The Birth of the King

If you go out today to survey the world around you, you will find that the popular viewpoint is that Jesus was a man. Jesus was a good man. Jesus was the best of men. Jesus was the noblest example of humanity who ever lived. The answer is wrong.

He is God. Welcome to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. When Prince William, the future King of England, was born in 1982, millions around the globe celebrated. Yet when the King of Kings, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and the rightful heir to King David's throne, was born, hardly anyone noticed.

There was no pomp and circumstance. There were no celebrations for King Jesus. You ever think about that? The extreme humbleness of Jesus' birth. How clearly.

Do you understand the circumstances in which he came into the world? Are there aspects of the birth in Bethlehem that you've missed? Consider that today as John MacArthur helps you see the important and often overlooked truth behind the familiar Bethlehem story, with his lesson called "The Birth of the King." Here's John. The message of Christmas, people, is not. Gifts and trees and presents around the tree and cards and major scenes and all of that—that's peripheral.

The message is the incarnation, God born in human flesh, and that's what we want to communicate when given the opportunity.

Some Jewish leaders at the time of the birth of Christ, no doubt, believed that the promised Messiah would be the son of David. They must have believed that they were happy to sing hosannas to the son of David at his triumphal entry. They assumed the Messiah would come through the line of royalty, based on Second Samuel seven, the promise of God to David. But they really didn't know anything more than that, and there certainly was no pervasive belief that the Messiah would be a virgin-born incarnation of the very God of gods himself. In fact, when Jesus claimed to be God incarnate, they accused him of what?

Of blasphemy, and the same denial persists today. The virgin birth is attacked constantly, and it's attacked because people deny the deity of Christ.

Now, if you deny the virgin birth, you have a major problem. One, the Bible is lying.

So you've just lost your authority. Two, you have eliminated the possibility of Jesus Christ being God. If you go out today to survey the world around you, you will find that the popular viewpoint is that Jesus was a man. Jesus was a good man. Jesus was the best of men.

Jesus was the noblest example of humanity who ever lived. The answer is wrong. He is God. And a real incarnation, a real incarnation of God in human flesh, demands a virgin birth. You cannot have a being who is God and man unless the progenitors of that being are God and man.

And so, God fathers and Mary mothers the product being the God-Man, the incarnate Eternal Son of God.

Now. Let's look at the virgin birth from a couple of angles.

Okay, I want you to understand it. The foundations, first of all, of the virgin birth. Why do we believe this? The first foundation on which the virgin birth is built is the veracity, authenticity, inerrancy, and inspiration and truthfulness of the Word of God. It's very clear in Matthew one eighteen to twenty five and in Luke one twenty six to thirty three and following that Jesus is said to be born of a virgin.

Now, if you deny The virgin birth. You are denying the truth of Scripture. If you deny the truth of Scripture, you are denying the truthfulness of God. If you are denying the truthfulness of God, then you have an unholy God. And if you have an unholy God, we can pack the whole thing in and forget it and live like animals because nothing matters anyway.

So you tear the whole of the seamless garment and rip it to shreds. If you attack only the virgin birth, everything else goes down too.

So the first thing is the New Testament document very clearly says he was born of a virgin. In fact, to just illustrate that a bit further, Matthew chapter two, having followed up, of course, the statement of the angel with the details of the birth of Christ, affirms this. You will find something conspicuously absent. In the testimony of chapter two, and that is any identification of Joseph as the father of Jesus. None exists, and there is ample opportunity for that to have been stated, if indeed it should have been.

For example, verse eleven, it says, "And they, being the wise men, magi, they came into the house, saw the child with Mary, his mother." Then you'll notice further in verse thirteen, when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph. Doesn't say Joseph, his father, but Joseph, arise and take the child and his mother. Verse fourteen, and he arose. Doesn't say the father arose; he arose, took the child and his mother. And down in verse twenty, arise and take the child and his mother.

Verse twenty one, and he rose and took the child and his mother.

Now you'd have to be blind not to understand the emphasis there. Mary is the mother, but nowhere is Joseph ever alluded to as the father.

Nowhere, because he wasn't the father. In fact, the father is designated in verse fifteen. They it says went into Egypt and were there until the death of Herod. That what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. This is from Hosea, verse one of chapter eleven.

The prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt did I call my son." And that's God speaking. God is Father, Mary is Mother, and with a divine Father and a human Mother, you have the God Man Jesus Christ.

So the first foundation of the virgin birth is found on the pages of the New Testament. The second one is in the Old Testament. Let's go back to Genesis chapter three to a somewhat familiar text and just make mention of it. The foundation of the virgin birth is not only in the New Testament but also in the Old, when the serpent is cursed by God because of his part in leading the human race into sin. Verse fifteen of Genesis three, the judgment of God comes upon that serpent, Satan, and God says, "I will put enmity, that is antagonism, hatred, opposition, between you and the woman, and between your seed, the offspring of Satan, and her seed.

