Who is Jesus?
- ANTICIPATION ! (Matt 1:1-17)
- CONTROVERSY ! (Matt 1:18-35)
Why I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ (and why it matters).
- God's Word is TRUSTWORTHY .
- God's Word is CLEAR .
- God says it is a SIGN .
- God is ABLE to do it.
- It was NECESSARY .
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
-
00:00-00:05
Open up your Bibles to the gospel according to Matthew chapter 1.
00:07-00:08
Are you excited for Christmas?
00:09-00:09
Yes.
00:14-00:19
Can you think of like, what's the one thing that you are most excited about for Christmas?
00:20-00:25
What's the one thing that you look forward to the most for Christmas?
00:27-00:28
What's the one thing you look...
00:28-00:29
What's that?
00:29-00:30
Taking the decorations down.
00:31-00:33
Taking the decorations down.
00:33-00:35
Okay, thank you Ebenezer for that.
00:39-00:45
Anybody else? What's the thing you look forward to the most every Christmas?
00:45-00:47
Andy Nauer, what do you look forward to the most every Christmas?
00:48-00:50
Watching other people open gifts.
00:50-00:51
Watching other people open gifts.
00:52-00:53
That is more fun, isn't it?
00:53-00:55
I mean, we like to get stuff. Everybody likes to get stuff.
00:55-01:08
But there's something more fun about like finding that perfect gift and you're just so excited to watch other people light up. Somebody else, what's your favorite part?
01:10-01:13
Singing Silent Night on Christmas Eve. That's on the lineup, isn't it, Darren?
01:14-01:17
Silent Night on Christmas Eve. Okay, phew. All right, yeah.
01:21-01:30
I heard that there is a Harvest Bible Chapel somewhere out west that did not do Silent Night on Christmas Eve out of the fellowship immediately.
01:33-01:35
It is a season of anticipation, isn't it?
01:36-01:38
We're all looking forward to something.
01:39-01:45
And it's also a season of great controversy as well. Have you noticed?
01:46-02:19
That's why the title of this message you heard the song right what child is this The title of this message is Jesus anticipation and controversy Whose child is this Whose child is this and with all the anticipation this year Every year as we approach Christmas, you know giving the perfect gift and family get-togethers and vacation and special church services and And we also deal with all the controversy too, don't we?
02:20-02:44
You know, there's all the, my favorite is the, "Don't say happy holidays, say what?" Do we have any, like, card-carrying members of that club here with us this morning that are like, "If somebody says happy holidays to me, I immediately correct them.
02:45-02:49
Jay Naur, okay. I figured. You correct them, don't you?
02:49-02:52
You probably also send the emails around.
02:52-02:56
Don't shop at these stores, because these...
02:56-02:59
Did you get those emails? Are they still going around? You know what I'm talking about?
02:59-03:14
You get those emails that say, "Here are a list of the stores you are not allowed to shop at, because they say 'Happy Holidays' not 'Merry Christmas'." And, like, Banana Republic, The Gap, Old Navy, they just, like, run down the list of stores you're not allowed to shop at.
03:14-03:15
Controversy.
03:16-03:20
Come on, let's celebrate Christmas without getting too serious about Jesus.
03:20-03:28
Well, over the next three weeks, we're going to be talking about anticipation and controversy surrounding Jesus Christ.
03:29-03:37
And there's it's never been more tangible than during his 33 years when he walked on this earth.
03:37-04:03
So first of all, your outline anticipation, everybody, Matthew chapter one. I'm not going to read the whole genealogy. But last week, we answered a question that I get asked a lot. What's the unforgivable sin? This week, we're going to answer a question another question that I get asked quite a bit, like what's up with all the genealogies in the Bible?
04:03-04:30
Like how many people like kind of skin that part when you get to it. We'd be honest in church. Okay. All right, we'll pray for you. There's a reason the genealogy is in the Word of God. And I'm not going to read through this. But look at Matthew chapter one in verse one. It says the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, The son of David, the son of Abraham.
04:33-04:47
And then Matthew starts with Abraham and gives this genealogy moving the generations forward, leading up to Joseph, Jesus, quote unquote, earthly father.
