Understanding the Incarnation

Good Morning. It is good to be in God’s House with you this morning! For those who may not know me. I’d like to share a little about myself from a preaching perspective. I consider myself to be more of what is called a “ preaching pastor”. Essentially that means that I believe that my primary goal when I preach is to equip the Church for two things. Works of service and the propagation of the Gospel in the world. So each time I get up to speak I try to give both a singular Truth about God and an application of that Truth. Something you can then take out into the world to help further God’s Kingdom. So since we are approaching Christmas. I thought it would be appropriate today to talk about one of the most fundamental elements of Christianity. The virgin birth.

You don’t have to look very far to guess that the way our culture views issues of Truth, morality and religion. People have not problem voicing their opinions on things. Even if that means talking out of both sides of their mouths!

The headlines of online news article read…

Nation Shocked, Horrified As Christians Hold Christian Position

”a national Gallup poll released earlier this week indicated that over 95% of Americans agreed with the statement, “Christians are allowed to practice their beliefs, as long as everyone agrees with them.”

Here are some of the responses to this….

“We’re not saying people can’t be Christians,” a Seattle woman said in a Facebook comment. “This is a free country, after all. But when Christians decide to actually have Christian beliefs about things—I’m sorry, that’s just too far.”

A man in Denver agreed, stating that he prided himself on his deep appreciation of and support for freedom of beliefs and religious tolerance, “so long as Christians don’t publicly hold opinions I find disagreeable.”

EXCUSE ME?? ….but are we actually at a point where we Christian actually have to explain that we actually hold a historically Christian position? That to think that the stories of the Bible are actually true and reliable? Now of course I am being sarcastic. But think about it for a minute.

If we (as Christians) were to say this about atheism it would go something like this….” You can believe in atheism so long as you act like there is a God. “Which ironically is exactly what most atheist end up doing anyway.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice with the current state of our country, that those of us who profess Christianity to be true, are finding ourselves having an increasingly narrower margin of influence in the culture. We are told that all truth is relative. The bible is not true and that Miracles are not possible.

Growing up in church, one of the themes I heard repeated over and over again was that the bible said it and I should just believe it. And that settles it. And for a small number of people a number of years ago that may have been enough. But today. Not so much. Not anymore. Most people (like me when I was younger) want to know WHY should I believe this? What Are the reasons that I should follow Jesus? For many a blind leap of faith just doesn’t make sense. And for good reason. If what we believe is not firmly established in reality then it is ultimately irrational. It is just emotion designed to give us some good feeling. All of us enjoy the benefits of the holidays such as Christmas, Christians and non-Christians like. It does and should invoke in us certain emotions. And from a certain standpoint that may not seem like a bad thing. But many people (some Christians) remain completely unaware or in some cases unconvinced of the impact that the Birth of Christ has had on each of us personally and on society as a whole. I have experienced this in my own life. Have you ever been so familiar with something that you struggle to even understand it’s significance? And then how to do communicate something like the Birth of Jesus when we are living in a day and time where it is becoming increasing popular to say that it didn’t even really happen? Jesus didn’t really exist. And the story of the virgin birth was just borrowed from other religions or even pagan mythology.

I have felt this tension in my own life. We have been told (most often told by others-rather than researching it ourselves) a story told so many times that it begins to take on this fairly tail like quality. And to make matters worse we as a church fail to effectively communicate the evidence behind that particular event. So, people (even Christians in some cases) begin to question its necessity. They stop attending. And some even are walking away from the Faith entirely as a result. So here is the question.

How do you communicate the necessity of the birth of Jesus in a culture that sees no need for it?

I bet you’ve experienced this tension in the relationships you have with those around you. In fact, we all have. How do you convince people of the reality and significance of a miracle? Well it may surprise you, but Mary the mother of Jesus struggled with this very thing….

Luke 1:26–34 (ESV)

Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

Fortunately for Mary and Joseph, this was relatively easy for her to deal with. Mary and Joseph were both Jewish. So we know that with the virgin birth account in Matthew , he is writing to a Jewish audience and the idea of a miracle would not be so foreign. For Jews the Supernatural (supra-natural) was the natural. But not so in Luke. Who is writing to a gentile audience. Hence we have slightly greater emphasis on Mary struggling with this issue of miracles than we do in Matthew. But the essence of the struggle for us 2000 years later is still the same. What is the basis for believing this actually happened? Looking back, we (2000 years later) have much more information to draw from than even Mary did!!

