The Virgin Birth / Matthew 1:18-25

Introduction: The Season of the Incarnation

Well, welcome, Well. It is good to be with you guys again. We are embarking on our third week in a new series in the book of Matthew. So welcome to you guys that are joining us here live as always, and for those of you who are joining us this weekend via video, we’re grateful to have you as well. We are going to pick up here in Matthew chapter one, and our heart will be to finish this chapter. We’re going to look at the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus Christ—the incarnation and all that comes along with that.

It’s an appropriate season to do it. I don’t know about in your house, but we’re talking about Christmas already in ours, and we have certain rules. My kid wants Christmas music now and I’ve said absolutely not. That’s heresy until after Thanksgiving. But as we think about the incarnation, this is the season where we begin to think about the Son of God who came into the world to rescue us from our sins, and Matthew is going to roll through this story with us.

As we look at this story, we have to realize this is one that is not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately, through church history and even in modern times, there have been many who would suggest that the story we’re about to read is simply a farce, or maybe even less so than that—that it’s just not important. Rob Bell, in his 2005 book Velvet Elvis, related the virgin birth and the theology of the incarnation to a trampoline. He said it’s like one of many springs on a trampoline, and if that spring were somehow to go awry or be gone, it really wouldn’t affect the whole of our theology.

He asked, what if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus has a real earthly father named Larry? His words, not mine. What if archaeologists find Larry’s tomb and do DNA samples to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythological heresy that gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of religious cults? What if that spring was seriously questioned? Could a person keep jumping? Could a person still love God? Could you still be a Christian, or does the whole thing fall apart?

More recently, a pastor who is actually very near and dear to my heart had this to say about Jesus Christ and the incarnation: “If someone can predict their own death and their own resurrection, I’m not all that concerned about how they got into this world. Christianity does not hinge on the truth of the stories around the birth of Jesus Christ.”

Friends, I would say to you that these ideas suggesting the incarnation is not important are heresies. This doctrine is fundamental to our faith. This questioning is nothing new; it really began in the 1800s with the Enlightenment. I would argue together tonight that as we look at the virgin birth, this thing is not optional. It is not some spring of a trampoline that we could remove without consequences. The virgin birth is one of many Jenga pieces that all fit together to form our theology on the person of Jesus Christ. When you remove one piece, especially one as important as this, the integrity of the entire structure becomes suspect. It’s just a matter of time before the whole thing comes crumbling down. This doctrine is absolutely paramount to our faith.

Matthew 1:18 (NASB)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

The Reality of Betrothal

We find out immediately that Mary and Joseph are, in our society’s terms, “engaged.” But this idea of betrothal actually carries a much stronger connotation. Jewish law regarded an engaged couple as virtually married. That word “betrothed” has the idea of an even firmer commitment than our understanding of an engagement. It was a process that normally began about a year before the wedding. A woman in Jesus’ culture would normally be about 13 or 14 years old when they were betrothed. I have a seventh grader at home; she is 12. I can’t imagine her bearing the Savior of the world, but more than likely, Mary was a 13 or 14-year-old young lady when she was betrothed to Joseph.

Husbands were often a few years older. During the time of the betrothal, the girl would remain with her own family. A strong bond was established, and during that year, the couple could only break their engagement with a divorce. That is how serious this was taken; it was the first step in the marriage process. Now, let’s look back at verse 16, which we covered last week, because there are important details regarding Joseph’s role in this lineage.

Matthew 1:16 (NASB)

Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

This genealogy concludes with Joseph being described as the husband of Mary, but never as the father of Jesus. Both Mary and Joseph’s lines can be traced back to David, but only Joseph’s was Messianic because it came through David’s son Solomon. That is why Joseph needed to appear in the line. In the Greek, when it says “by whom Jesus was born,” that word “whom” is a singular feminine pronoun. Matthew is making it very clear that Jesus did not come through the earthly union of Joseph and Mary, but was physically conceived by the Holy Spirit through Mary. It is unambiguously feminine to say that Jesus came from her and not from him.

I’ve told many of you before that I’m adopted. My father, who raised me since I was two and a half, officially adopted me when I was 18. As such, I inherited his entire line. His father, I called grandfather. His last name, I gave to my wife on our wedding day. It is the name of my children. Even though he has a full-blood son, my younger brother, I am treated as one and the same with him. I am fully a Sladen, and I have all the rights that come with that line. By being in the line of Joseph, Jesus had all the legal rights going back to David and Judah, even though he did not come physically from Joseph’s seed. The Bible clearly affirms that Jesus’ Messianic credentials come through his legal father, Joseph.