04:48-04:49
And what's up with the genealogy?
04:49-04:50
Why is it in your Bible?
04:51-04:52
I want you to write this down.
04:53-04:54
Why is the genealogy in your Bible?
04:55-04:57
Write this down. God keeps his word.
05:01-05:02
Sometimes we just have to wait.
05:06-05:08
That's what this genealogy is in Matthew.
05:09-05:10
It's this God keeps his word.
05:13-05:14
Sometimes you have to wait.
05:16-05:22
And when you look through the genealogy, notice he says the son of David, the son of Abraham, and then he gives us list.
05:23-05:25
Why did he highlight David and Abraham?
05:27-05:30
Well, you remember, the promise was made through Abraham.
05:31-05:36
God says that one of your descendants is going to be a blessing for the whole earth.
05:37-05:39
And son of David.
05:42-06:04
Drop this reference down, we're not going to turn there, but you should know this reference, 2 Samuel chapter 7 verses 12 through 13. God promises David that he would have a descendant that would rule eternally. Okay, David was the king and God made a promise to David, he's I'm establishing your throne forever.
06:05-06:14
Ultimately, one of your descendants is going to be the eternal king. That's why Matthew is giving us this genealogy.
06:15-06:20
He's saying that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that promise.
06:20-06:24
The promise that God made to Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
06:25-06:29
The promise that God made to David is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
06:32-06:33
The waiting is over.
06:34-06:40
This is the fulfillment of something that's been anticipated since the very beginning of time.
06:43-06:52
But I want to spend our time today talking about the controversy that picks up in chapter 1 in verse 18.
06:53-06:58
Because really, this is again kind of piggybacking off of what we talked about last week.
06:58-07:02
The issue of who is Jesus Christ divides people.
07:03-07:04
Who is Jesus?
07:04-07:20
And you have to understand that one of the big issues that people still argue about today, that actually people were really up in arms about when Jesus was on the earth is this question.
07:22-07:23
Who is Jesus' dad?
07:25-07:26
Who is he?
07:28-07:30
It was an issue.
07:31-07:38
John chapter 8 verse 41, Jesus said to the Pharisees, you are doing the works your father did.
07:40-07:41
You remember what the Pharisees replied?
07:44-07:49
Says, they said to him, we were not born of sexual immorality.
07:50-07:51
Why do you think they said that?
07:54-08:00
That was an attempted harsh, harsh, harsh insult.
08:01-08:35
towards Jesus saying hey you might have been but we're not again questioning his parentage and then Jesus used it actually Matthew 22 verse 42 again this was Jesus to the Pharisees he said what do you think about the Christ whose son is he? It's a big issue. Who is Jesus? In fact, you can take a little tour of the cults. I don't encourage you to do that.
08:35-08:39
But jot this down. They're all over the board on who Jesus is.
08:39-08:42
According to Islam, Jesus was a good prophet, but he's not God.
08:44-10:19
According to the Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus was a created angel. He was Michael, who became Jesus for a while and then became Michael again. According to Christian scientists, the term Christ is an advanced stage of consciousness that Jesus had. Okay, like we all have like this Christ principle within us. It just so happens that Jesus of Nazareth had a lot of it. That's what the Christian scientists say about Jesus. The Mormons teach that Jesus is actually Satan's brother. He was created by Elohim, which is a name for God, through a sexual union with Mary. Scientology teaches that Jesus is an advanced human with a strong energy glow. I don't even know what that means. He just has a strong glow about well the Christians get it right we get it right like Christians we're like we we totally get like who Jesus is don't we hold that thought you So in 1998, the Harris group polled 7 ,441, not people on the street, not even people in ministry, 7,441 Protestant ministers.
10:21-10:21
Okay?
10:22-10:22
Everybody with me?
10:22-10:27
They pulled 7,441 Protestant ministers.
10:29-10:37
And I'm going to give you the percentages of these ministers polled that did not believe that Jesus was born of a virgin.
10:38-10:39
You ready for this?
10:40-10:47
The American Lutherans, 19% said, I don't believe, clergy, pastors.
