Chapter 4: The Birth of Christ

  IN THIS CHAPTER, you will discover:  

·   Reasons for believing in the virgin birth of Christ.

·   The meaning and purpose of the Incarnation.

·   The implications of Jesus’ humanity.

·   The biblical testimony to Jesus’ divinity.  

AS A RESULT, you will be able to:  

·   Appreciate the significance of the Virgin Birth.

·   Understand why God became man in Jesus Christ.

·   Balance Jesus’ humanity with His divinity.

·   Know Jesus as fully God.

Key Scripture: "“The angel answered, '‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God'"’” (Luke 1:35).

Key Word: Supernaturalism

The Virgin Birth is called by Dr. Horner "“the alpha of our Christian faith. Let that be accepted and the whole alphabet follows as a matter of course. Deny it and, like a planet that leaves its orbit, there is no telling where unbelief will carry you."” Although it is not necessary to believe in the Virgin Birth to be saved, it is a dogma that serves as a foundation upon which other important Christian doctrines rest.

Because of the natural resistance of the modern mind to miracles, attempts have been made to explain away the Virgin Birth. Some have suggested that Matthew and Luke “"borrowed"” the theme from other religious traditions. However, neither Judaism nor paganism contains references to virgin births. Both the New Testament and early Jewish sources reveal that Jesus was not simply the son of Mary and Joseph. We are thus left with the choice of either affirming Jesus'’ virgin birth or His illegitimacy. Since both the Bible and Jesus attest that God was Jesus'’ father, we should clearly choose to believe in the Virgin Birth. The belief that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit is consistent with other beliefs Christians hold about Jesus. How else are we to explain His sinlessness, His remarkable character and power, or the fact that He was more than man? If Jesus was not more than man, He cannot be our redeemer. But if Joseph was His father, He was not more than man.

The reality of the Virgin Birth is, finally, a fact for faith, not for scientific scrutiny. It is something to be believed or disbelieved, not proved or disproved. To reject it because of a rationalistic bias is to reject the supernaturalism woven throughout Scripture. It is to make Jesus into a mere ethical teacher - a Jewish rabbi who founded Christianity by becoming the first Christian. But the Jesus in whom the apostles believed - and in whom we believe - was more than that. He was the eternal Son of God who came voluntarily into the world to redeem us from our sins and to inaugurate a new type of humanity. In light of this, we should consider the doctrine of the Virgin Birth as vital and indispensable today as it was in the first century.

The Virgin Birth

I. Origins of the Virgin Birth Story as Suggested by Skeptics

• •An Invention: Not mentioned by Paul, Mark, or John.
  • Objection: Arguments from silence are unreliable.
• •Jewish and Prophetical: A misinterpretation of Isaiah 7:14.
  • Objection: Isaiah 7:14 was not considered a messianic prophecy.
• •Pagan Mythology: Many pagan gods had divine-human parentage.
  • Objection: New Testament writers rejected pagan mythology.
• •Jesus was Illegitimate: Accusations in Mark 6:3, John 8:41, and 9:29.
  • Objection: These accusations corroborate Jesus’ virgin birth.

II. Significance of the Virgin Birth

• • A vital fact on which faith rests.
• • Necessary because Jesus, as Redeemer, must be more than man.
• • Necessary to explain Jesus’ unique power and character.
• • Necessary because Scripture attests to it.

III. Implications of the Virgin Birth

• • Jesus was the divine Son of God come into the world.
• • The coming of Jesus was God’s action, not man’s.
• • Jesus was the beginning of a new humanity.
• • Jesus was born God’s Son; He did not “become” so later.

Scripture Reading: Matthew 8:23-34; 9:18-38.

This section of Matthew shows Jesus demonstrating His divine power and authority in many ways. In 8:23-26 Jesus stilled the storm with a single command, displaying His dominion over the forces of nature. In 8:28-34 He expelled a "“legion"” (Mark 5:9) of dangerous demons with a single word, displaying His power over the spiritual realm. In 9:25 He raised a little girl from the dead with a simple phrase, displaying His authority over life and death.

In several instances, Jesus focused attention on the faith of those who were touched by His power. He affirmed the unspoken faith of the woman with the issue of blood (9:22). He probed the faith of the blind men who subtly tested Him by calling Him “"son of David" - ” —a messianic title (vv. 27-30). He put those who scorned Him out of the house before raising the ruler’s daughter from the dead (v. 25). By saying, “"according to your faith will it be done to you"” (v. 29), Jesus did not imply that His power was limited by the recipient'’s faith. He meant to draw attention to the reason that faith for miracles was possible - Jesus Himself. With the recognition that Jesus is God the Son, faith for salvation - the ultimate “"healing" - ”— becomes possible.

