The World’s Most Unusual Birth - Part A

Now I think you'll agree that this is the ultimate against all odds scenario, a virgin birth. What are the odds of that? The odds fall off the charts at that point. There are no odds for that.

This is a medical, physical impossibility. There's nothing more unlikely than a virgin birth. And today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Pastor Skip shares about the most unusual birth in history. Now we want to tell you about a powerful resource that'll help you answer some of the toughest questions about the life, ministry, and divinity of Christ. Is there archeological proof that Jesus existed? Did Jesus ever actually claim to be God? Is Jesus really the only way? There's a good chance you'll be asked tough questions like these at some point.

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Now we're in Matthew 1 as we go to Skip for today's lesson. Surely there have been some unusual births throughout history that have defied the odds. Let me give you an example. There is a housewife in Michigan who has born three children in three consecutive years. Now that's not unusual, but the dates on which the children were born are highly unusual. Her first born child was born on August the 8th, 2008. Her second child was born on September the 9th, 2009, and her third child was born on October 10th, 2010.

So she has three children, and the birth dates are 08, 08, 08, 09, 09, 09, 10, 10, 10. You know what the odds of that happening are? One in 50 million. One in 50 million.

That is against the odds. You would have a better chance of having quadruplets. The chances of a woman birthing surviving living quadruplets is one in 800,000. But if you were to have identical quadruplets, the odds are one in 13 million. Then of course, the more children you have, the odds go down precipitously. Now, for example, the chances of having surviving sextuplets. Can you imagine having six children at once? It's one in 4.7 billion. But the Guinness Book of World Records gives the honor of beating the odds to a California couple who in 2009, January of 2009, gave birth to octuplets. Eight surviving children, six boys and two girls. What do you think the odds might be of that even happening?

It is one in 20 trillion, 971 billion, 520 million. However, I think it's safe to say that the undisputed winner of unusual births is the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled numerous predictions that were given of his birth well in advance. Micah predicted he would be born in Bethlehem, and he was. Hosea predicted he would be called out of Egypt, and he was. The prophet said he would arise out of Galilee, and he did, out of the little town of Nazareth up in the Galilee region. And if you remember, in our very first study of against all odds, we noted that the odds of one person fulfilling just eight of the predictions Jesus fulfilled is one in 10 to the 17th power. Against all odds. Now today, we come to perhaps the strangest prediction of all that the Messiah will be born of a virgin.

And can I just say the odds of that happening are not good. A virgin birth. As you open to the gospel of Matthew chapter 1, you notice a list of names that we're not going to read at the beginning of the chapter. He begins with a genealogy, and he does that because he is giving messianic credentials to Jesus. He is showing you that he fulfills genealogically everything that is necessary.

He's from the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah, and from the royal lineage of King David. And then he turns to prophecy. He shows us that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of those predictions that were made in the Old Testament. And the first fulfilled prophecy that Matthew brings out is a virgin birth. That there would be a biological miracle. That a child will be born without any contribution of a human male whatsoever. But that he will be conceived by the Holy Spirit.

Now just saying that, in some people's minds, places me in the category of being a wing-net. You really believe that stuff? Like literally? Like a virgin gave birth? Uh-huh.

Yeah, I'm one of those people. I believe that. And I realize it's controversial, and I realize how people will categorize those of us who believe in a virgin birth. Miller Derrickson, the theologian, said, next to the resurrection of Christ, the most debated and controversial event of Jesus' life is the virgin birth. Not long ago, Will Smith, the actor, was being interviewed on MSNBC about a number of things. One was Tom Cruise's belief in Scientology, a fellow actor, as you know. Tom Cruise believes in Scientology. Will Smith was asked, what do you think about that? And Will Smith said, well, you know, all religions are basically the same. And then he said this. Man, how can I be critical of Tom's belief when I believe that Jesus was born of a virgin? And he gave that mischievous grin on his face as though a virgin birth is absolutely absurd. Well, he's not alone in thinking that.

A lot of people think that. In fact, according to Red Book magazine, 56% of students in theological seminaries do not believe in the virgin birth. Well, not only that, but Joseph, the stepfather, Joseph, the one who will adopt Jesus into his home because the espoused woman, Mary, is pregnant. Joseph is having a hard time with it. He's struggling with the issue.