10:48-10:52
19% of these pastors said, I don't believe he was born of a virgin.
10:52-10:55
The American Baptists, 34 percent.
10:56-10:59
One out of three said, no, I don't believe Jesus was born of a virgin.
11:01-11:03
Episcopalians, 44 percent.
11:06-11:07
Presbyterians.
11:09-11:10
Forty nine percent.
11:10-11:13
Now, I'm not really a math guy, Ken, but that's like almost half right?
11:14-11:14
Almost.
11:14-11:15
Almost.
11:17-11:23
half of the pastor, the Presbyterian pastors that they told, do you believe in the virgin birth of Jesus?
11:23-11:25
Almost half of them said, no, I don't.
11:26-11:26
I do not.
11:28-11:38
Methodists, 60 percent and congregational pastors, seventy nine percent.
11:42-11:45
And they're like, well, you know how pastors are, right?
11:46-11:47
And I'm like, what do you mean by that?
11:47-11:53
Well, I believe among the pastors, among the clergy is taking its toll on the American public.
11:53-12:01
Listen to this. In 1998, the year the clergy poll was taken, 83 percent of the Americans.
12:04-12:14
Believed in the virgin birth, so we're talking like the non pastors, like the people who get it, 83 percent said, I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin.
12:15-12:16
Well, do you know 10 years later?
12:20-12:22
That 2008, right, Ken?
12:24-12:28
That percentage dropped over 20 points to 61%.
12:30-12:32
Meaning, like, what's all this mean?
12:33-12:46
What this means is you have a lot of pastors out there that say, "I don't believe that Jesus was born of a virgin." And their influence on their congregations is diminishing the amount of people that still believe that.
12:50-13:01
Well, the very concept of salvation, according to Jesus, is tied into a correct understanding of who he is and what he has accomplished.
13:02-13:05
So let's look at what the Bible says. All in favor of that?
13:06-13:09
All opposed? Irrelevant.
13:12-13:13
And this is church.
13:17-13:20
I was so going to make a denominational joke, but I'm not going to.
13:24-13:31
Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
13:33-13:34
Like, how did it happen?
13:35-13:37
How was Jesus Christ born?
13:37-13:39
How did that take place?
13:40-13:42
Matthew says it took place this way.
13:44-13:54
When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
13:58-14:00
Okay, little is known about Mary and Joseph.
14:00-14:03
if it was likely that they were teenagers.
14:06-14:10
As that was the common age for entering into a betrothal.
14:10-14:11
What's this betrothal?
14:11-14:15
It says his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph.
14:16-14:18
Well, do you know there are two stages of a Jewish wedding?
14:18-14:19
Did you know that?
14:20-14:23
There's the Kiddushin and the Chuppah.
14:26-14:28
The Kiddushin, what is that?
14:28-14:30
Deuteronomy chapter 20, verse 7 talks about that.
14:31-14:36
It's when both parties, families enter into a legal contract.
14:36-14:40
They're legally married, but they don't have any contact.
14:41-14:46
OK, this is just like signing the papers.
14:47-14:51
It's like sign and drive with no driving.
14:52-14:54
To use a Volkswagen term.
14:56-14:56
Everybody with me?
14:57-15:00
You like signed the papers, but hands off.
15:03-15:56
And actually to end the betrothal, you had to get a legal divorce. And how long did that last? Well, it lasted six to 12 months. Okay, so how does that sound? Like, I love this woman I want to marry you okay so I'm here and I will get this done and you know sometime in the next year well the purpose of that was to test marital faithfulness like are you really committed to me are you really committed are you committed to me well we'll find out because we're going to make the commitment to each other now and prove that commitment well then you have the Who but now how do you think you pronounce that Hoopa? How do you think you pronounce it?
15:56-16:12
Like with a Jewish accent go ahead throw that out Come on. Try again. Come on. Don't be shy Okay, thank you that's what I was thinking Now that was the wedding. That was the wedding party. Do you know how long their wedding party lasted?