In 8:26 Jesus rebuked His disciples for their fear and lack of faith. Guthrie points out that “fear thrives where faith is missing” (p. 109). Note what Jesus told the woman with the issue of blood: “"Take heart, daughter, your faith has healed you."” The phrase “"take heart"” appears three times in Matthew (9:2, 22; 14:27). The Greek verb used here means to be bold, cheerful, or confident; to be of good courage.

This phrase also appears in John 16:33: "“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” "Because Jesus has overcome the world, we can be of good cheer. Because Jesus is present and His power becomes operative through the exercise of faith, we can overcome fear and experience healing. Because of who Jesus is, we can have supreme confidence that the storms of life cannot finally overwhelm us.

Life Application: The disciples knew of Jesus'’ miracle-working power, but probably doubted the extent of His abilities. Could He actually control the wind and waves? They received their answer - and it is our answer as well. There is no storm or problem within us or without over which Christ cannot take authority. Is there some “"storm"” in your life that you need Christ to still? Like Peter, has the Lord asked you to step out of the boat to walk with Him in faith? If so, do not doubt and take courage!

Key Scripture: “"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”" (John 1:14).

Key Word: Incarnation

The belief that God became fully incarnate is exclusive to Christianity. The two other great monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam, deny that God could possibly become human. Their emphasis on the transcendent, holy, “"otherness”" of God prohibits the mingling of the divine nature with the physical world. “"God forbid that God should have a son,”" says Mohammed in the Koran.

It is essential to the Christian faith that the historical Jesus was, as He claimed, both divine and human. Admittedly, the idea of a God-man is paradoxical. Scripture helps us to understand this mystery, particularly in passages such as John 1:1 and Philippians 2:5-11. In the latter passage we are told that Christ, while preexisting in the very form or essential nature of God, “made himself nothing” (v. 7) and took on the form or essential nature of a human being. Christ emptied Himself in the Incarnation, not by extinguishing His innate divinity, but by taking upon Himself the weaknesses of human flesh. He emptied Himself by laying aside the divine privileges and prerogatives of divinity - omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence. When Christ became a man, there was a change in His status as God, but not in His nature as God.

Christ really and fully became human. But why? Scripture says "“though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”" (2 Cor. 8:9). Elsewhere in his letter Paul says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (5:21). Jesus came to fulfill the promise of the old sacrificial system by becoming the perfect and final sacrifice for sin (Heb. 10:1-18). Only one who was both human and sinless could be such a sacrifice, thus the necessity of the Incarnation.

The Incarnation serves as God'’s means of redeeming us in an additional way. Jesus did not discard His humanity after the Resurrection, but glorified it. He still wears that humanity today while sitting at the right hand of God. By taking human nature into the Godhead, Christ united us to God in a new way. In some marvelous manner, we who are “"in Christ Jesus"” even now sit with Christ in heavenly places by participating in His glorified humanity (Eph. 2:6). Our lives are “"hidden with Christ in God”" (Col. 3:3) until the time our physical bodies are also changed to conform to Christ’'s glorified body (Phil. 3:21).

Christ As Man

I. The Testimony of John 1 to Jesus

• • His eternity: “"In the beginning was the Word"” (v. 1).
• • His equality with God: "“And the Word was with God"” (v. 1).
• • His deity: “"And the Word was God”" (v. 1).
• • His preexistence: "“He was with God in the beginning"” (v. 2).
• • His incarnation: “"The Word became flesh"” (v. 14).

II. The Testimony of Philippians 2 to Jesus

• • He was “"in the form of God”" (v. 6 n.).
• • He took “'the very form of a servant"” (v. 7).
• • He was “"made in human likeness”" (v. 7).
• • He was “"found in appearance as a man"” (v. 8).

III. Why Christ Became a Man

• • To reveal God to us.
• • To show us the value God sets upon human life.
• • To assure us that God understands and sympathizes with us.
• • To present us with a perfect example of how to live.
• • To give His life as a ransom for us (Mark 10:45; 2 Cor. 8:9).

Scripture Reading: Matthew 10.