So, what is the basis for believing the virgin birth?

The evidence for the virgin birth goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15. (first Messianic Prophecy)

“And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

The New King James Version. (1982). (Ge 3:15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Why the seed of the woman? Normally the male was the seed in a patriarchal society. Remember the begats?…they are all males. Then “BOOM” you get a women. When He (Jesus) is designated as the seed of the woman this implies that the messiah would be virgin born.

“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Is 7:14). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Let’s drill down a little further into that text for just a second. I don’t want to go into a grammar spasm. But this bit of information is extremely important. When we read our Bible’s one principle to ALWAYS remember is that....

WORDS DON’T HAVE MEANING. THEY HAVE USAGE! And Matthew’s use of Is. 7:14 to tell of the virgin birth of Jesus is at the heart of the issue.

The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is among the most well-known passages in the book of Isaiah. We quote it all the time. And Matthew uses it speaking of Jesus’ birth.

But it is also difficult to get through a Christmas or Easter season without seeing one of the major news periodicals or educational television networks cast doubt about the meaning of almah (עלמה) in Isaiah 7:14. A favorite argument is that the Hebrew word almah cannot mean “virgin” but instead refers to a young woman of marriageable age—without respect to prior sexual activity. The more precise word for “virgin” is betulah (בתולה), a word not used in Isaiah 7:14. The New Testament author Matthew, we are so often told, mistakenly assumed the term meant “virgin.” His ignorance led to the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus.

It’s true that betulah refers to someone who is a virgin (Lev 21:3; Judg 21:12; Deut 22:23, 28; Exod 22:15), but does that mean almah never means virgin? Outside of Isaiah 7:14, the word almah occurs only six times in the Old Testament. In all but one of those occurrences, the context provides no clue as to the status of the young woman or women (Gen 24:43; Exod 2:8; Psa 68:25; Song 1:3; 6:8; Prov 30:19). Virgin is however suggested, in Song of Solomon 6:8, where almah occurs in the plural (עלמות, alamot): “There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and virgins (עלמות, alamot) without number.” If we allow Scripture to interpret itself and speak for itself it. The Truth can be understood. I could give you more on this. But you get the idea.

So, we have evidence that Matthew was indeed correct in the word that he used for virgin. There is much, much more that could be said. But this is just a sampling.

So now that I’ve given you a bit of the biblical data. I want to let you in on a little fact…an I am transitioning now. So stay with me.

According to George Barna, 85% of those surveyed believe that Jesus Christ was born to a virgin. He also found that even 75% of the people who do not embrace Jesus as their Savior believe that he was born to a virgin.

Wait…you just gave all this evidence for why people don’t believe in the birth of Jesus and then you say something like this…what gives??

You see here is the real issue. This this the main point of the message.

The birth of Jesus isn’t about just believing in a miracle. It’s about accepting an incarnation.

Jesus birth is about doctrine. Yes I used the dreaded “D”-word.

It is the Doctrine of the incarnation-The virgin birth is about the incarnation.

The incarnation is a basic belief that all Christians hold too. Protestant and Catholic alike.

The word incarnation means “in the flesh”.

in·car·na·tion

ˌinkärˈnāSH(ə)n/

noun

the embodiment of God the Son in human flesh as Jesus Christ.

We as Christians say that Jesus as two natures. A divine nature and a human nature. Jesus (who eternally existed with the father before time began) takes on an additional nature in His physical birth. He takes on the aspects of humanity in order to save humanity.

So, If you understand the word, you’ll understand what Christmas is about. Christmas is, frankly, doctrinal. The invisible has become visible; The Word becomes flesh and makes His dwelling among men. God has become human.

You may think, What’s the big deal? People say, “I like the teachings of Jesus. I like the meaning of these stories—to love one another, serve one another. I like that. But it doesn’t matter if these things really happened. Doctrine doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re a good person.”

Hey…I want to let you in a little secret…that’s a doctrine. It’s called justification by works. And it based on performance. This is a dangerous place to try to live before God.

The idea that you can save yourself through your good works. This makes Christmas completely unnecessary. Why would God need to become human in order to live and die in our place if we can fulfill the requirements of righteousness ourselves? 

The ‘all-accepting god of love’ many people believe in would never have bothered with the incarnation. Such a god would have found it completely unnecessary.

