Today’s Sermon Notes: 12-8-2024
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The Signs of Christmas
Sermon Series
Sign #2: The Virgin Birth
Matthew 1:18-25
Introduction
Prayer
The Virgin Birth Points to Jesus as the Messiah
“18 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. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
She would have been marked for life as unfaithful, and an adulterous.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us) (Isaiah 7:14). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.”
This morning I want to answer the question of, “Why is it so important that Jesus had to be born by a virgin birth?”
Original Sin
Original Sin is the biblical teaching that sin is not just an act but also a condition that has been handed down from Adam to all mankind.
Ecclesiastes 12:7, “and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.”
Original Sin Results in Death
The Bible defines death as a separation:
separation of the soul from the body (physical death) and separation of soul from God (eternal death).
Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Revelation 21:8 says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”
Original Sin and Federal Headship
This is why Scripture teaches for a person to be saved, they must go from being in Adam to being in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Romans 5:17-19, “For if, because of one man’s trespass (Adam), death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass (though Adam) led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness (through Christ) leads to justification and life for all men.For as by the one man’s disobedience (Adam) the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience (Christ) the many will be made righteous.”
Jesus, the Second Adam
Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
God’s people knew to expect a Messiah that would come through a supernatural birth
—a pregnancy and birth that included a virgin woman.
So why is the virgin birth of Jesus absolutely necessary? Because if Jesus were born of Joseph, He would have had original sin—He would have been born physically corrupted, spiritually dead, sinful, and cursed. If that were the case, Jesus could not pay for the sins of others because He would have to pay for His own sin with His own life.
Without the virgin birth, all of Christianity falls apart.
Conclusion
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[1] Craig Blomberg. The New American Commentary, Vol. 22. Matthew (Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman), 59.
[2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1994) 495.
[3] https://bible.org/seriespage/christmas-1996-virgin-birth-why-believe-it-matthew-118-25-luke-126-38
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