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Mary was a Virgin
Matthew 1:18-24
I can do all things in the strength of Christ, so I will follow in the example of His steps.
Introduction: There is something in the Christmas story that often gets lost but it is so
powerful if it is taken out then there is no Christmas because there is no Christ!
A. It is vital to our faith that Mary was a virgin, if Jesus was not born of a virgin
then he could not be the Son of God and he could not be the Savior, the
entire bible is a farce and there is no need to go any further!
 This doctrine is not an illustration or a parable to prove a point!
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Technically God could have used Mary to carry His son without her being a
virgin, God can do anything but when the angel of the Lord cam to Mary he
said that she was highly favored by God but a woman not married and not a
virgin creates a great deal of theological problems not to mention the fact the
scripture plainly says she is a virgin!
= But pastor can we really believe that this young lady had a baby without being with a
man, that is impossible.
 Exactly that is why that this is the greatest miracle that has ever taken place!
Transition: This morning we are looking at Matthew’s account of what happen and the
one thing that remains consistent throughout scripture is that Jesus is the Son of God.
I.
Jesus’ Mother verse 18
A. Let there be no doubt that Mary was the mother of Jesus.
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1. There is no controversy about that, history says it, and of course God’s
Word says it I have never heard a debate concerning the Maternity of
Jesus.
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26 Now
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee
called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin [a]engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of
the [b]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was [c]Mary. 28 And coming in,
he said to her, “Greetings,[d]favored one! The Lord [e]is with you.” Luke 1:26-28
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Being the favored one did not mean that Mary had won some kind of competition
it simply means she was one that was favored by God.
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She was full of grace certainly but this is the same term that is used to describe
all believers!
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In Ephesians 1:7-8 7 In [a]Him we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which
He [b]lavished on [c]us. In all wisdom and insight.
= Mary was an amazing young lady but she was not Devine and should never be
revered as such.
B. There was nothing about Mary that made Jesus who he is!
1. Jesus is the Son of God conceived of the Holy Spirit and Mary was a
virgin blessed with the incredible opportunity to be the Mother of Jesus!
C. Mary was engaged or betrothed to Joseph.
1. They were not married yet and the scripture is clear about that.
 But here she was pregnant!
Transition: This situation put Mary and Joseph in a very difficult position.
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We need to understand the culture of that day…
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A. We can’t not jump to quickly in judgment of Joseph we will see that Joseph is
a man that trusted God!
1. But can you imagine hearing the news that Mary is pregnant and you
know you are not the father.
 Here is more evidence that Mary was a virgin, at least from our view, we can
eliminate Joseph as the father.
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This is the law that Joseph was be under: 28 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin,
who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are
discovered, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty
shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he
cannot divorce her all his days. Deuteronomy 22:28-29
= But Joseph knew he was not the father or else he would have paid the set dowry and
continued on with the plan!
B. But there would have been no way for him to know that she had not
committed adultery with someone else.
1. She would have not only been guilty of immorality but adultery because
she was engaged to Joseph which in that time was a legal binding
arrangement.
= So what was Joseph to do knowing the punishment was death for Mary by stoning!
II.
I want you to see that not only was Mary chosen by God but Joseph also!
Joseph also chosen by God verse 19
A. God did not chose Mary and deal with Joseph based on how Joseph
would react.
1. Joseph was a righteous man!
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Joseph was the man that God chose to be Mary’s husband before Joseph ever
knew Mary and certainly before he ever knew she was pregnant.
 Certainly Joseph had evidence that Mary had committed adultery the greatest
being that she was with child and the child was not his.
B. So what was a righteous man to do?
1. First his heart is revealed that he loved Mary: Not wanting to disgrace
her!
 What an amazing heart, a heart of compassion, can we not conclude from his
reaction that Joseph truly loved Mary!
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Do you realize how big that is, Joseph has just found out the girl that he is about
to spend the rest of his life with is pregnant with someone else’s child!
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And he doesn’t react with rage, he does not call for arrest, he does not
participate in her stoning.
 No instead he is concerned about her!
 He doesn’t want her to be disgraced!
2. Joseph was a righteous man, a man would a good heart, a man of
compassion, and love that would go beyond boundaries.
 God had chosen Joseph, God had prepared Joseph for this moment.
C. So Joseph decides the best thing to do for Mary as not to disgrace her is
to put her away but to do it privately.
1. Joseph was not just a righteous man which indicates that he was a
believe God but merciful.
