I notice that sex education has once again been a topic of discussion in the media this week. Well I don’t know what was on the curriculum in first century Palestine but they must have had a field day when they heard about Mary. This is a time of year when we remember that this particular woman was a single Mother who gave birth to a baby boy without actually having sexual intercourse. When Dr Paul Barnett writes, ‘The doctrine of the virgin birth asserts that Jesus of Nazareth was not born by the usual biological processes. There was no human male who figured in the conception. Instead, Jesus was born through his natural mother, Mary, as a result of direct, divine intervention’, he is summarising the biblical teaching.

The Bible asserts that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. That happened without the contribution of a human father.

In Matthew 1:28 we read

‘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 of the Holy Spirit’.

Shortly after that an angel of the Lord said to Joseph, who was engaged to Mary,

‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).

Then we read that Joseph

‘did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus’ (Matthew 1:24–25).

The same fact is affirmed in Luke’s gospel, where we read about the appearance of the angel Gabriel to Mary. After the angel had told her that she would bear a son, Mary said,

‘How shall this be, since I have no husband?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy the Son of God’ (Luke 1:35).

Denying the Virgin Birth has become a sport. Richard Dawkins has had a pop at it. Even a previous Archbishop of Durham had a go. It’s been a cause of ridicule for those outside the church and a cause of embarrassment for those within it. But if what we believe is to be governed by the statements of Scripture then we can’t deny this truth. And when we think about it for the God who created the universe out of nothing this is a walk in the park. But rather than argue for the fact of the Virgin birth, which is an exercise in the historicity and reliability of the New Testament documents, I want us to consider briefly its significance. If we’re in any doubt about the significance of this doctrine it’s worth reflecting on Barnett’s response to the question, ‘if we don’t have a virgin birth, what are we left with?’ He responded with, ’You’re left with a Jewish Messiah and Christianity become little more than a Jewish nationalistic cause. If Jesus does not have a divine nature, He is qualitatively no different from many of the other self-proclaimed nationalist Messiahs who died while trying to deliver Israel from her oppressors. I think that the very things that are distinctive about Christianity like the Trinity, the divine-human nature of Christ, Christ’s sacrifice for sinners, justification by faith and the resurrection - all these doctrines are part of a whole. They are dependent in some way on Jesus having a divine nature’.

And so, let me suggest that the significance the virgin birth is seen in these three areas.

1. The virgin birth shows that salvation must come from the Lord

The virgin birth of Christ is an unmistakable reminder that salvation can never come through human effort. It must be the work of God himself. We took no part in the birth of our Saviour. It’s the ultimate rescue mission where we are the helpless bystanders. Mary had no part and Joseph had no part in the conception of this miraculous baby boy. Our salvation only comes about through the supernatural work of God.

2. The virgin birth unites deity and humanity in one person

Jesus Christ is fully human because he was born of a normal female Mother. But he is also fully divine because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He unites humanity and deity in one person. He must be human to live a life of representative righteousness and be an appropriate substitute for us. He must be divine to reveal the Father to us and to take his Father’s wrath upon himself. Barnett writes, ‘I think that what the doctrine of the virgin birth establishes is that if you didn’t have it, you would still have Jesus as a Messiah - but he would be a ‘this worldly’ Messiah. He wouldn’t be the Son of God in the filial sense. Without the virgin birth, Jesus can be special and anointed. But he can’t be unique’.

3. The virgin birth preserves Christ’s true humanity from inherited sin

Every human being inherits legal guilt and a corrupt moral nature from our first father, Adam. This is sometimes called ‘inherited sin’ or ‘original sin’. But Jesus did not have a human father. This means that the line of descent from Adam is partially interrupted. Jesus did not descend from Adam in exactly the same way in which every other human being has descended from Adam. This helps us to understand why the legal guilt and moral corruption that belongs to all other human beings did not belong to Christ. This idea seems to be indicated in the statement of the angel Gabriel to Mary, where he says to her,

‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy the Son of God’ (Luke 1:35).

Luke 1:35 connects conception by the Holy Spirit with the holiness or moral purity of Christ. Because the Spirit brought about the conception of Jesus in the womb of Mary, the child was to be called ‘holy’. We mustn’t therefore assume that the transmission of sin comes only through the father. We won’t find that taught in the Bible. But in the case of Jesus the unbroken line of descent from Adam was interrupted, and Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Barnett writes, ‘when Jesus dies as the Suffering Servant of the Lord, He actually dies in the place of sinenrs as the perfect sacrifice. He couldn’t do that if He simply came from the line of David. David’s natural descendants were all flawed’.

Conclusion

What ought we to with this idea of the virgin birth [or conception] of Jesus?

