'THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD' – 2 Peter 1:16-19

Preached Christmas Sunday, December 22, 2013 from Matthew 1:18-22

Theme: The announcement that Jesus was born of a virgin is an announcement that makes all the difference in the world.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus (Matthew 1:18-25).
I felt led to share this passage with you for a couple of reasons. The first reason, of course, is because it tells us about the most amazing announcement ever given. It tells us the reason why we celebrate Christmas. It’s hard, in fact, to think of a better passage to read on Christmas Sunday morning than this one.
But the second reason I was drawn to it is because I was asked earlier last week to consider and prepare an answer to the question: “What is your most memorable Christmas?”
At first, I had a very hard time thinking of how to answer that question. I couldn’t really decide which Christmas has stood out most in my life. To be honest, every Christmas has been wonderful; and each one has had its unique memories. But the one Christmas that I believe stands out the most to me is the Christmas of 1973. And that’s not because of something that happened on that particular Christmas. Rather, it’s because of something that had happened to me about six months earlier—something that forever changed Christmas for me.
That ‘something’ has made the declaration of this morning’s passage more wonderful to me every year.
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You see; I grew up in a loving home; and my mother and father had always made the Christmas celebration a fun tradition for my brothers and me.
One of my earliest Christmas memories was of my father hanging the big, multi-colored Christmas lights outside around the big picture window. Red, blue, orange, yellow, green, purple—I know that the colors of the big bulbs didn’t go together at all. But they were still pretty wonderful. And one of my fondest Christmas ‘smells’—strange to say—was the fake ‘snow’ in a spray can that my father would spray on the windows outside. I’m still not sure just what exactly it was that was coming out of that can, but whatever it was, it smelled like Christmas to me. And I remember my brothers and me helping my mother to decorate the tree. There were all kinds of fascinating ornaments that greeted us when we opened up the boxes; and we’d hang them up while watching “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” on television, or listening while Burl Ives did the voice of the snowman and sang about “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.
But for most of my growing up, there wasn’t much more to Christmas than that. I loved the ‘stuff’ of Christmas—the food, the decorations, the lights and colors, the television specials, the candy, the presents, the songs, the visits with relatives. I still do. But to me, Christmas was only about the ‘stuff’—and nothing more. My family was not a church-going family; and the spiritual dimension of Christmas didn’t come up much. The only time I really heard anything about the real significance of Christmas was when Linus said something about it on the Charlie Brown Christmas special—but that’s it. Christmas was just a season in the year. I always felt sad at the end of Christmas Day; because it meant that whatever there was about Christmas that was important had essentially come to an end. “Christmas” went back into a box and got put back in the attic—out of sight and out of mind—until the next year.
But then came the summer of 1973. That was when something very significant had happened to me. I was sixteen years old; and by that time in my life, I was feeling a great deal of guilt in my heart because of sin. I had even gone so far as to declared myself to be an atheist—but I must not have been a very good atheist; because I felt very guilty and sinful and dirty before the God that I didn’t even believe existed! And one night, in August of 1973, I happened—quite by accident, it seemed—to watch a Billy Graham evangelistic crusade on television. Dr. Graham talked about Jesus—this same Jesus whose birth we celebrate on Christmas; and I heard things about Him that I had never understood before. Most of all, Dr. Graham explained that Jesus died on the cross to pay the debt for our sins, and then rose from the dead on the third day. He explained that, if anyone sincerely placed their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us, they would be forgiven by God—just as if they’d never sinned at all; and they could enter into a relationship with Him; and that He would receive them into heaven when they died.
I had never heard those things before. They were the very things I longed for—but didn’t know were possible. Later that evening, I knelt alone in my bedroom and prayed. I told God that I was sorry for my many sins, and that I wanted to be forgiven, and that I wanted to accept what Jesus did on the cross for me. And no sooner had I finished praying than I felt the weight of every sin fall off my shoulders. I felt clean inside for the first time in my life; and felt as if God the Father was reaching down to me, and embracing me, and letting me know that I was His.
* * * * * * * * * *
That was forty years ago; and a whole lot of things began to change in my life after that. Many things are still changing. One of the things that has never changed, of course, has been that sense of God’s love and complete forgiveness. I’ve fallen and stumbled many times along the way; but each time I ask, He forgives me and affirms that sense in me that I am clean in His sight. But one thing that did change—very significantly—was the way I greeted the very next Christmas that came along. The regular ‘stuff’ of Christmas was all still the same, I suppose—the smells and sights and songs. But the significance of the season had struck me in a way that it had never struck me before. I began to look above and beyond all the ‘stuff’, and to adore the Savior Himself. For the first time, I went to a church to celebrate Christmas. I’ll never forget that first candlelight Christmas Eve service—where I actually worshiped and sang praises to the Jesus whose birth we were celebrating. I understood for the first time that Christmas was the day that I celebrate birth of the One who left heaven for me, was born in a stable for me, and grew up to die on a cross for me and save me. I began to read the Christmas stories in the Bible; and I read them with a passionate interest—just like I was reading a love letter—because I now knew and personally loved the One whose birth those passages described.