16:13-16:55
seven days You've been to some weddings. You thought were long Seven days it was like everybody came to town put up the guests put up the family They're hanging out. What are all these people going home? They're not Not for another week So they had this big seven seven day party well, that's what they were betrothed Okay, so looking at the timeline you understand what's happening with Mary and Joseph here, right? They entered the marriage contract And you're like well How do we know that they?
16:56-17:33
Work together. Well Matthew tells us it says before they came together Meaning sexually she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit You can imagine the shock right that Mary had Well, imagine the shock that Joseph had, finding out this woman that you love is suddenly pregnant, and she's telling you that that was the Holy Spirit.
17:33-17:40
It says, "And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
17:43-18:03
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." Now, did Mary tell Joseph that before the angel did?
18:03-18:04
I don't know.
18:05-18:07
I just have to wonder what that conversation was like.
18:07-18:09
I mean, obviously, Joseph knew she was pregnant.
18:11-18:12
Did they not talk about?
18:14-18:15
Well, Joseph was resolved.
18:15-18:17
He could have gone one of two ways.
18:19-18:22
In the first century, you could make it a very public thing.
18:25-18:27
You know, this woman cheated on me.
18:28-18:32
And he could have dragged her into public shame, made a spectacle of her.
18:34-18:36
But they also had provision to do it quietly.
18:37-18:50
And Joseph said, "We'll just do this quietly." The angel in a dream tells Joseph, "That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
18:51-19:01
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.
19:01-20:12
behold the Virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which means God with us when Joseph woke from sleep he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him he took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name Jesus so it seems that Matthew is driving a point home right again verse 25 it says that Joseph knew her not meaning physically they were not together says until she'd given birth to a son. Some churches teach that Mary was perpetually a virgin and the Bible would teach otherwise. You know, we saw in our message last week, Mark chapter 3, Jesus' brothers were waiting for him. John chapter 7, Jesus' brothers. Matthew chapter 13 says that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Okay, children born to Mary and Joseph after Jesus was born.
20:15-20:20
And Matthew over and over in his passage seems to be driving a point home, and that's this.
20:21-20:24
Virgin born, God in the flesh.
20:24-20:25
Did you pick that up?
20:27-20:28
You think that's what Matthew's talking about?
20:28-20:30
Virgin born, God in the flesh.
20:30-20:31
Anybody else get that?
20:35-20:37
A lot of people do not get that.
20:40-20:48
And it is still a hotly debated topic that was just really born of a virgin.
20:49-20:50
Do you believe that?
20:52-20:53
Do you believe that?
20:56-20:58
I read an article this week.
21:00-21:03
I read several, but this one in particular stuck out to me.
21:05-21:15
It says, "Why I deny the virgin birth." I'm going to warn you, I'm gonna share some of these things, it might shatter your faith.
21:16-21:17
Some of these very compelling reasons.
21:18-21:19
Is the sarcasm coming through?
21:19-21:24
Some of these very compelling reasons why I deny the virgin birth.
21:26-21:34
Number one, it says, "There is no reliable evidence." there's no reliable evidence.
21:37-21:54
My reply to that would be, even aside from the four eyewitness accounts that we have in printed form in our hands, but he goes on in this to say, "We have no eyewitness accounts, "no doctor confirmations, and no DNA samples."
21:55-21:56
(audience laughing)
22:00-22:04
I don't believe Jesus was born of a virgin because we don't have a doctor's confirmation on that.
22:06-22:11
To which I would say, Luke was a doctor, right?
22:13-22:16
And then he says, I love this, no DNA samples.
22:18-22:18
You know what he's saying?
22:20-22:22
Maury Povich was not around.
22:22-22:23
(audience laughing)
22:24-22:26
Because that's the only way you settle these things.
22:27-22:37
Drag Mary and Joseph onto the Maury set, He pulls out his big envelope, sits back with his legs crossed and that smarmy little smirk on his face.
22:43-22:50
"Joseph, you are not the father." Then Joseph gets up.
22:50-22:52
"Yeah, I knew that was of the Holy Spirit.
22:53-22:54
I knew that was the work of God.
22:55-22:57
Yeah." Have you seen the Morrie Show?
