THE VIRGIN BIRTH OF CHRIST (MATT.
1. An angel of God appeared to Joseph during a dream. Mt. 1:20
2. Have you ever wondered about this incident?
3. Why didn’t the angel come to Joseph when Joseph was awake?
4. Why did God use a dream to communicate an important message?
5. Scripture does not state why the angel came to Joseph in a dream.
6. One source says,
7. “If anyone sleeps seven days without dreaming (remembering his dream), Call him wicked.” (Edersheim, p. 155).
8. In the first century, three things were considered to indicate God’s favor with man:
A. A good king.
B. A fruitful year
C. A good dream (same source and page).
9 In the first two chapters of Matthew, several “dreams” are recorded.
A. Matthew 2:12 says that “wise men” received a warning from God
B. God sent another message to Joseph by a dream, Mt. 2:13.
C. In this dream, Joseph was told to flee to
D.
After spending some time in
E.
This dream told him to leave
F. Another dream is mentioned in Mt. 2:22.
I. OUT OF ALL THE DREAMING THAT IS RECORDED IN MATTHEW 1&2, WE WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE MAIN PART OF JOSEPH’S DREAM THAT IS FOUND IN MATTEW 1:20-21.
A. Here are the details of this dream – READ
B. Mary was pregnant. She was going to have a baby.
C. Joseph and Mary were not yet husband and wife.
D. They were engaged; in this culture this was very close to being married.
E. It was so close to marriage that Mary is called Joseph’s wife.
F. The actual joining of these two was not complete at this point.
G. Hence, an angel said, “Do no be afraid to take Mary for your wife.”
H. “The child that is in her is not the product of some man.”
I. Mary’s pregnancy is the result of a supernatural event.
J. The Holy Spirit has caused this conception to occur.
K. Before I proceed much further with my material, I want to digress.
L. The man who wrote the Book of Luke was a doctor; a physician.
M. This is stated in Col. 4:14.
N. I want you to listen to what this doctor wrote in Luke 1.
1.
Luke
2. A doctor (physician) described Mary as a “virgin.”
3. He used this word twice in one verse.
O. If anyone should be skeptical of a virgin birth, it should be a physician.
P. Dr. Luke was fully persuaded that Mary was sexually innocent.
Q. This fact is further emphasized back in Mt. 1.
R. Look at vs. 18B-19 – READ
S. Joseph knew that he was not the father of this child.
T. He had not yet been with Mary.
U. Verses 18-19 are further indications of Christ’s virgin birth.
V. The Bible argues for and defends the Lord’s virgin birth in many ways.
W. Back up to v. 16 – READ.
X. Whom is a pronoun.
Y. Matthew could have used a plural pronoun here. He didn’t.
Z. The pronoun is singular, and the gender is feminine.
A. By using the feminine gender, and a singular pronoun,
B. Joseph was shut out of the picture. All other men are shut out.
C. Even the pronoun that is used argues for the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.
D. This is not all.
E. The very wording of v. 16 indicates the Lord’s virgin birth.
F. “The husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus.”
II. MATTHEW AND LUKE, IN SEVERAL WAYS, CLAIM THAT JESUS WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN. HAVING ESTABLISHED WHAT IS CLAIMED, WE CAN ASK,
A. Are there any proofs that this really happened?
B. How can we know that Mary’s pregnancy did not “result from some man?”
C. I will, in this lesson, offer three lines of proof.
D. Here is line number 1.
E. Let’s say that Jesus’ birth was not supernatural.
F. Let’s say that Mary became pregnant by a 1st century man.
G. If this had happened, what would Mary have done?
1. We do not need to guess.
2. In the Old Testament, there was a penalty for adultery.
3. As noted form Matthew, Mary was considered to be Joseph’s wife.
4. Listen to the Old Testament punishment for adultery, Lev. 20:10.
H. If Mary had gotten pregnant by a first century man,
I. She would have hidden the pregnancy, or ended the pregnancy.
J. Any other course of action would have condemned her to death.
K. Our society pays little attention to adultery.
L. It is common.
M. In this culture, adultery brought a death sentence.
N. After Mary became pregnant, what did she do?
O. Listen very carefully to Luke 1:39-40 – READ
1. Mary was pregnant when she made this visit, v. 42.
2. Mary made know her pregnancy to Zacharias and Elizabeth.
3.