Jesus spent all night in prayer before appointing His special apostles. The Twelve were to be the foundation stones of the church (see Rev. 21:14). Jesus gave them detailed and practical instructions. Their message was to be: "“The kingdom of heaven is near”" (Matt. 10:7). They were to "“heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons"” (v. 8). They were to stay at only one house in each town to avoid currying favor among their followers (v. 11). Among the religious wolves who would seek to kill and devour them, they were to be as stealthy and perceptive as serpents and as guileless and gentle as doves.

Beginning in verse 21, Jesus turned His eyes to the future and described the persecution that was to befall the disciples after His death. Paradoxically, the “"Prince of Peace"” (Isa. 9:6; Luke 2:14) would bring a “"sword”" (Matt. 10:34) and a “cross” (v. 38). As John points out in his gospel, the revelation of truth in Christ inevitably provokes a hostile reaction in those who “"hate the light"” (3:19-21).

The gospel of Matthew may have been written during a time of persecution in which families were divided, the disciples were driven from town to town, and acknowledgment of Christ was a dangerous act (10:22-23, 32-37, 42). It is not surprising that he repeated the promise that the Son of Man would come soon to judge the wicked (v. 23). As Guthrie points out, many later recognized the devastating destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 as a partial fulfillment of that promise (p. 121; cf. Luke 19:41-44). The Jewish historian Josephus recorded that a series of signs and portents occurred before the siege of Jerusalem indicating God’s judgment was about to fall on the city. He wrote, for example, that late one night during Passover the temple priests felt the ground quake and heard a voice like a great multitude, saying, "“Let us leave this place."”

In the face of persecution Christ counseled two things: a holy fear of God (Matt. 10:28) and freedom from the fear of man, based on confidence in God’s sovereign care (vv. 29-31). The divine paradox expressed in verse 39 - that we must lose our lives in Christ to find true life - is the central dynamic of the Christian life. Whoever allows Christ into their heart experiences a supernatural influx of life that changes them forever. They can then understand Paul when he speaks of "“having nothing, and yet possessing everything"” (2 Cor. 6:10).

Life Application: You have probably had this question asked of you before: "“If Christians were being arrested, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"” Jesus'’ command to acknowledge Him before others is accompanied by a strong penalty if we do not (Matt. 10:32-33). Are you acknowledging Christ before the world? Is there some person or place where your witness should be bolder? We witness for Christ in two ways - with our words and with our lives. One without the other is not sufficient.

Key Scripture: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).  

Key Words: Gnosticism, Docetism, Subordination 

In the first three centuries A.D. a complex system of ideas now called gnosticism greatly influenced the Roman world. One gnostic notion was that the flesh and the physical world were inherently evil and must be abandoned to achieve salvation. Those who blended gnosticism with Christianity taught that Jesus’ body was only an apparition and that the Incarnation was an illusion. The heresy that Christ only seemed human is called docetism. John was probably writing against such a view when he stated: “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7). Today docetism is rare, but Christians still occasionally fail to acknowledge the full humanity of Jesus by piously focusing only on His divinity. It is important to keep a biblical balance regarding Christ’s human and divine natures. Only because Jesus was fully God and fully man was he able to accomplish our salvation and act as our mediator.

The Bible is full of examples of the humanity of Jesus. He hungered, thirsted, ate, drank, worked, and grew weary. He grew in physical stature and knowledge. Scripture tells us He “learned obedience” from the things He suffered (Heb. 5:8). He felt the pressure of temptation and the sting of anger, indignation, and disappointment. His heart was warmed by compassion and friendship. He laughed, and more than once, He wept. God truly became man in Christ. He came “all the way” to meet us where we are and as we are.

Jesus was a man of prayer. He constantly depended on the Father’s guidance as He sought to do His will (John 4:34). Statements by Jesus such as “the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28) do not, however, imply that the Father and Son are unequal in their deity. When Jesus emptied Himself by taking on the form of a servant (Phil. 2), He put Himself in a position of subordination to the Father. Christ again took up His divine privileges and powers after He was glorified (Matt. 28:18; Col. 2:10).

In addition to being our Savior, Jesus is also the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45-47), the pattern or model of ideal humanity. We should be both challenged and encouraged as we contemplate the genuine humanity of our Lord. Jesus valiantly and completely exemplified every virtue, yet He was “made like his brothers in every way” (Heb. 2:17). This fact should motivate us to imitate Jesus’ goodness. As we do so, we can draw comfort from knowing: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (v. 18).  