23:00-23:02
That's what happened on the one episode that I watched.
23:09-23:12
Okay so there's no reliable evidence.
23:12-23:13
Incorrect, sir.
23:14-23:17
Number two, he says the earliest references are late and sparse.
23:17-23:20
Why is such an important story left out of all the early sources?
23:20-23:24
Paul, the earliest New Testament author, never mentions the virgin birth.
23:26-23:27
Incorrect.
23:30-23:32
The earliest references are late and sparse.
23:32-23:35
Do you know Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were all contemporaries?
23:37-23:42
And two of them were disciples, Matthew and John.
23:46-23:49
He says Paul, the earliest New Testament author, never mentions the virgin birth.
23:49-23:52
Yes, he does. We'll talk about that in a minute.
23:53-23:56
Number three, he says it's the same old myth.
23:56-24:01
The claims of Jesus' birth are no different from any of the other virgin birth legends.
24:02-24:03
What's he talking about there?
24:05-24:07
This is an argument you'll hear a lot.
24:08-24:11
The story of Jesus borrows from mythology.
24:11-24:17
Like you can study like ancient mythology and there's these virgin born stories and there's even these resurrection stories.
24:18-24:19
Well, here's the problem.
24:21-24:29
If you really study your history, The stories of those mythological characters changed after Jesus.
24:31-24:43
You see, Jesus was the truth, and they went back and changed some of these mythological accounts to make them like Jesus.
24:45-24:46
So who's copying off of who, really?
24:51-24:55
Number four, if your faith isn't shattered now, this will do it.
24:57-24:59
Don't throw your Bibles away.
24:59-25:01
We'll collect them and give them to somebody else.
25:02-25:05
But listen to this compelling reason why I deny the virgin birth.
25:05-25:09
Number four, is it more likely to be a lie or to be true?
25:11-25:11
What?
25:16-25:18
That's how you evaluate everything.
25:20-25:22
Is it more likely to be a lie or to be true?
25:23-25:28
And then number five, he said, why deny the virgin birth?
25:28-25:30
He said, we would never ever believe this today.
25:31-25:35
He said, imagine a teenage girl in your neighborhood telling this story.
25:36-25:39
Why does it change just because Jesus' birth happened 2000 years ago?
25:40-25:41
There's no evidence in favor of it.
25:44-25:47
My response to that would be, this is a once in history event.
25:49-25:55
So yeah, I would not believe it today because God promised it was gonna happen once and it did.
25:57-25:58
So enough of that.
26:01-26:05
Why I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and why it matters.
26:05-26:06
You ready to write some things down?
26:07-26:11
Why I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and why it matters.
26:11-26:14
Number one, God's word is trustworthy.
26:17-26:21
Really this issue, was Jesus really born of a virgin?
26:21-26:23
Do you know what the issue really is?
26:25-26:29
The issue is this, is God's word true or not?
26:29-26:30
That's really the issue, right?
26:31-26:46
And you can take any of these issues, the Christians and atheists and, that's really what it boils down to, creation, evolution, virgin birth, natural, whatever.
26:46-26:50
However, what it boils down to is the integrity of God's Word.
26:54-26:57
The Bible has satisfied the greatest minds in history.
26:58-27:09
And that's why when Matthew says back in verse 18, that's why when he says the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.
27:13-27:18
I'm going to take Matthew's word for it because I wasn't there.
27:18-27:18
Were you there?
27:22-27:26
Can we dismiss or doubt any event in history that we didn't personally attend?
27:29-27:37
And when we face tough doctrines like this, we need to decide if we're going to agree with the Bible, which has been proven reliable over and over and over again.
27:40-27:42
We're going to take the unreliable word of a man.
27:44-27:45
So God's word is trustworthy.
27:47-27:49
That's the issue. You either believe the Bible or you don't.
27:52-27:55
Secondly, God's word is clear.
27:57-27:58
God's word is clear.
28:04-28:05
because here's what people do.
28:07-28:10
Oh yeah, the Bible says that he was born of a virgin.
28:14-28:15
Scholarly voice.
28:18-28:21
But you need to understand what the word virgin really means.