Christmas is not just frankly doctrinal; it’s also boldly historical.

If it isn’t true. If Jesus didn’t come, the story of Christmas is one more moral story designed to oppress you. Because if it isn’t true that John saw Him, heard Him, felt Him, that Jesus really came to do these things, then Christmas is downright depressing.

First John 1:3 says, “Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son.” “Fellowship” means that if Jesus Christ has come, if Christmas is true, then we’ve got a basis for a personal relationship with God.

So here are the implications of all of this.

Why is it so hard for people to accept the incarnation?

A letter from a retired Princeton University professor once wrote on some of the objections he had to the Christian faith. At the end of his letter. The very last line he wrote, “nor can I believe in a virgin birth.”

Why is it that the Miracle of the incarnation is so much more difficulty to believe in than any of the others? Why not walking on water? Why not multiplying loaves? Or fish? Or why not changing water in wine?

Perhaps it is because we are happy for God to do what He wants with his own body (like walking on water). We are happy for God to give us gifts (loaves, fishes, or wine).

But we get uncomfortable (and sometimes more offended) at the thought of a miracle that has a claim on our lives. That really disrupts our lives. That disrupts our plans. And our preferences.

We don’t like miracles that dethrone us from being god in our own lives. And if I am honest with myself, that is really where I was before I became a Christian.

I think a miracle like the virgin birth reminds us that we are not God. It requires us to respond the way Mary did when she was told by the angel what would happen. She said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” She was willing to trust God’s plans for her life, even when they weren’t the plans she expected and perhaps they come at a great personal cost.

So, for the next week I want you to find a way to make yourself uncomfortable with Christmas. Many people are uncomfortable with the miracle of the virgin birth. But being uncomfortable is at the very core of having a heart disciplined toward God.

So perhaps you here and you’ve taken the miracle of Jesus’ birth for granted. Perhaps you have a hard time believing in miracles. There is a big difference between something being true because you believe it. And believing something because it is true. Believing something because you’ve examined it and know it can be trusted.

STAND-

It is possible to believe in the virgin birth and incarnation of the Savior and yet not be saved. Salvation does not depend upon affirming the creeds. “The demons also believe” (James 2:19). Salvation depends upon personally receiving the free gift of eternal life which God offers to you through His eternal Son who took on human flesh through the virgin Mary on that first Christmas, who offered Himself as the substitute for sinners on the cross. If God is truly with us in Christ, then we must come to God only through Christ.

If you never trusted in Christ before I want to invite you to do so now. Or if you already have, I want to invite you to examine the birth of Jesus thru fresh eyes. Thru eyes that can truly begin to communicate the reality of the incarnation to a generation that is slowly losing its grip on the truth.

Conclusion-Paul Harvey story

Radio commentator Paul Harvey tells of a man who did not believe that God had taken human flesh in the person of Jesus. He was a kind, decent family man, but he was skeptical about the message of Christmas and couldn’t pretend otherwise. So on Christmas eve, he told his wife that he was not going to church with her and the children, because he just couldn’t believe. So they went without him.

Shortly after the family left, snow began to fall. As he sat in his fireside chair reading the paper, he was startled by a thudding sound against the house, then another, then another. At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against the living room window. But when he went to investigate, he found a flock of birds, huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his window.

He didn’t want to leave the poor creatures there to freeze. He thought of the barn where his children stabled their pony. He put on his coat and boots and tromped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the door wide and turned on the light. But the birds didn’t come in. He went back to the house and got some bread crumbs and sprinkled a path to the barn, but the cold creatures ignored the food and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow.

He tried catching them and shooing them into the barn, but they scattered in every direction, frightened by his well-meaning actions. As he puzzled over how he could help save these frightened creatures from sure death, the thought struck him, “If only I could become a bird and speak their language, then I could show them the way to safety in the warm barn.” At that moment, bells from the church rang out through the silent, falling snow, heralding the birth of the Savior. The message of Christmas suddenly made sense, and he dropped to his knees in the snow.

CLOSING PRAYER

God of mercy and grace. Thank you for the gift of Christmas. Thank you not just for the miracle, but for leaving your place of honor and majesty. For loving us as your creation. Help us not only this time of year but through each and every day to live lives that bear witness to testimony of the reality of the Incarnation of your Son Jesus, the only true light and hope for this dark world.

In Jesus name…AMEN!!!!