He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." Now there is a general sense in which this could be understood to be nothing more than a statement that the children of Satan and the children of the covenant or the promise, the righteous seed that will eventually come out of Eve, will fight against each other. It could be a very general statement that Satan, in the end, is going to be defeated by man. But it has to be seen as more specific than that, because what man is it who will ultimately defeat Satan? If Satan and his children are set against mankind and the children of men, and if Satan will bruise the heel of mankind, but Satan's head will be bruised by mankind, what man is it who bruises the serpent's head? There's only one man, and that man here, I believe, is most interestingly identified as her seed between your seed, Satan, your offspring, and her seed.

It is obvious that no woman has ever had a seed. No woman has ever produced a child Parthenote genetically, and yet here is the prophecy that the seed of the woman would bring about the devastation of the serpent. And we know that in the cross of Christ and the victory that He gained there, He accomplished the devastation of Satan and his eternal damnation. And so there is a sense in which the very term "her seed" alludes to the reality of a virgin birth, because the only time a woman ever had a seed was when Mary was impregnated by the Spirit of God to bring forth Christ.

Now I want you to look to a second passage in the Old Testament. Isaiah seven fourteen says. Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin. And the word here is alma in Hebrew.

It appears nine times in the Old Testament. Eight of those times, it means pure virginity. And so that is its predominant meaning, and certainly its meaning here, because that's the way it is interpreted by the inspired writer Matthew. And Matthew, being inspired and interpreting Isaiah, gives us its true interpretation.

So it should be translated a virgin.

Some people say no, it just means a young woman.

Well, if it means a young woman shall be with a child and bear a son, that's nothing special. Why and how would that be a sign of any significance? But when a virgin is with child and bears a son and then calls his name Emmanuel, the last two letters Ale is the name of God. The first part means with us. When a virgin has a child named God with us, that is unusual.

So Isaiah predicts here the birth of a child born of a virgin, whose name will be God with us. In Matthew one. Twenty-two and twenty-three. That is very directly interpreted.

Now, all this took place that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled. Saying, "Behold, the virgin." And Matthew uses Parthenos, which means virgin, and nothing else but virgin. She will be with child and bear a son and call his name Emmanuel. Translating that, it means God with us.

So Matthew tells us essentially what Isaiah meant. The total absence of sexual intimacy is bound up in the word Parthenos or virgin. Mary was a virgin, and a virgin with child is a miracle. In fact, the text can be literally translated: "Behold, the pregnant virgin is bearing a son, and she calls his name God with us." God has come down, joined in this miracle that seed of a man with the egg of a woman to produce the God Man. This is the sign, the divine miracle.

And then there is Jeremiah thirty-one twenty-two. You don't need to turn to it, but in Jeremiah thirty-one twenty-two it says this. Listen to this. The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth. Having a baby is not a new thing.

The Lord has created a new thing. Listen, a woman shall encompass a man.

Now we cannot be explicitly dogmatic on that, but it is interesting if you look at the rabbis' interpretation of Jeremiah thirty-one, twenty-two. They said, for example, this is a messianic context to be sure. They said, "Quote: Messiah is to have no earthly father." Another rabbi said, "The birth of Messiah alone shall be without any defects." Another said, "His birth shall not be like that of other men." Another said, "The birth of Messiah shall be like the dew of the Lord, as drops upon the grass, without the action of man." So, when the rabbis looked at the messianic text of Jeremiah thirty-one and looked at that verse, they saw in it a miraculous birth. It may well be that even at the time of the birth of Christ, though the vast majority of people did not expect him to be virgin born, though the vast majority of people obviously didn't believe he was virgin born, there may have been some who, understanding this rabbinic interpretation of Jeremiah thirty-one twenty-two, understanding the meaning of Isaiah seven fourteen and Genesis three fifteen, may not have been surprised at all when Jesus claimed to have been born of a virgin. And by the way, that claim must have gotten out.

It must have been known. The testimony was that this Jesus was born of a virgin. That was not hidden. For example, in John seven twenty seven, speaking of Christ as compared to the Messiah, there's an interesting statement made by the people. The people say, "We know where this man is from." In other words, we know Jesus came from Nazareth.

But whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where he's from. In other words, they they just couldn't accept that Jesus was the Messiah because everybody knew he came out of Nazareth, and they may have had this lingering feeling that there would be some kind of grandiose, supernatural birth, and Jesus seemed to be such a normal, common person.