He is thinking, I need to put her away or divorce her privately. And so because of that, in verse 20 of Matthew chapter 1, while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call her his name, Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

Notice the phraseology. Notice that the angel doesn't say, you guys are going to have a son. No, your wife is going to have the son because she's conceived by the Holy Spirit. You had nothing to do with this, Joseph, as you know. And your job is to bring forth a son, and you shall call his name, Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

So all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and bear a son, and bear a son, and bear a son, and bear a son, and bear a son, and bear a son, behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which is translated God with us. Now I think you'll agree that this is the ultimate against all odds scenario, a virgin birth. What are the odds of that? The odds fall off the charts at that point. There are no odds for that.

This is a medical, physical impossibility, has never been done, and it won't happen again. But the angel promises a savior, and the savior will be the son predicted by Isaiah the prophet, who will be the solution to our problem. And I want to look at those three things this morning. A savior is promised, a son is predicted, a solution is provided. Let's go back to our text in Matthew 1.

I'll have you turn in a minute to Isaiah 7, but Matthew 1, you'll notice that a savior is mentioned, a savior is promised. You will call his name Jesus for or because he will save his people from their sins. In other words, his name denotes his mission. What he is called will tell you what he is called to do. His name, Jesus, means God is salvation. Yahoshua, Yeshua, or Joshua. Joshua and Jesus, the anglicized form of those Hebrew terms, Joshua and Jesus are essentially the same name. Jehovah, or God, is salvation. That's what he's going to do. He will save his people from their sin.

Now note that. What do we need saving from? Do we need saving from economic woes?

Some will say, well, of course we do. Some will say we need saving from negativity, or from poverty, or from disease, or from cultural baggage. But what I want you to note is the promise is he will save us from the greatest human infection called sin, the sin virus.

That's what he's going to do. Jesus, when he was on the cross, the first words out of his mouth, do you remember what he said? First prayer he said was, Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do. Why would that be the first utterance out of Jesus' lips while hanging on the cross and making that holy transaction? That was his first prayer because that was our greatest need. Forgiveness is our greatest need. So our greatest need became Jesus' greatest mission and accomplishment, to forgive people from sin. And this is frankly the reason that many are not interested in Jesus Christ. They don't see the need for a Savior because they don't admit the reality of sin in their lives. If I don't have any sin as God defines it, then I don't need any Savior as God defines him. I'm good. I don't need saving from anything. I'm not weak.

I don't need that kind of a crutch. So when a person doesn't admit that they have fallen short of the glory of God as a sinful human being, they're not out looking for a Savior. And so they will reject him. But God has saving sinners at the very top of his list. And when he sent his Son into the world, it was on a rescue mission to save his people from their sin. Jesus said as much. Jesus said, for the Son of Man, that's himself, has come to seek and to what?

Save those who are lost. In Mark chapter 2 verse 17, Jesus again said, those who are well do not need a physician, only those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Then John the Baptist, when Jesus came to the Jordan River to be baptized, John looked at him and said, behold, or look, or check it out, here comes the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And the great rabbi, Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul the apostle, he was converted. And he said, he wrote, 1 Timothy 1 15, this is a faithful saying and it's worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. I still have that Christmas card.

I've kept it for years on file. On the front of the card, it says, if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a son. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a savior. That is what the angel is basically going to call his name, Jesus, because he will save people from their sin. Everyone I've ever met has a deep sense that they need forgiveness from someone for something.

Everybody basically knows this is true. I still remember when I was a kid and I offended my mom or my dad, which was frequently, but I always sensed the need that I have to make things right. I have to hear them say, I forgive you. I have to seek reconciliation. I have to get forgiveness. I wanted it more than anything at some points.

And I still find that true. If I offend God or I offend my family, that relationship requires forgiveness. So that's God's plan. A savior is promised to save people from sin. Question, how is God going to do that? Answer, the virgin birth. The virgin birth is absolutely necessary to solve our dilemma, our problem.

I'm going to show you that before the study is finished this morning. So a savior is promised. Second thing I want you to notice is that a son is predicted. Now go back to Matthew 1, and please notice that Matthew quotes an Old Testament passage. He's quoting the prophet Isaiah, a prophet who wrote and predicted about the Messiah 700 years before Jesus was born. And so I want you to turn back to Isaiah 7, since you've already read Matthew 1. Go back to Isaiah chapter 7, and I'm going to begin in verse 10. Moreover, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God.

Ask it either in the depth or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord. He sounds so spiritual. Then he said, this is Isaiah the prophet, hear now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. When Isaiah spoke these words, looming on the political horizon, dark threatening clouds were there.

Let me explain. There were two kings north of Ahaz. You see Ahaz mentioned in our text, he was the king of Judah in Jerusalem. And you know that by this time the nation of Israel was split north and south. Israel in the north, Judah in the south.

