so
that
he
might
one
day
be
with
his
bride
his
church
forever
God