Joseph’s Dilemma and Character

Can you imagine being the husband betrothed to a wife and finding out she is pregnant? For the rest of human history, there’s really only one way that happens. Joseph must have felt the weight of that in the moment. But the text says this child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. In Luke’s account, Mary is astonished and asks the angel, “How can this be since I am a virgin?” She didn’t believe it was possible because she had never known a man. And in verse 19, we see that Joseph didn’t think he was the father either.

Matthew 1:19 (NASB)

And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.

Joseph was disgraced and embarrassed. His first thought wasn’t, “Well, this is clearly a child of the Holy Spirit.” He thought what any of us would have thought: Mary had someone on the side. In Jewish times, Joseph had three choices. First, he could expose Mary publicly. He had every right to do that, and according to Old Testament law, she might even suffer stoning for adultery. At the very least, she would suffer the public humiliation of divorce. Second, he could grant her a private divorce by writing a certificate in the presence of two witnesses. Third, he could remain engaged, but to Joseph, that appeared to require him to break the Mosaic law and not be a faithful follower of God.

Joseph chose option two. His intention was to divorce her privately. This preserved his righteousness and conformity to the law while demonstrating compassion to Mary. He loved her. He didn’t want to shame her, even though there was a scandal.

Matthew 1:20 (NASB)

But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ’Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Look at the witnesses here. Matthew, Luke, Joseph, Mary, an angel, and the Holy Spirit all believe that this child came about via a miraculous conception. Matthew records this supernatural birth to demonstrate that Jesus is qualified to be Israel’s Messiah. When we talk about the virgin birth, we are technically talking about a virgin conception where there is no male involved. This is the beauty of the incarnation.

Paul Enns, in the Moody Handbook of Theology, describes the incarnation as the act whereby the eternal Son of God took to Himself an additional nature—humanity—through the virgin birth. The result is that Christ remains forever unblemished deity, but He also possesses true, sinless humanity in one person forever. The cliff notes version is this: we believe Jesus Christ is both fully man and fully God simultaneously in one person. The 50-cent theological term is the “hypostatic union.”

Now, some doctrines, specifically in the Roman Catholic Church, suggest Mary remained perpetually a virgin. The scriptures don’t back that up. All four gospels mention that Jesus had other brothers, like James, who penned a letter in your New Testament. But we know this specific conception was divine. The Holy Spirit literally placed Jesus inside the womb of Mary.

The Mission of the Messiah

Matthew 1:21 (NASB)

‘She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’

Gang, this verse is so rich. We talked last week about how Jesus’ name comes from the same root as Joshua or Hosea. It literally means “Yahweh saves.” This verse says He will “Jesus” His people from their sins. That was the purpose of the incarnation. If you asked a first-century Jew if they believed in the Messiah, they’d say yes. If you asked what the Messiah would deliver them from, they’d say, “Rome.”

They were looking for a conquering king to remove the thumb of Herod and the Roman Empire. This is still a sticky point for many Jews today. They expected the second coming—the conquering King—not Jesus the meek and mild servant. But Jesus came to offer forgiveness and repentance. Matthew is saying there is something much bigger than your oppression by Rome. The book of Romans tells us we are slaves not to Rome, but to sin. We have a master that rules over us, and we cannot free ourselves. We need a substitute. We need a sacrifice. Jesus came to save His people from their sins, and unfortunately, many missed Him because He didn’t fit their expectations.

Prophecy and Fulfillment

Matthew 1:22-23 (NASB)

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,’ which translated means, ‘GOD WITH US.’

Matthew links this back to the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah’s day, Israel was waiting for the Assyrians to attack. God told the people to trust Him, but they looked to Egypt for help instead. Because of their hardness of heart, God said He would give them a sign: a virgin would bear a son named Immanuel. In the Hebrew, the word Isaiah used was almah, which means a young maiden or unmarried woman. In that immediate context, it was a sign of coming judgment.

But Matthew adds a deeper layer of meaning, a second fulfillment. He uses the Greek word parthenos, which specifically means a woman who has never known a man. He is saying this is a picture of the Messiah. This virgin birth is the ultimate sign that God is indeed with us.

Matthew 1:24-25 (NASB)

And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took [Mary] as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

Joseph awoke and believed what Mary had been telling him. He believed the angel. And it says he kept her a virgin until she gave birth. Why would he do that? Fellas, I just did a wedding for a buddy of mine. After the ceremony and the party, the couple goes off to consummate their marriage. That is the right of a husband. But for nine months, Joseph did not sleep with his bride.