I wouldn’t say that, after I placed my faith in Jesus, I began to impart some new ‘meaning’ to Christmas that wasn’t there before. Rather, I would say that my eyes had been opened to the true meaning of Christmas that had been there all along; but that had finally begun to implant its own significance into me—and was changing my view of everything else in the process. That’s why I would say that, even though each Christmas season has been special to me in its own way, that Christmas of 1973—my first Christmas after I had received Jesus Christ as my Savior and accepted His sacrifice on the cross for me—is the most meaningful Christmas of my life. It has given meaning to everything else—even to this very day.
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And that’s something I’m hoping to pass on to you from our passage this morning. You see; if the story that is told to us in that passage is true—if Jesus truly was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit—then the news of His birth into the world should dramatically change our outlook on everything else in life.
I remember reading that the legendary interviewer Larry King was once asked, if he could have interviewed anyone from history, who it would be that he’d want to interview. He said that he’d want to interview Jesus Christ; and that he would ask Him just one question: “Are You indeed virgin born?” He said that the answer to that question would explain history. And of course, Mr. King would be right. If the story in this morning’s passage isn’t true, then the whole ‘Christmas season’—and all the ‘stuff’ that goes with it—would be essentially meaningless. In fact, all of history itself would be meaningless. There might be some meaning we could all agree to award to it all; but it would only be we ourselves awarding the meaning—which is the same as saying that it is fundamentally meaningless. Nothing, in the end, would really matter.
But if what this passage tells us really did happen, then nothing else matters in comparison! Life would now have meaning. Trials would now have significance. Suffering would now have purpose. Hope in this world would now have real substance. Evil could now be conquered. Sin could now be forgiven. It would mean that we’re not alone in the universe; but that the God who made us truly loves us and cares for us and has done something to bring us into a relationship with Himself. It would mean that His Son truly has come into this world to be our Savior.
It makes all the difference in the world, then, whether or not the announcement that Jesus was born of a virgin was true—and whether or not we believe it.
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Now; if you’ll look at this passage carefully, you’ll see that what it declares to us being treated as if it were something factual and literal—that Jesus truly was miraculously conceived in the womb of a virgin.
Matthew—the one who gave us this report—went out of his way to make this clear to us when he said that, after Jesus mother Mary was ‘betrothed’ to Joseph, “before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (v. 18). In those days, a betrothal of marriage was considered so serious and so certain that the woman was referred to as the man’s ‘wife’—even though they were not yet married. This story occurred after Mary had become Joseph’s promised ‘wife’; but before they were actually joined together in marriage. We might say today that they were “engaged”.
But there’s something very significant meant in those words “before they came together”. Matthew is making it very clear that they had not had anything in the way of ‘relations’ with each other. In fact, if you look at the very end of this passage, you’ll find that Matthew tells us that it was only after Jesus was born that Joseph took Mary to be his wife; and that he “did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (v. 25). In other words, even after they were married, they did not have sexual relations until the birth of Jesus. This is meant to make it clear to us that the holy Child in Mary’s womb was not the result of the union of Joseph and Mary.
In fact, no man was involved in the conception of Jesus at all. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 when he writes, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child . . .”; and many scholars have pointed out that the Hebrew word in that Old Testament passage can be translated simply “young woman”. But when Matthew quotes that same Old Testament passage and translates it into Greek, he used the word parthenos—which is the word that is used to describe someone who has never had sexual relations. In the Gospel of Luke—when the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would bear a Son, she said, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” (Luke 1:34). And to be as delicate about the matter as we can, her virginity would have been quite capable of being confirmed by her family and by any caregivers—even as her Child was about to be delivered.
And if you wanted further proof, you can find it in Joseph himself. We’re told in this passage that he was a righteous and devout man. And when he discovered that Mary was pregnant, he would responded as any honorable man would. His heart was broken; because it would appear that his intended bride had been unfaithful. He was a kind man too; and even though the penalty for such an act would have been severe in that culture—and rather than expose her to public shame—he had it in his mind to “put her away secretly”. To do otherwise would have brought scandal and shame upon himself. But he didn’t put her away. Instead, we’re told that he “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife” (v. 24). Why would he do this? It was because he was convinced that what he had been told by the angel was the truth—and that the Child in Mary’s womb was truly conceived “in a virgin”.
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But does all that really matter? A skeptical world such as ours doubts all of this. Many people simply ‘spiritualize’ what this passage tells us; and turn it into nothing more than symbolism and myth. But is it necessary that we take it as truth? Does it really make any difference whether we believe this or not?
Yes, it does! It makes all the difference in the world. Just look at this passage again and ask yourself . . .
1. DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE THAT THIS BABY WAS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (v. 20)?
You see; the significance of the story of this Child’s ‘virgin conception’ is because of what it tells us of His identity. And that identity is hinted at to us a couple of times in this passage.