I. Physical Humanity

• Took a real human form in the Incarnation (Phil. 2:7).
• Hungered, thirsted, worked, grew weary, felt pain (John 4:6).
• Subject to laws of physical growth and development (Luke 2:52).
• Retained humanity after the Resurrection (Luke 24:39).

II. Emotional Humanity

• Learned obedience through suffering (Heb. 5:8).
• Was moved to compassion (Matt. 9:36).
• Rejoiced and exulted (Luke 10:21).
• Became angry and distressed (Mark 3:5).
• Felt sorrow and anxiety (Matt. 26:38).

III. Social Humanity

• Subject to His parents (Luke 2:51).
• Family member with brothers and sisters (Matt. 13:55-56).
• Attended social functions (John 2:1).
• Had special friends (John 11:5).
• Cared for His mother (John 19:26-27).

IV. Mental Limitations

• Asked questions (Luke 2:46).
• Grew in wisdom (Luke 2:52).
• Was surprised (Luke 7:9).
• Was not omniscient (Mark 13:32).

V. Spiritual Life

• Was dependent on the Father (John 5:19).
• Needed to spend time in prayer (Mark 1:35).
• Had a mission to perform (John 6:38).  

Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:20-12:37, 43-45. 

Jesus knew that miracles, healings, and popular acclaim would not bring about the kingdom of God. Yet He castigated the cities that saw His great miracles and refused to believe. When God’s call is ignored and His offer of mercy is refused, judgment follows.

Those who were in the best position to understand the significance of Jesus’ words and wonders were the learned Pharisees. Yet Jesus said that the secrets of the Kingdom were hidden from the “wise and learned” (Matt.11:25). The legalism and self-righteousness of the Pharisees blinded them to the righteousness that God desired (5:3-10, 20). Though they considered themselves students of Scripture, Jesus pointed out that they had not yet understood the essence of the Mosaic law (12:7). The refusal of the Pharisees to acknowledge the priority of mercy over law in the case of the man with the withered hand exasperated Jesus (cf. Mark 3:5). But the Pharisees had only murder in their hearts and no room for mercy (Matt. 12:14). Their accusation that Jesus performed miracles by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons, went beyond willful blindness into open blasphemy. Jesus sharply rebuked them with dire warnings about the seriousness of their actions and the dark state of their souls (vv. 31-37).

Behind the fiery Jesus who pronounced judgment over the rebellious and stiff-necked Pharisees stands the Jesus who is “gentle and humble in heart” (11:29). The compassion that Jesus extends to those who will become “little children” (11:25) is described in the lovely words of Isaiah’s prophecy: “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (12:20). To the weary and burdened who are willing to come, Jesus offers rest (11:28).  

Life Application: In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus was speaking specifically to those weighted down by the burden or “yoke” of the Pharisees’ religious laws. Jesus’ invitation to exchange the world’s yoke for His own applies to us today as well. Some of the false yokes we carry are ambition, pride, fear, hatred, and selfishness. When we stop laboring for such things and labor instead for the kingdom of God, Jesus promises rest for us. Do you have any burdens to lay before Jesus; any yokes to exchange? No burden is too petty, too shameful, or too large.

Key Scripture: “"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”" (Col. 1:15).

Key Words: Elohim, Pleroma

Christ’'s divinity is proclaimed throughout Scripture. It is anticipated in the Old Testament, and declared by the apostles and Christ Himself in the New Testament. The Old Testament contains hints that there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead. These passages foreshadow our later understanding of the triune nature of God - a perspective that allows us to conceive of the joint deity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Note that in Genesis 1:26 God says, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” Although the Hebrews were strict monotheists whose watchword was “the Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4), the word for "“one"” in this passage suggests a compound rather than a mathematical unity (as does Gen. 2:24 — “one flesh”). Also, Elohim, the most used word for God in the Old Testament, suggests both singularity and plurality.

Our Key Scripture, which proclaims Christ’s divinity, is sometimes misinterpreted. The description of Christ as the “"firstborn over all creation"” may seem to suggest that Christ Himself is among the family of created beings. However, the implication here is not that Christ was made first in the order of creation, but that He holds a position of priority and authority over all things. If the writer had meant to say that Christ was "“first created,"” he could have used that precise Greek term. He chose another term, one that means "“first in rank.”" Christ is the supreme, aknowledged head of God’'s household because “"all things were created by him and for him . . . and in him all things hold together"” (Col. 1:16-17).