He wasn’t worried that sleeping with her would “mess up” the conception; that had already happened. He did it because he was so concerned about her reputation and making sure there could be no question as to how the Son of God entered the world. He wanted it known beyond a shadow of a doubt: “I never laid a hand on her.” In Jewish culture, where the marriage was often consummated during the wedding reception in a side room, Joseph took the high road. He was a man of integrity.

Why the Virgin Birth is Mandatory

So, why does this matter in 2018 in Fresno, California? Why is this theology not optional? I want to give you three reasons.

First, the Bible affirms it. That sounds like simple logic, but there is a slippery slope here. When we start shaving off the corners of scripture because something seems impossible, we run into trouble. It is impossible—that’s why it’s a miracle. I told the story of Rob Bell earlier not to throw him under the bus, but with a heavy heart. Years after he said the virgin birth wasn’t that important, he eventually denied the fundamental tenets of the faith. He denied hell, embraced universalism, and denied that Jesus even needed to die for our sins. The whole counsel of scripture is God’s word. There are things in here I don’t understand or even like, but I am called to embrace them because the Word of God communicates them as true.

Second, church history affirms it. The early church was wrought with heresies. There were eight major Christological heresies that the church fathers had to fight. These men were willing to lay down their lives for orthodox Christianity. During the Reformation, people died for these truths. Think of John Rogers in 1555. He was a priest who moved toward Protestant theology—faith alone, grace alone. When Queen Mary took the throne, she demanded a return to Roman Catholic dogma. Rogers refused to stop preaching the grace of Jesus.

He was thrown in prison for a year. He wasn’t allowed to see his wife or his ten children, including an eleventh child he had never met. When he was marched to the stake to be burned alive, he saw his wife holding that baby in the crowd. He was given one last chance to repent, and he said, “That which I have preached, I will seal with my blood.” As he burned, he raised his hands in victory. He died because he wouldn’t agree with the Catholic view of communion. If a man was willing to die for a view of the elements, how much more should we stand for the incarnation of the Son of God? We stand on the shoulders of giants who fought these battles.

Third, and most importantly, without the virgin birth, there is no atonement for sin. In Genesis 3, with the fall of Adam, we all inherited “imputed sin.” Because we are born of Adam’s seed, we have a sin nature. David said he was conceived in sin. Romans 5 says through one man, sin entered the world. The Puritans used to say, “In the fall, we sinned all.”

Genesis 3 (NASB)

1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ’Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not eat from any tree of the garden ‘?’ 2. The woman said to the serpent, ’From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3. but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’’ 4. The serpent said to the woman, ’You surely will not die! 5. ‘For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 6. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ 10. He said, ‘I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.’ 11. And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ 12. The man said, ‘The woman whom You gave [to be] with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.’ 13. Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’ 14. The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.’ 16. To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.’ 17. Then to Adam He said, ’Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18. ‘Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19. By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.’ 20. Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all [the] living. 21. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. 22. Then the LORD God said, ’Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever ’– 23. therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Romans 5 (NASB)

1. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2. through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4. and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5. and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath [of God] through Him. 10. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 12. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned– 13. for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16. The gift is not like [that which came] through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment [arose] from one [transgression] resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift [arose] from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21. so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

One of the hard points of theology is that when you hold your beautiful newborn baby, the Bible says that child is tainted with sin. Before they make a single choice, their very nature is inherited from Adam. The wages of sin is death. The Old Testament promised an unblemished lamb to redeem us. Without the virgin birth, we do not have a sinless substitute. A mere man cannot save us because he has a sin nature. Christ must be fully God and fully man. As man, He can represent us and die for us. As God, His death has infinite value to save all of mankind. The virgin birth means Jesus did not inherit the curse of depravity. Because He was sinless, His death was a valid payment, and the resurrection was the sign that the Father accepted that payment. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” sin was dealt its final death blow.

Salvation is God’s work. He alone can carry it out. We have no part in saving ourselves, but we can rejoice knowing we have a sinless substitute. Jesus is the only man in history qualified to go to that cross. Though we don’t completely understand the mechanics, we rejoice that it is true because our salvation hangs in the balance. Let’s pray.

Father, thank you for the goodness of Jesus Christ and how You brought Him into this world. Thank you that You found a way around imputed sin by divinely conceiving the second person of the Trinity inside of Mary. We thank You for our sinless substitute who willingly laid His life down on our behalf. We rejoice in this truth, knowing our sins are forgiven. We love You and we thank You for Jesus. In His name we pray, Amen.