P. If Mary were impregnated by a first century man,
1. The last people she would go to see would be:
2. A Jewish priest and his wife.
3. This would be like going to a judge and saying, “I’m guilty;
4. “Here is the evidence you need to convict me.”
5. Unless the virgin birth is true,
6. Mary’s trip to this household would have condemned her to death.
Q. The virgin birth of Christ is proven by Mary’s visit to Zacharias and Elizabeth.
R. Let’s look at the second line of argumentation for Jesus’ virgin birth.
S. This line of proof takes us to the end of Christ’s life, John 19.
T. Mary was at the cross.
U. If you are a mother, you know how painful it is with your children.
V. As a mother, if there is a way that you could rescue your offspring, you would.
1. I got a cough this past winter.
2. Though I have been out of my parent’s house for a long time,
3. Mom cares about me and sent a batch of medicine.
4. She even sent me some coupons in case I need to buy more of it.
5. Mothers care about their children.
6. Mary was no different.
7. She would have saved her son, if that would have been possible.
W. Why was Jesus crucified?
X. John 19:7 – READ
Y. Jesus claimed to be someone’s son – God’s son.
Z. If Jesus had an earthly father, Mary could have interfered with the message.
A. At some point, she could have said,
1. “Jesus is not the son of God.”
2. “Jesus had an earthly father.”
3. “His father is Joseph; Jack; James …”
B. If Jesus had an earthly father,
C. Mary could have stepped forward and defended her son.
D. Someone might say, “Mary would have been afraid to do that.”
E. In light of how mothers behave, this is doubtful.
F. Furthermore,
1. If Jesus was killed for being the Son of God,
2. And Mary let Jesus endure this when she knew it was not true,
3. Mary becomes one of the most despicable women in history.
4. This is a powerful argument for the Lord’s virgin birth.
G. Now it is time for argument #3 for the virgin birth.
H. This argument is based upon the Old Testament – Deut. 23:2.
1.
2. In our day and time, these are not considered to be too unusual.
3. Under the Old Testament law, this was a serious matter.
4. Deut. 23:2.
I. A child conceived out of wedlock faced some consequences.
J. He was not allowed in religious assemblies.
K. Such a person would have been excluded from synagogue and temple services.
L. When we look at the Lord’s life, what do we find?
1. Jesus was routinely involved with these activities.
2. Passages like Luke 4:16 and John 2:14 show this.
M. The gospels show that people wanted to stop Jesus.
N. An out of wedlock birth would have given religious leaders what they needed.
O. If Jesus were conceived outside the bonds of marriage,
P. His work could have been halted in a hurry.
Q. This charge, if it were ever made, never stuck.
R. The virgin birth of Christ was so well attested to,
S. An so much evidence for it existed and exists,
T. That a first century physician endorsed it.
CONCLUSION:
1. The New Testament makes several claims concerning Jesus.
2. It claims that Jesus came, was born of a virgin, was God in the flesh,
3. He lived a perfect life, He performed miracles, He established one church,
4. He died, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, He now makes intercession.
5. He is now reigning as King over a Kingdom, and He will one day return.
6. These are lofty claims.
7. With these claims comes proof.
8. There is more proof that Christianity is true.
9. We, therefore, encourage our young people to check it out and become Christians.
10. For those of us who are already in the body of Christ,
11. We can go to the world and say, “We have the truth. Study with us.”
12. “We invite you to become a Christian too.”
13. Jesus was born in the way that the Bible says; He is coming again.
14. Are we ready to meet Him?