28:22-28:25
Like, my dad had that talk with me.
28:26-28:28
No, you don't understand.
28:29-28:37
Then they give you all these lists of like Hebrew and Greek words, And they say, do you know that word could mean maiden?
28:38-28:41
That word could mean young woman.
28:42-28:43
I'm like, could it mean virgin?
28:44-28:49
Well, it could, but do you know that word could mean maiden or young woman?
28:52-28:53
What about what Matthew said?
28:53-28:54
He said it twice.
28:55-29:02
Before they came together, verse 18, verse 25, But he knew her not until she'd given birth to a son.
29:03-29:04
That's pretty clear, isn't it?
29:06-29:06
Is that clear?
29:08-29:11
This isn't the only virgin birth passage, by the way.
29:11-29:14
Genesis 315 was the first.
29:16-29:32
Did you know that Genesis 315 is a virgin birth passage when God tells Satan, the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman in between your offspring and her offspring.
29:34-29:38
Literally, God says her seed.
29:39-29:44
Without giving a biology lesson, women aren't typically spoken of as having seed.
29:46-29:52
But very clearly, God says that it's going to be the seed of a woman.
29:55-29:57
What about Paul, did he have any comments on this?
29:57-30:04
Actually, yeah, Galatians 4, 4 says, when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son born of woman.
30:06-30:09
I think he was very specific about why he worded it that way.
30:11-30:12
God's word is clear.
30:14-30:20
The Bible not only says that Jesus is God, but did you know that the Bible also says that God is Jesus?
30:20-30:21
Did you know that?
30:22-30:23
Drop these references down.
30:23-30:24
I'm giving you some homework.
30:25-30:39
Zechariah 1210 Old Testament prophecy, God talking about the end times when there's mass revival in Israel, he says, and they will look upon me whom they have pierced.
30:41-30:49
This was before the incarnation, and God was speaking of himself being the one who was pierced.
30:53-30:54
Do you have anything New Testament?
30:56-30:58
Actually, yeah, Acts 20, verse 28.
30:59-31:06
The Apostle Paul tells the Ephesian elders that God purchased the church with his own blood.
31:08-31:09
He doesn't say Jesus.
31:10-31:11
He says God.
31:13-31:17
So the Bible not only says that Jesus is God, but the Bible also says that God is Jesus.
31:18-31:19
God's word is clear.
31:19-31:29
So look, you believe it or you don't believe it, but let's not try this like gymnastics around the word meanings, because God's word is clear on it.
31:31-31:33
Number three, God says it is a sign.
31:35-31:36
God says it is a sign.
31:36-31:40
Matthew here quoted from Isaiah chapter seven in verse 14.
31:42-31:52
The context of that passage, Israel was afraid that Syria was going to come wipe out the kingly line back in Isaiah's day.
31:52-32:03
Okay, so here's like this national threat, and Israel's like, our nation's gonna be finished, our kingly line is gonna be wiped out from the Syrians, and God says, it's not, and I'm going to give you a sign.
32:03-32:07
I'm going to give you proof that the kingly line is going to continue.
32:09-32:13
And here's the proof, he says, behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.
32:13-32:15
They shall call his name Immanuel.
32:17-32:19
So God says it is a sign.
32:23-32:25
So answer me this.
32:26-32:35
If the passage is just talking about a young woman giving birth being the sign, can somebody explain to me how that is a sign of anything?
32:37-32:45
God's like, "I'm going to do something amazing. Are you ready for this?" A young woman's going to have a child.
32:48-32:50
And all of Israel was underwhelmed.
32:50-32:51
Like, really?
32:54-32:55
That's the sign?
32:56-32:57
A woman's going to have a baby.
32:57-33:00
That, I guess that happens sometimes.
33:02-33:03
That's not a sign.
33:04-33:07
God says the sign is a virgin is going to...
33:07-33:08
Would that be a sign?
33:09-33:11
A woman that never knew a man having a baby.
33:11-33:12
Do you think that's a sign from God?
33:13-33:14
Absolutely.
33:15-33:16
God says it's a sign.
33:18-33:20
Number four, God is able to do it.