This is a clear testimony to the absolute deity of Christ. He is indeed the "“image of the invisible God.”" As the writer of Hebrews expresses it, He is the “"radiance of God'’s glory and the exact representation of his being"” (1:3). Paul speaks with great richness and precision in Colossians when he says, “God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in him [Christ]” (1:19). Pleroma, the Greek word for "“fullness,"” specifically means the totality of all that is divine. Paul is telling us: All that God is, Christ is. He is therefore fully worthy of our worship and our trust.

Evidence of Christ's Deity

I. Anticipated in the Old Testament

• • Hints of plurality in the Godhead (Gen. 3:22; 11:7).
• • Old Testament theophanies (Gen. 31:11-13; 32:24-32).
• • Messianic prophecy (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 53).

II. Proclaimed by the Apostles

• • Christ is deity (John 1; Phil. 2; Heb. 1:8).
• • He has rightful supremacy over creation (Col. 1:5).
• • The Lord of glory (James 2:1).
• • Master and Lord (Jude 4).
• • Forgiver of sins (Acts 10:43).
• • Author of life (Acts 3:15).
• • Savior (2 Peter 1:1).
• • Worshiped by angels (Heb. 1:6).
• • Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8).

III. Other Witnesses

• • God the Father (Matt. 3:17).
• • The Holy Spirit (John 15:26).
• • Angels (Luke 2:11).
• • Demons (Matt. 8:29).
• • Jesus’ friends (John 11:27).
• • A Roman centurion (Matt. 27:54).

Scripture Reading: Matthew 12:38-42; 13:1-52; Mark 3:31-35; 6:14-29; 7:1-23.

In Matthew 12 we can sense Jesus'’ frustration as He attempted to carry out His ministry. On one hand, His messianic self-awareness was unmistakable and strong. Without any hint of boasting He referred to Himself as the “"Son of Man"” (v. 40), "as “one greater than Jonah"” (v. 41), and as "“one greater than Solomon"” (v. 42). In predicting His resurrection before the fact, Jesus displayed what, in a normal human being, could only be described as madness or reckless optimism. Clearly, Jesus was more than mere man. Yet it seems that even the Son of God could not give sight to the spiritually blind or ears to the spiritually deaf. The multitudes clamored for miracles, but stubbornly failed to grasp their significance - "“the kingdom of God has come upon you"” (v. 28).

The Romans kept their conquered nations happy with bread and circuses. Many accepted Jesus’' ministry on the same level. What need was there for faith or commitment when one is fed, blessed, and healed? Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God was inaudible to the self-satisfied. But salvation does not come from being blessed and entertained; it is the result of a decision. Entry into the kingdom of God requires a reordering of all priorities. Jesus emphasized this when He said that those who do the will of God were His “brother and sister and mother” in a more fundamental sense than His own blood relations (Mark 3:35). This is a radical statement in any age, but it was especially so for the Jews to whom family bonds were very important.

In Matthew 13:13-15 Jesus justified His use of parables by quoting Isaiah 6:9-10. By using parables, Jesus attempted to stimulate His listeners to question themselves deeply. Those who heard Jesus'’ parables were challenged to see God at work in their midst and to become less “"calloused"” in their hearts (v. 15). Such inquiry creates humility. And humility is a precondition for repentance - the kind of “seeking” that climaxes in “"finding,"” or being found, by God (Matt. 7:7).

In clashing with the Pharisees about the true nature of cleanliness, Jesus confronted a system of thinking that had to be uprooted if He were to proceed with His mission. For the Pharisees, the “"traditions of men"” had replaced the "“commands of God"” (Mark 7:8). The very nature of sin and righteousness had been redefined in terms of these human traditions. Jesus'’ statements about the evil within people (vv. 18-23) were, in essence, an inversion of what He said in the Beatitudes. Here He explained that real sin, like real blessedness, depends ultimately on the attitude of the heart.

Life Application: Religious tradition is often at odds with true religion. Jesus battled those who would nullify the law and the worship of the true God through the self-righteous commandments of men. He pointed out that this idolatry proceeds from pride and corruption in the human heart. It is an attempt to “control” God and keep Him from interfering in our lives. Have you taken any of your moral standards from modern "“traditions of men"” rather than from God? Think particularly about those areas dealt with in Matthew 5 and 6 - priorities, anger, forgiveness, sexual promiscuity and divorce, revenge, charity, prayer, wealth, anxiety, ambition, and judging others. How can you adopt God’s standard in those areas where you are deficient?