First, in verse 18, we’re told that Mary was found with child—not merely apart from a man—but “of the Holy Spirit”. There’s a great mystery involved in this; and we couldn’t even begin to fathom it. But, even though Jesus was made from the real substance of Mary’s body, and was therefore fully human, He was conceived without the agency of a man. Instead, He was conceived by the third Divine Person of the Trinity—God the Holy Spirit. And you’ll find it mentioned again in verse 20; where the angel says, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”
The angel Gabriel made things even more clear to Mary—and made the significance of these things even more clear to us as well. When he appeared to her, he told her;
“Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give 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.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:30-35).
In other words, the fact that the Lord Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit means that He is God in human flesh. It means that God is not far away and distant from us. It means that He came as close to us as He could possibly come. It means that what the apostle John wrote is true:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
What a difference this makes!
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Second, we might ask . . .
2. DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE THAT THIS BABY WOULD SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS (v. 21)?
And if you know yourself to be a sinner—like I know myself to be one—then of course it does! It makes all the difference in terms of our eternal destiny.
Do you notice what the angel said to Joseph in verse 21 about his virgin bride Mary? The Child in her womb was conceived of the Holy Spirit; “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” When we read the story of the visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary, we find that he told her the same thing—that this Child was to be given the name “Jesus”.
What a significant name that is! You may not have known this, but the name “Jesus” is another form of a very common Hebrew name—“Joshua”. But this common name has a very wonderful meaning. The name “Joshua” is a name that means “Yahweh Saves”. It’s a name that declares that salvation is of the God of Israel. And by the fact that the angel said that the name of this Child was to be Jesus, he was saying that it would be this Child’s role! He would be the embodiment of the salvation that God would give to His people; and that it would be through Him that they would be saved from their sins.
A moment ago, I read from John 1. In that chapter, it also says this about Jesus:
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:10-13).
Or, just think of what the apostle Peter said about Him in Acts 4:12;
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Or what the apostle Paul said in Acts 16:31;
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved . . .” (Acts 16:31).
So, yes! It makes all the difference in the world whether or not this announcement from the angel was the truth. It makes all the difference in the world that Jesus was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. And it makes all the difference in the world whether or not we believe it, and turn to Him by faith; because through the name that was given to Him, He is declared to us to be the One who saves His people from their sins.
As a sinner, how very glad I am that it is true!
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We can ask further . . .
3. DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE THAT THIS BABYWAS THE FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY (vv. 22-23a)?
And again; yes it does! The angel told Joseph that Jesus would be born of the virgin Mary. And as Matthew goes on to explain, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son . . .’” (vv. 22-23a). This was the fulfillment of God’s promise in the Scriptures through the prophet Isaiah 750 years beforehand. And what this means is that our God—the God of the Bible; the God who makes promises in the Scriptures—is a God who keeps all His promises.
And what a great difference that makes! It means that you and I can trust what God says in His holy Scriptures. The Scriptures are reliable. They are able to guide us through life and to eternal salvation. As the apostle Peter has written;
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts
(2 Peter 1:19).
As the apostle Paul has put it; they are
the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).
This means that we’re not lost in the fog of human opinion and philosophy. It means that we don’t have to grope around in the dark to find the way of salvation. God has told us in His word what He would do—and that He has done it! He has made promises in His word—and He will keep all of His promises! You and I can believe what the Scriptures tell us about Jesus; and know that they will lead us to a faith in Him that saves our souls.
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And finally, we can ask . . .
4. DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE THAT THIS BABYWAS CALLED ‘GOD WITH US’ (v. 23b)?
Yes! What a difference it makes! Matthew quotes that Old Testament passage in Isaiah 7; and tells us that “they shall call His name Immanuel”—and for the benefit of those of us who do not speak Hebrew, Matthew goes on to say, “which is translated ‘God with us’” (v. 23b). And that’s who this Child—conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary—is. He is “God with us”.
God is not far from us. He is close to us. He is for us. He has come to us. He became one of us. He—the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son—has taken human nature to Himself without ever ceasing from His divinity; and is now and forever a member of the human family as “God with us.”
* * * * * * * * * *
And all these things make an enormous difference! If they are true, they matter greatly to our daily lives. Believing them and embracing them as the truth completely transforms our perspective of everything else.
It means that in our daily lives—in the midst of the challenges of trials and difficulties we encounter; and in the midst of our grievous failures and shortcomings and sins—we have hope. We have been given a Savior. He is God in human flesh—God with us. He bore no sin from Adam in Himself; and so He is able to save His people from their sins. He ever lives to help all those who come to Him. What a difference His birth should make in our daily lives!
And what a difference His birth should make in this world! This world is not so dark and hopeless as to be completely lost and out of control. God has done something to save us. Because He came, we have a message of hope to declare to this dark world—and to the people in it who are broken and needy! If this message from the angle is true, then it is “good tidings of great joy” for all people. And what the angels sang to the shepherds is also true;
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14).
I believe what the angel told Joseph about the Child in Mary’s womb—every word, just as he declared it. And believing it has changed every Christmas for me ever since. In fact, it has changed everything.
My sincere hope and prayer is that you will believe it and be transformed by it too.