33:24-33:25
Do you think it's far-fetched?
33:26-33:29
Do you think it's far-fetched for the Holy Spirit to conceive in a woman?
33:30-33:30
Mary did.
33:33-33:34
Remember Luke's accounts?
33:35-33:36
Luke chapter 1, verse 34.
33:37-33:40
You know, Mary, you're going to have a baby.
33:41-33:43
Mary's response was, how will this be since I am a virgin?
33:46-33:48
There again, Mary didn't say, how can I have a child?
33:48-33:49
I'm a young woman. I'm a maiden.
33:51-33:52
The issue was, I've never known a man.
33:54-33:55
You remember Gabriel's response?
33:57-34:00
He said, nothing will be impossible with God.
34:02-34:04
Nothing will be impossible with God.
34:06-34:08
And church, this is just Theology 101.
34:11-34:12
This is Theology 101.
34:13-34:21
God has the power to accomplish anything that he purposes, and he always does what he promises.
34:22-34:23
That's just Theology 101.
34:25-34:30
If God says he's going to do something, give me a percentage.
34:30-34:32
What's the chances it's going to happen?
34:33-34:33
100%?
34:36-34:40
And, like, is there anything too hard for God?
34:40-34:41
What's the answer to that?
34:41-34:42
No.
34:45-34:54
So that's why I have to wonder when you have people coming and saying, "Well, I don't believe in the virgin birth." Well, what do you believe God's capable of?
34:56-35:17
Because if you believe His Word, He was capable of speaking the entire universe into existence just by opening his mouth and you think having a woman become pregnant without being with a man you think that's too hard for God? God's like yeah I figure it out like everything else but that that stuff's a little...
35:17-35:19
God is able, he is able.
35:20-35:27
And finally why I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ it was necessary.
35:30-35:35
Jesus had to be fully God and fully man.
35:38-35:42
As it was man who brought sin into the world, man had to bear the punishment.
35:44-35:58
But he also had to be God to be sinless and to offer a perfect once and for all sacrifice that we would believe.
36:00-36:12
Because here's the thing, if Jesus just had two human parents, then that would make Jesus what?
36:14-36:15
Just a normal guy, right?
36:18-36:26
And you've heard, I'm sure you've heard these stupid theories like, well, you know, well Joseph and Mary, they were together and this was like a big cover-up thing.
36:27-36:34
There's even this one ridiculous like, fable about Mary got impregnated by some Roman soldier or something.
36:34-36:35
Have you heard that?
36:36-36:37
It's foolish.
36:37-36:39
It's absolutely foolishness.
36:41-36:47
But the truth is, if Jesus just had two human parents, he's no different than me.
36:48-36:49
He's no different than you.
36:50-36:51
He's just a guy.
36:56-37:00
And here's the implication of the virgin birth that you cannot miss.
37:02-37:18
If Jesus wasn't fully God and fully man when he was lying in the manger, then he wasn't fully God and fully man when he was nailed to the cross.
37:21-37:31
You see, and if he wasn't fully God and fully man, when he was nailed to the cross, then the sacrifice that he laid down means nothing.
37:32-37:33
He was just a martyr.
37:34-37:36
He was just some religious teacher.
37:36-37:41
He was some good rabbi that was misunderstood if he was just a man.
37:45-37:52
But because he was fully God and fully man, We believe that when he was on the cross.
37:53-37:57
Somehow we have a harder time believing that when he was in the manger.
38:00-38:01
So the truth of the Bible stands.
38:02-38:15
Jesus Christ, human mother, conceived by the Holy Spirit, 100% human and 100% God at the same time.
38:16-38:33
And Matthew says, "All of this anticipation from history has been realized." But the Bible really leaves no controversy when it comes to who Jesus Christ's parents are.
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Matthew 1
Is the virgin birth of Jesus an important doctrine? Is it a “hill to die on”? Why or why not?
How would you classify it? Critical / Important / Not Important / Indifferent
Breakout Questions:
Have you ever struggled believing this doctrine? Is there anything (else) in the Bible you have struggled believing? Why?
Pray for one another