Ten tribes, two tribes. So during this time when Isaiah is prophesying, the king of Israel by the name of Pekah and the king of Damascus in Syria by the name of Rezin formed a coalition to fight against another king further up north, a superpower looming called Assyria. The Assyrians were about to take over the world. So these two kings Pekah and Rezin formed a coalition to fight against him. They tried to talk King Ahaz down south into joining the coalition.

He would have nothing to do with it. So those two kings Pekah and Rezin threatened King Ahaz in Jerusalem. Okay, you're not going to help us. We're going to come and attack you. So Ahaz does an end run. He gives money, a bribe, to the king of Assyria that the two kings are trying to fight against, form a coalition. He sends money to him and says, would you please attack those two kings before they attack me? So in walks Isaiah the prophet. And Isaiah the prophet says, just want you to know, God is going to protect you and Judah. He's going to keep you safe.

Nothing's going to happen. He's going to protect you from those two kings. Then Isaiah said, okay, now ask God for a sign.

And Ahaz sounds very spiritual. He goes, I'm not going to test the Lord. Well, what he really meant is I'm not going to trust the Lord because he has already shown that he doesn't trust God by trying to hire out mercenaries to kill his enemies instead of trusting the Lord to do it.

So Isaiah said, okay, fine. I'm going to give you a sign. God's going to give you a sign. The word you is in the plural, not just you personally, but y'all a sign. I'm giving the whole house of David, God's going to give the whole house of David a sign.

And he predicts the virgin birth. Now, whenever you see the word or hear the word sign in the Bible, it's a pretty special thing that's going to happen. A sign is the disruption in the natural flow of things.

It is a supernatural event. Example, the Red Sea parting, that's a sign. A fire falling from heaven and consuming Elijah's sacrifices, that's a sign. A miraculous physical healing, that's a sign. Well, what's this sign?

Look what it says, the virgin shall conceive. Now, that's quite a sign, right? That's a supernatural event. That's a sign.

That's a mega sign. When the ultrasound shows a virgin girl who has never had any physical relationships with a man suddenly pregnant, that's a sign of something. The Lord's going to give you a sign, a virgin birth. Now, over the years, I have heard people say, well, you know, virgin births are more common than you think. And that's my response, just what yours was, that kind of little chuckle.

Oh, really? See, yeah, there is a scientific process known as parthenogenesis. And what that is is that creatures can be conceived without fertilization.

It's common among various species of lower animals, including many insects. For example, honeybees, unfertilized eggs, will naturally develop into drone bees. Silkworms can reproduce parthenogenically. In recent years, they've discovered that frogs and rabbits have been reproduced by parthenogenesis. And so they will say, well, see, these two are virgin births, so it's not so unique.

Well, that didn't help. It certainly does not explain Jesus Christ, and here's why. Parthenogenesis as a reproductive entity or event can only reproduce genetically identical beings.

Frogs, for example, may be stimulated to reproduce, but they will always be female frogs, never male frogs. That's Skip Hightech with a message from the series Against All Odds. Find the full message, as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. Right now, here's Skip and Lenya to share some exciting news about a trip to the Holy Land. I'm guessing that many of you have thought about, talked about, maybe even dreamed about visiting Israel.

Well, let's make that happen. Lenya and I are taking a tour group to Israel next summer in 2024. And I can't wait. We'll start in Tel Aviv, head north to Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. We'll spend several days in Jerusalem and see the Garden of Gethsemane, the Upper Room, and so much more. And we'll wrap it all up with a swim in the Dead Sea. Now, I've been to Israel many times, like over 40. In fact, I can honestly say, though, that visiting the places where the Scriptures unfolded, where Jesus lived out his earthly ministry, it never gets old.

No, it doesn't. The incredible sightseeing will be punctuated by times of worship and teachings that you'll never forget. And Jeremy Camp and Adie Camp will be with us to lead worship. Make plans to join us next summer in Israel. See the itinerary and book this Israel tour with Skip Heitzig and Jeremy Camp today at inspirationcruises.com slash C-A-B-Q.

That's inspirationcruises.com slash C-A-B-Q. And did you know that you can now connect with Pastor Skip and his resources via text? Simply text connect to 74759 to sign up for text messages from Skip. When you do, you'll receive a free digital booklet, Living in the Last Days, in which Pastor Skip gives you a glimpse into the last days and how you can be ready for them. So text connect to 74759 today to keep in touch and get your free booklet.

That's connect to 74759. Join us tomorrow as Skip concludes his message, The World's Most Unusual Birth, and explains why the virgin birth produced the perfect solution to the problem of sin. Cast all burdens on his word, make a connection, a connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.