Understand it, ponder it, belief it, rejocie in it and defend it!

I remember being pleasantly surprised by the film Miss Congeniality. No really! It’s a romantic comedy in which a Policewoman called Gracie Hart, played by Sandra Bullock, goes undercover at a beauty pageant. Do you remember the scene where each contestant is asked by the Pagaent host Stan, ‘What is the one most important thing our society needs?’ Contestant after contestant replies ‘world peace’ and the crowd responds with rapturous applause. When Gracie is asked ‘what is the one most important thing our society needs’ she replies, ‘that would be harsher punishment for parole violators, Stan’. The crowd responds in stunned silence. To which Gracie then adds, ‘And world peace!’ and the crowd roars ecstatically. If I had it, I’d show it. You can check it out on YouTube.

But, in your opinion, what is the most important thing our society needs? It needs something, but what would it be? In our passage this evening we’re going to discover that the birth of Jesus Christ puts an end to all the world’s evils. It wasn’t put in those terms initially. Isaiah instead put it like this.

9:1 But there will be no gloom for her [the nation] who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

Isaiah compared the former time with the latter time. He indicated that a time was coming when the Lord would change the way he deals with the world. The land that He’d treated with contempt He’d begin to treat with honour. In other words, after a long period in which His heavy hand of judgement had been upon the world God was about to do something new and amazing. Let’s look at what that was.

1. The Lord promised the dawning of a new era (2-5)

Isaiah begins by describing the dawning of a new era. He paints a breathtaking vision of the future. It’s like a political manifesto. I actually read a couple of the political manifestos before the last election. I thought I’d try and get my head round the New Britain that they were promising so that I could work out whether I had a place in it and more importantly whether they could pull it off. In Isaiah’s political manifesto the new era that he promised would be characterised by four key transformations.

a. Darkness will turn to light

In the first place darkness will turn to light.

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

Darkness is a wonderfully evocative image. One day darkness would come to an end as the light of the world shines. But darkness doesn’t simply mean the absence of light. It’s used here as a metaphor for the absence of life. Isaiah’s point is that the people of God were experiencing death at the hand of God’s judgement but the day would come when the shadow of death would be replaced by the light of life.

b. Fear will turn to joy

The second transformation is that fear will turn to joy. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. In Isaiah’s day the two fears that confronted everyday existence were foreign occupation and starvation. But Isaiah promises a day when they will be beside themselves with joy because those things will have gone.

c. Slavery will turn to freedom

Thirdly slavery will be turned to freedom.

4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

Isaiah looked forward to a day when Midian’s victory would be repeated. Now that probably means nothing to us. It was the 8th century BC equivalent of saying VE Day. Everyone knew that it was the day of deliverance when liberation was accomplished. It’s a reference to the salvation that resulted from the military victory recorded for us in Judges 6-8. That day would come to the world. One day there’d be a decisive victory that would dispense freedom to the world.

d. War will turn to peace

The fourth transformation would be war into peace.

5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

The people of God would one day be able to shed themselves of their military uniforms. Soiled by the stains of battle they’d be able to throw them on a bonfire and get rid of them forever. Isaiah promised a day when conflict would be a thing of the past.

This is Isaiah’s vision of the future. It’s the description of a world transformed. It’s world that we’d surely want to live in. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a world characterised by life, joy, liberty and peace? But what are we to make of this promise? Talk is cheap. Anyone can promise the earth. The issue is whether they can deliver. Why should we take this any more seriously than we take some of the political manifestos that we might read?

2. The Lord promised the birth of a perfect ruler (6&7)

In these verses Isaiah explains the reasons for the hope that he’s just described. It’s an incredible captivating vision of the future. But it’s a pipe dream isn’t it? Not according to Isaiah. It all rests on the birth of a baby who will grow up to become the perfect ruler. But this is some burden to place on the shoulders of an ordinary child. But then again this was no ordinary child.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

If Isaiah’s vision is to be fulfilled here is a child who could make it happen. Think about the four names by which he’d be known.

a. He will rule with supernatural wisdom

He will be called the wonderful counsellor because the advice that this ruler will dispense will be unparalleled. His instruction will be perfect. His wisdom will be second to none. Never would we put his teaching into practice and then discover that there was a better way.

b. He will rule with almighty strength

He will be called Mighty God because he will lack none of the ability to accomplish his will. Most good intentions wither on the vine, but not with this man. He will be endowed with strength and the clout to get things done. He will never come up against a force that will overthrow his intentions for his kingdom.

c. He will rule with passionate concern

He will be called Everlasting Father because this is a compassionate leader who will never die. In Israel’s history their rulers were the nation’s father figures. They were in place to provide and to protect for as long as they lived. But there’s the rub. They kept dying and however great their reign was, they took it to the grave. There will never be a moment where this king isn’t around to give his wholehearted attention to the welfare of his subjects.

d. He will rule with peaceful ambition

He will be called Prince of Peace because his reign will be summarised by the absence of hostility and the presence of harmony. There will never be a time when he relinquishes his peace keeping mission.

