The virgin…shall give birth to a Son?!! Come, let us adore Him!!
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’”. (Matthew 1:23)
From our title today, you should notice a few things, critical things. The emphasis here, and in scripture, is on the Son. Big S for Son, little v for virgin. Scripturally speaking, despite any teaching you may have encountered along the way, its all and only about the Son. This is a fundamental and elementary biblical doctrine of utmost importance, for it is the uniqueness of Christ, the fully human and fully divine One, which establishes our redemption from sin and our position before God. He is other than us, yet, here for us! He removed Himself from the throne room of God, and placed Himself in the humble setting of a manure-scented cave populated with farm animals. All this, He did not have to do, but chose to do. Mary, a human, herself in need of a savior, played a role, but the unfolding drama was and is focused upon the One occupying the manger. He is the One to be adored! And for good reason. The entire scene leads us to One person, albeit, one little person in swaddling blankets. Small start to the eyes of onlookers, but headed toward very big things which impact all souls.
Scripture teaches that Jesus, uniquely and singularly, is the One figure in history who is without sin, and therefore, the only One able to break the chain of sin stretching back to Adam and Eve, and thereby offering Himself as the pure sacrifice for all our sins. If Mary (or any other human being) were to be sinless as well, as some have taught, what happens to the doctrine of sinful humanity and the unique need for Christ, a singularly perfect Savior? Mary, in fact, was the first to acknowledge the uniqueness and supremacy of the One she was carrying. She claimed He was her salvation and the One who was for the salvation for all people who would embrace Him. She always sought diligently to place the emphasis on the God Man, who, would be born out of her womb, despite her unworthiness, for the redemption of all mankind. She was the first to worship Him in spirit and in truth, truly. Her song is a resounding testament to this truth. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant” (Luke 1:46-48) She worshipped Him alone, calling others to do the same. She is blessed in that the greatest honor ever recorded in history was hers. She was, through no effort or readiness of her own, given the call of God to be the first doorway of entrance for the Son of God into the world. Again, we worship God for the grace bestowed upon an imperfect, but willing, human. That same grace He extends to humanity at large! That He uses broken vessels for His work here on earth is a staggering reality. He announced this intention even upon that silent, otherwise unremarkable, lonely, and Holy night.
Note from the title, a virgin was indeed involved in this historical and cosmic unfolding. There is more here than onlookers imagined then, and more than many accept today. God worked around the disastrous stain of human sin which taints every soul. The physical marrying of human seed and egg always results in another tiny sinner. They are cute when they pop out for sure (most anyway!), but, as is quickly seen, every little entering the world has a craving for self and misguided activity of all sort. We come into the world broken and in need. This is why the emphasis is upon the reality of God at work in a new way, entirely. God chooses, despite our inner corruption, to find a way to meet us on this dirty and soiled earth. His way, is to move upon a woman, sexually pure and without charge, and without the aid of a man, and yet, to place a remarkable life within her. Joseph, placed in the midst of this apparent scandal, having been engaged to Mary, must now make a choice. If he is to believe in the normal course of events he can only assume the worst in marry, and he can seal her fate to be stoned to death. And why would he not? If its not his, and if she has humiliated him in front of his community, why should he not give her what society says she deserves? His answer is startling in its implications. He does not appeal to his own mercy, his own forbearance, or his hope for Mary turning from her impure ways. Rather, along with Mary, he points to the divine drama they are wrapped up in. His foundation for courage is found in God’s messenger sent to him in order to tell him to take heart for the child is from God. Had not Joseph been assured of God’s work in this case, he certainly would not have acted the way he did. He would have had every right and basis for moving on and finding someone else to marry. Joseph, then, was the first to understand the doctrine of the virgin birth, and to respond to it in faith and acceptance.
Another reality we should notice from the title is that of the miraculous. Unlike any other human in history, Jesus, Immanuel, God with Us, was born with no help from a man. God has broken into our existence in striking fashion. This is critical in the theological sense of things. This sets up the entire story, life, work, and reality of who Jesus is. Had He be born of a man, He would, like the rest of us, carry the original sin of Adam. This is why Jesus is called the “second Adam” or “better Adam”, for He breaks the chain of sin for us, and offers His perfect sacrifice in order that God might accept us through the work of Jesus. Any denunciation of this fundamental truth brings our claims to salvation in to question. It is the perfection of Christ, the Godhood of Christ, God here for us, in our place, overcoming the work of the first Adam, which gives us a way to walk in relationship and forgiveness before God. The miracle of Christ, His perfect birth, and sinless state, is the overwhelming message of God reaching down to humans who could not climb their way to Him. He has extended Himself, given Himself on our behalf. This is the Christian message. It is unique among all the religions of the world. It is God’s work for us which gets the glory. Its not about our moral climb. Thanks be to God!!
Lastly, what we must recognize in the title and in the message of scripture is the radical, engaging, and personal activity of God on our behalf. The staggering reality of biblical Christianity is that God, unlike the god of other world religions, unlike the gods of the greeks, unlike the gods of the cults, unlike the teaching of any other system of spirituality in the world, is knowable, loving, redemptive, nurturing, knowable, and FOR US!! Though He is unfathomably holy, perfect, and pure, He is a God of pursuing love and affection toward His people. The words below, from Karl Barth’s marvelous little work, The Humanity of God, point to the amazing and passionate heart of God for us. The miracle of the virgin birth is a testimony to the fact that He has not left us alone. He is God, holy other, supremely pure, and infinitely eternal. He is the Creator, self-defined, complete in Himself, yet, He loves us and is with us! Barth writes,
God’s deity is thus no prison in which He can exist only in and for Himself. It is rather His freedom to be in and for Himself but also with and for us, to assert but also to sacrifice Himself, to be wholly exalted but also completely humble, not only almighty but also almighty mercy, not only Lord but also servant, not only judge but also Himself the judged, not only man’s eternal king but also his brother in time. And all that without in the slightest forfeiting His deity! All that, rather, in the highest proof and proclamation of His deity! He who does and manifestly can do all that, He and no other is the living God.” (p. 49)
Oh, Come let us adore this God! The living God! Jesus, Immanuel, God with us! Oh, Holy Night! Night Divine! A figure, a place, a night, which changes life for all humanity. Will you make a place for Him?
Bruce Smith
optimuslife.org
soulstormsite.com