 Instead of disgracing Mary and her family he was going to just quietly get a legal
divorce which was necessary for a engaged couple instead of following the legal
prescription of stoning!
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Transition: it is obvious from Joseph’s reaction that he was chosen by God to fulfill this
role.
A. It is also very evident that Joseph is not the father of the child that Mary is
carrying.
 Mary was a virgin she had never been with Joseph or any other man she was
carrying the Son of God!
= I have often wondered if this was the miracle that the Pharisees and the Sadducees
had so much difficulty with.
== How could Jesus be the Messiah and Joseph and Mary be his parents.
B. Do you see how much rest on the fact, the fact that Mary was a virgin!
1. If Mary was not a virgin and Jesus has a human father then Pharisees and
the Sadducees and all the others that rejected Christ as the Son of God
would be right because if she was not then Jesus is not who he said he
was and everything he did was nothing and we are eternally separated
from God!
 There were other great men in history with amazing attributes: Full of faith and
wisdom from God.
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Abraham by faith moved when God told him to move.
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Noah built an ark exactly by God’s instructions and saved humankind from
destruction. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord!
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Moses under the direction of God led God’s people out of bondage.
--- Peter and many of the other disciples died a martyr’s death for the cause of Christ.
 But no one at anytime can make the claim that they are the Christ the only
begotten Son of God because they were not born of a virgin.
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 Church, this is a make or break doctrine of the Christian faith: Because Jesus
was the son of God had had to be born of a virgin there is simply no other way!
 Joseph now finds both relief and a mandate!
III.
Relief and Mandate verse 20-21
A. God sends a message to Joseph first the angel tells Joseph not to be
afraid to take marry as your wife.
1. This will give us some more understanding: The word fear hear is
“phobeo” comes the same root word that we get our word phobia.
= A phobia is the kind of fear that makes you run away, get away from the situation,
change the situation do whatever it takes to get away from what you’re afraid of.
 That is the kind of fear that Joseph was facing he wanted out of the situation, he
was afraid to stay with Mary because she was a adulterous, right, at least that
certainly is what it looked like.
2. Can we even imagine the relief when the angel tells Joseph there is
nothing to be afraid of!
 Mary is still a virgin, the baby that she is carrying has nothing to do with infidelity,
or adultery!
 Mary is still everything that you thought she was and its ok don’t run away.
= Things look bad and truthfully Joseph was ready to bail not because he did not care
for Mary but because he was afraid and now God has given him relief.
3. Joseph’s faith in God is revealed he believed God’s message!
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And his faith in God’s message gave him great relief!
= God then gives Joseph a mandate!
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Verse 20 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for [a]He will
save His people from their sins.”
B. Joseph had a job to do not only is he to stay with Mary but he is to
participate in God’s plan.
1. You shall name Jesus!
Transition: That is the narrative Joseph will move forward, he will take Mary to be his
wife and he will take care of her he will be a husband to her and he will take care of the
child she is carrying.
A. And he will do it because he believes God!
 Joseph believes that Mary is a virgin!
= Joseph not only believed God but he was obedient!
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Now all this [a]took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the
prophet:23 “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND
THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME[b]IMMANUEL,”
US.” 24 And
which translated means, “GOD WITH
Joseph [c]awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord
commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 [d]but kept her a virgin until
she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. Matthew 1:22-25
Closing: As Christian our hearts and our minds need to set in a certain direction.
A. It is in the precepts concern Christ where in lies all of our hope, our peace.
1. Again some will say that it is impossible for a baby to be conceived without
a human father.
= That is a true statement in human terms but God deals in the impossible that is why
we call them miracle and the conception of Jesus is the great miracle of all.
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>> Because Jesus is not just a ordinary human being human being that has done
great things!
>> Jesus is a ordinary human being that has done great things and is also the Son of
God!
 The message this morning may come under scrutiny that I have not challenged
you to stop doing something or to start doing something.
 I don’t have a challenge for you this morning that is not what this text is about this
text simply tells that the baby the virgin Mary carried is Immanuel: “God with us”!
 Church that is what Christmas is a celebration of the Son of God coming in the
form of man not that he was anything less than God but become humble took on
the form of a servant and was obedient even to death on a cross. That thought
comes from Philippians 2:5-8
= Let me close with these words from the Apostle Paul:
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9 For
this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL
BOW,
of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that
every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. Philippians 2:9-11
 Jesus was born of a virgin
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He is the Son of All Mighty God!