So some people may have assumed the Messiah was going to be born in a miraculous way. Others may have known Jesus was born in a miraculous way, and some wouldn't have believed that Jesus was born in a miraculous way at all. But the Old Testament was clear. If they had understood Genesis three fifteen, Isaiah seven fourteen, Jeremiah thirty one twenty two, and even Psalm two. Thou art my son.

This day have I begotten thee. And so the Old Testament, the New Testament, lays the foundation for the virgin birth. Can I give you a third foundation? The doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible very clearly teaches that God is one God.

Deuteronomy six four and five: The Lord our God is one. The Lord our God is one. We believe in one God. There are no other gods. God will not tolerate any other gods.

And the Scripture says, "You are to love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength." What that means is, you have no affection left for any other deity. You have no love for any other god. You are to love the one true God with all the capacity to love that you have, because there is no other God, and so you give everything to Him.

Now, only if God was one God could we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We couldn't love more than one with all our whole being. Any more than you could love one husband with all your heart and soul and mind and strength, and love somebody else the same way. If there were three gods, as some would like us to believe, then we could love two and leave one off, or love one and leave two off. Or give a third of our love to each, but there's only one God, and we are to love that one God with all our capacity.

And that one God reveals Himself in three persons. You say, "Do you understand that?" Of course not. I only believe that. I do not understand that. And there is no illustration that I've ever heard that makes it more understandable to me.

Any illustration I've ever heard of the Trinity confuses me and diminishes the reality of the Trinity. But even though God is one, and we are to love Him totally as one, He has three persons.

Now, if Jesus Christ is really God, then the virgin birth occurred. Then the incarnation is real. This is a logical sequence. Putting it in frail human terms, you cannot have God born into this world unless God is born to God. You can't have God born to man being God.

God has to be born to God to be God, but born to man to be man. And so He is God impregnating a woman. The Old Testament demands it. The New Testament demands it. The doctrine of the Trinity demands it.

And so I say, if you attack the Virgin Birth, you wipe out the veracity of the New Testament. You wipe out the veracity of the Old Testament, and you have just wiped out the heart and soul of everything we know to be true about the nature of God, and that is that He is three in one. And then, fourthly, Messianic prophecy comes into the picture also. The Messiah had to be God in human flesh. He had to be God in human flesh, and this because of what the Old Testament has to say about God.

Now, let me give you what I mean. And there's so many scriptures, but I'm going to boil it down to just a very brief look at Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. Messiah has to be God in human flesh. Thus, his birth has to be a miracle of deity and humanity united.

But notice Isaiah forty three, verse eleven. Listen to this: I, God speaking here, I, even I, am the Lord.

Okay, He just said in verse ten, besides me, there's no other God, no other God, before me or after me. I, even I, am the Lord. No one else. And there is no savior beside me. There is no savior beside me.

Now God says that. You know what Matthew one twenty one says? Call his name Jesus, for he shall what save his people from their sins.

Now if there is only one savior. And God says, "I'm that Savior," and Jesus says, "I'm that Savior." The logical conclusion is, Jesus is God. The testimony of Messianic anticipation demands the affirmation of Jesus as God. And if He is God, then His birth has to be a miracle of deity and humanity united. Verse fourteen.

Of Isaiah forty three, thus says the Lord your redeemer, the Lord your redeemer, God takes on the title of redeemer, the one who buys back the sinner from sin and death and judgment. In verse twenty two of Isaiah forty five, turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. God alone is able to redeem men. And yet, in Galatians chapter three, the testimony of the apostle Paul comes in verse thirteen: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law.

Now, if there's only one redeemer, and God is that redeemer, and Christ is that redeemer, then those two must be one. They must be one, and if Christ is one with God, then He must have been born of God. Therefore, there must be a virgin birth of God and man coming together to produce the God Man. Look at verse fifteen of Isaiah forty-three. I am the Lord your holy one, and here God takes the title of the holy one, the one set apart from all evil.

Back in verse fourteen, He said it also, the Lord your redeemer, the holy one of Israel. And yet in Luke one thirty-five, it calls Jesus that holy offspring. If God is the Holy One and Christ is the Holy One, then Christ is God. And verse fifteen also says, "I am your King." God says, "I am your King." You can't have two kings; only one king. And yet in Revelation it says that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Revelation nineteen sixteen. In Deuteronomy six thirteen, it says you are to worship the Lord your God, and Him only shalt thou serve. And yet, God in Hebrews one six says Christ is to be worshipped. He says, "Let all the angels of God worship Him." If God says worship only Me, and then God says worship Christ, Christ must be the same as God. And it just goes on and on like that.

Isaiah forty five verse. Twenty-two, turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by myself that the word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness and will not turn back. Then this line: that to me, that is to God.