Do you remember that video footage of the 16 year old William Hague at the Tory party conference berating the assembled faithful for their failure to oppose the sitting Labour Government? It was a little painful. I’ve got a lot of time for William Hague. In truth that’s got less to do with his performance in politics and rather more to do with his performances of Have I Got News for You. But I’m warm towards the man. That young boy came to power. But he couldn’t make it happen. But here is a child who could make it happen. But why hasn’t he? It’s a good question. There’s some force behind it. It deserves a thorough answer. Why is the world still like it is? Why are we still living in an era characterised by death, fear, slavery and war? Where are the life, joy, freedom and peace that we long for?

Turn with me to Matthew 4:12-17

Isaiah’s vision of the new era was not fulfilled at Jesus’ birth but at the commencement of his public ministry. If we were to read on in his gospel

We’d encounter Jesus teaching with an authority and learning that perplexed the religious authorities and astounded the people because they’d never heard words characterised by such wisdom.

We’d encounter Jesus demonstrating his might as he healed the sick, fed the hungry, destroyed evil and even raised the dead.

We’d encounter Jesus dying on the cross to accomplish the forgiveness of sins but three days later bursting forth from the tomb to resume a new everlasting existence.

We’d encounter Jesus restoring peace between people and offering peace with God through faith in Him.

What Isaiah promised actually became true. It was fulfilled in the gospel ministry of Jesus as he travelled throughout a small part of a tiny Mediterranean country. But Isaiah’s vision leads us to expect something grander. What Jesus did was limited in its scope. It was a bit like one of those tester pots of paint. You know the things. Rather than cover the whole wall with a colour you can paint a small part to give you an idea of what the whole will be like. That’s what Jesus’ ministry was like in the first instance. What he did in Galilee those years ago helps us see what he’ll do in the future.

But we can also know it know. We can know what it’s like to live under the rule of this perfect ruler. It’s called being a Christian and being part of a church. Being a follower of Jesus Christ means that

we can experience now his supernatural wisdom as we read his word for ourselves and live under his direction,

we can experience his mighty power as he empowers and transforms our lives to live for him and for his gospel,

we can experience his passionate concern as we approach him in prayer and entrust ourselves to his care and

we can experience the peace that he brings between people and more significantly with God.

Conclusion

Some of us here this evening will be utterly unconvinced by what we’ve just heard. Can I thank you for coming and for listening? It’s great that you’re here. You’re very welcome at CCB. This is a church for people just like you. It’s not just for believers. As you look around you’ll see that we welcome all sorts! There are some events coming up that may interest you. Next week we’ve got our annual carol Event. It’s at 8 pm in the Bedford. In February we’re holding a week of events dealing with the issues raised by atheism. We’ve called is the God Confusion. It’d be great to see you at either of those things.

Some of us here this evening will be totally convinced by what we’ve just heard. That’s why we’re Christians. We no longer think that what has been described is not only what society needs but what one day society will get. It’s sometimes tempting to think that when we try and turn conversations to spiritual matters that this is a terribly rude imposition. It’s nothing of the sort. It’s like recommending a fabulous holiday destination

Some of us here this evening will be somewhere between those two extremes. We’re neither utterly sceptical nor are we completely sold on the idea. Can I recommend a course called Christianity Explored that we run every term? It’s an opportunity over six weeks to look at the evidence for Jesus, discuss its contemporary significance and ask any question and to do so in a relaxed informal environment over a meal. But it may be that you’d like to pray the prayer I’ll say in a few moments’ time.

The look of complete astonishment from a nearby parent who overheard my commment to number one son should have alerted me to the fact that my sometimes strident views are not universally welcomed! The situation had arisen because number one son asked, ‘why can’t I have a Playstation?’ To which I instantly replied, ‘’Because I don’t want you to grow up to be a obese, spotty nerd who spends all his time loafing on the sofa’. It wasn’t even a pre-prepared retort. It came from the heart! This was clearly a deeply held subconscious conviction. I may be overly zealous about the dangers to physical health from computer games but I’m on roughly the same page as Conservative Member of Parliament and Mayor of London hopeful, Boris Johnson. And that makes me feel so much better! For his Thursday rant on playgrounds go here.