The Firstborn Son - Pt 2

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 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. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place 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 Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:18-23 ESV). We have in our text the amazing truth of the virgin birth! A woman who had never known a man intimately, who had never, to use the words of our text, “come together” with a man, conceived a child. She was a young woman, she was an unwed woman who had preserved herself pure and holy, she was a virgin and she conceived a child! I know the reaction of unbelief to this truth, people of God. People may retell the story; but, to many it is only a story. Children love to hear it, but it is a story, a fairy tale. It cannot be truth because all of us know that in order for a woman to conceive, there must be a man. By no stretch of genetics, except perhaps by cloning, which we know they knew nothing about then, can a person conceive a child in her womb. The story cannot be true. And because of this view of unbelief, many in the church too will deny the virgin birth. The virgin birth is a sign that truly Christ is the Son of God made flesh! This is supported by the end of our text: “she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” She was not found with child of Joseph, she was not found with child of a man, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, was sent forth by the triune God to do that work of God. In very simple language, that seed in Mary was human because it was the seed of a woman, but when it was given life by the Holy Spirit, that baby became divine. God became the Father of that child. Joseph was always viewed by others as Jesus’ father. But Joseph was not Jesus’ father. God was. That is not hard to understand. Although beyond human imagination, it is not hard to understand the incarnation. The Bible recognizes this great truth everywhere. The scriptural account is consistent throughout: Jesus was born of a woman who was a sinner just as we are. Jesus assumed the human nature. He was a man with the same weaknesses as a man. But He was also the divine Son of God, He had a divine nature that made Him sinless and all powerful. Jesus Christ was sent into this world as the highest act of God’s love and grace toward His people! I know that many in the world of the church see Jesus as nothing more than this really, really good man who did all kinds of nice things for people. That is not why Jesus Christ was born into this world. This was the only way that salvation was possible. And Jesus was sent to secure that salvation for us. And no amount of good deeds is going to pay that price for our sin. No amount of good works is going to earn our way into heaven. This is the root of our celebration of Christmas. This is the only thing that can make our situation “Merry”!