Listen. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess allegiance. Does that sound familiar to you? Is there a New Testament passage like that? Philippians two nine to eleven that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God.

Here it says you bow to God in the New Testament you bow to Christ and therefore Christ is God. There is no alternative to that. No alternative. And I could go on and on with a myriad such scriptures, but the point is, the foundation of the virgin birth is bound up in New Testament revelation, in Old Testament prophecy. It's bound up in the doctrine of the Trinity, the nature of God, and it's tied together in the link between the deity of God and the deity of Jesus Christ, which Scripture makes so very clear when you compare the Old Testament statements about God with the New Testament statements about Christ.

The foundation then is solid. If you deny the virgin birth, you deny the veracity of the New Testament. If you deny the virgin birth, you deny the veracity of the Old Testament. If you deny the virgin birth, you deny the essence of the nature of God as Trinity. If you deny the virgin birth, you deny the very statements of Old Testament about God and New Testament about Christ, which are demanded to be parallel.

If you deny the virgin birth, the sum of it all is this: that you deny your own redemption. There is no salvation, there is no redemption, and we are under the law as to its curse. We are under the law as to its damnation. But Jesus Christ did come, born of a virgin, God of very gods, and man as well. He and this is important to understand.

He, as God, had the power of salvation. He, as man, could fill the privilege of substitution. The perfect God-Man, who died for us. Do you believe? Is He your Lord?

Have you bowed your knee to Him? Have you accepted the salvation, the redemption that He came to bring? That's what Christmas is about. It's about something so profoundly beyond the silly, stupid things that occupy men at this season. It's something so profound that only God can fully understand it, while man can reap the full benefit of it.

It's something so profound that to spend ourselves in the shallows and trivialities of the world's preoccupation with its own indulgence is an affront to the holiness of this remembrance. That's John MacArthur showing you how Jesus matched up to everything the Old Testament said the Messiah would be. Today's lesson looked beyond the manger scene in Bethlehem, showing you the surprising, even shocking nature of the incarnation—the birth of the King. That was John's message today on Grace to You.

Well, friend, with what we saw today about Jesus' amazing birth, perhaps you're wondering: Can a person be saved without believing in the virgin birth? Is that an essential doctrine? Is that something every true Christian must know and accept? Here is how John answered that question in our studio years ago.

Well, I would say that a person could be saved without knowing about the virgin birth. You. Could be saved without that information, as long as you were putting your trust in Jesus Christ as God. You you couldn't be saved if you didn't believe that Jesus is God. There are many so-called parts of the Christian world that talk about Jesus, talk about him as Savior.

But do not believe he is fully God, the eternal God.

So to deny the deity of Christ means one cannot be saved because you're believing in the wrong Christ. But it is possible to believe that Jesus is God in human flesh and believe all the gospel, and not know about the virgin birth. But once we know about the virgin birth and are taught about it, we would embrace it fully as the explanation for how he could be fully God and fully man.

Well, this is just part of what's available for you to know and learn this Christmas season, and I hope you'll take advantage of a couple of books available to you. The first one, God's Gift of Christmas, it's a small, beautifully colored little gift book, one hundred and twenty pages. Great read as a family or in a Bible study. Good to have as a kind of Christmas tradition. Or a second book, God in the Manger, a hundred and eighty pages drills down a little more into the meaning of the Virgin Birth.

Learn all you can about the birth of our Lord and Savior, so that you can make this Christmas season everything that it ought to be. That's right, friend. I encourage you to consider the overwhelming evidence that Jesus is God in the flesh, and the promised Redeemer of sinners. Pick up the books "God's Gift of Christmas" and "God in the Manger," and perhaps a second set to give to an unbelieving friend when you get in touch with us today. Call us at eight hundred fifty-five Grace or visit our website gty.org.

God's gift of Christmas costs twelve dollars. God in the manger costs thirteen dollars, and for each of them, shipping is free. Again, to order, call eight hundred fifty-five Grace or go to gty.org. And thank you for remembering that Grace to You is listener supported. Today may not be your first day listening to this broadcast, but other people, both new believers and those who don't know Christ, are just now finding this station and Bible teaching programs on it, like Grace to You.

We're able to reach those people because of the support of friends like you. To partner with us in taking biblical truth to God's people around the world, make a tax-deductible donation when you call eight hundred fifty-five Grace, or when you go to gty dot org, or you can mail your gift to Grace to You, Box four thousand, Panorama City, California nine one four one two.

Now, for the entire Grace to You staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Watch Grace to You Television this weekend on KJNP in Fairbanks, Alaska, or check your local listings, and then be here Monday for John MacArthur's compelling study on prayer called "Don't Be Afraid to Ask." It's another thirty minutes of unleashing God's truth, one verse at a time, on Grace to You.