Turn with me to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1, verse 26. Today we're going to take a Sunday off from our Matthew study. And we're going to look this Christmas Sunday at the significance of the virgin birth. Now, for us as believers, this time of year is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our Lord, but although Jesus was not actually born in December, it is when we celebrate. But I want us to look at verse 26 through 38 of Luke chapter one. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin, a spouse to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came unto her and said, Hail, thou art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great. He shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said unto the angel, How can this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her, who is called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. I want us to focus today specifically on the relationship between the virgin birth of Jesus and our salvation. Why is it so important that Christ's birth did not include a human father? And what does that have to do with our salvation? You see, the virgin birth is fundamental to the foundational core of Christianity. In fact, if there is no virgin birth, there really is no Christianity. It's that important. So we're going to answer these questions as we look at some scriptures regarding the virgin birth of Jesus. Now, let me explain, especially to the children here, when we refer to a virgin birth. All of us in here were born with an earthly mother or an earthly father. When you were born, you took a man and a woman. And that's your parents, or your biological mom or dad. Now my father has since died, but I'm still his biological son. But when Jesus was born, he too had a mother and a father, but his father was not Joseph. Jesus' real father was his Heavenly Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, who was Mary's husband, was the man that actually raised Jesus. He was his earthly, I guess, stepfather is more of a word for. He was not Jesus's biological father. God was. In fact, turn to Matthew chapter one. Now, Matthew chapter one. No, I'm not starting over in our study of Matthew. Well, we read this back in February of 2008. That's when we started Matthew. But Matthew chapter 1, verse 1 and 2, it starts off with the genealogy, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. And then notice in the second verse, Abraham beget Isaac. Isaac beget Jacob. Jacob beget Judas and his brethren. You see a pattern forming there. It has the name of a man, and then it says, beget, and then his son's name. Now, look at verse 16. of Matthew 1, and Jacob beget Joseph. Now, who's Joseph? Well, this is the Joseph and Mary that we're looking at. But in verse 16, it says, Jacob beget Joseph. Notice what it does not say. It does not say Jacob beget Joseph and then Joseph beget Jesus. It doesn't say that. It says Jacob beget Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus. which is called Christ. So the scriptures are very accurate in letting us know that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. And also in this genealogy, these are men. It's father to son, to grandson, to great grandson. These are men passed on in their understanding of their names here. Abraham, Isaac, Isaac, Jacob, But in verse 16, it does not say that Joseph begat anybody. The whole genealogy flow switches in verse 16. When it gets to Joseph, it says the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, does not give any credit to Joseph having a son named Jesus. There's no linking of the physical birth of Jesus to Joseph whatsoever. And you know what else you will not find in the scriptures, the scriptures never called Joseph, the father of Jesus, you won't see it. It's not in there. The scriptures never say, Joseph, the father of Jesus, it doesn't say that it's not in there. You will find references to Jesus being the son of Joseph. You think, well, what's the difference? Well, there's a big difference. See, Jesus, was the son of Joseph in the legal sense. It was like an adoption. You may be sitting here with parents who are not your biological parents, but you're still their son or their daughter in the legal sense because they are your guardians or your parents now. So legally, you're still their son or their daughter. That's the case with Jesus. Legally, he was the son of Joseph, but Joseph was not his father. The Scriptures never even say that. And because Jesus legally became the son of Joseph, he stayed in that royal lineage of David. So you see how God took care of all the details without ever once having to compromise the virgin birth, without ever having to compromise the lineage, all the prophecies that were foretold. And because Jesus was physically from the lineage of Mary. Now, that is that is true. I mean, Mary had Jesus. He was born of a woman. And so the bloodline was in through Mary, it was not through Joseph when it came to the biological understanding there. But under Joseph's name, he was legally his son, which allowed him to reign. Royalty was in Jesus's blood through Mary. And there was royalty in Jesus's blood in Joseph's bloodline. But we'll see there was a problem with that. But Joseph was the stepfather of Jesus. And Jesus was his son in a legal sense, not in the bloodline, though. So the virgin birth did not compromise his kingship because he was legally the son of Joseph. So all the details work out. You'll never find the scriptures calling Joseph the father of Jesus because he wasn't. It was a virgin birth. And because of that, we can have salvation as we'll look at in the scriptures. So we're going to look at why the virgin birth was so important for our salvation. And we're going to look at several scriptures here. The first reason is that the virgin birth highlights the humanity and the deity of Christ. Now, it's going to be hard to find someone who will argue with you that Jesus was not a man. I mean, there are many unbelievers. Most people that are even anti-God or profess atheism or agnostics, they at least recognize that Jesus was a man. Their whole issue is with his deity. So you're not going to find a bunch of people reacting to the fact that Jesus was a man because that's sort of a given, even by the unbelievers. That's not a debate that's been going down through world history about Jesus being a man or not. The debate has been, was he deity? Was he really God or was he just a man? Now, in John's gospel, chapter one, it says, In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life and the light in him in the life was the light of men and the light shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. And then it explains about the word that we just read. It says, And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. This is referring to Jesus. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father. And so we read here in the scriptures of the word becoming flesh, Jesus becoming a man. And so the scriptures say he is God. This is the word of God telling us about Jesus, God who became flesh. So Jesus was God and Jesus was man. He was 100 percent of both. He wasn't half man and half God. He was completely God 100 percent and completely man 100 percent. Now, there's a technical fancy term for that called the hypostatic union. But in more simple terms, it means that Jesus had two distinct natures. He was God and he was man. And the fact that he was born of a woman proves that he was a man because Mary was his mom. In fact, Galatians 4 says that when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law. And we'll see, it was clear he was made of a woman. There's no credit to being made of a man in that lineage, but made of a woman. So the truth that Jesus was born of a woman made him like us, like we as men. But that he was born of a woman who was a virgin shows us the supernatural aspect of his birth. God's birth as Jesus in the flesh was a supernatural miracle unlike any other in history. So the second thing, though, is the virgin birth was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Now, we're going to park it here for a little bit and look at several of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus. Now, in Isaiah, chapter seven, verse 14. It says, therefore, The Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, which is just. You think about this, a virgin is going to conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And so we read about the scriptures here prophesying, the first thing is. Isaiah is prophesying that a virgin will conceive a son is specific here. This virgin is going to conceive not just a baby, but it's going to be a baby boy. So we're told that this virgin will give birth to a baby boy. And I want you to understand that the prophecy here that we read about in Isaiah was prophesied about 700 years before Jesus was actually born. That's a long time. 700 years before he's born, Isaiah gives this prophecy. But it's not the only time that we read that It's prophesied that it's going to be a boy or a son. If you flip over another chapter or two, it says in Isaiah 9-6, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. So this will be a baby boy. A son is going to be given for the salvation of man and this baby will be the Messiah, the King. But we even see this prophecy earlier than this. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 3. Going to the very first book of the Scriptures. The very first book, and we see the first hint, the first proclamation of the Gospel message all the way back in Genesis. Because a lot of people think, oh, the Gospel doesn't start until the New Testament. No. You can go all the way back to Genesis chapter 3. And you see where the gospel is going to be here in verse 15 of Genesis 3. Actually, look in verse 14. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle and above every beast of the field. This is right after the fall of man and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly thou shalt go and dust shalt eat. Thou eat all the days of thy life, and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. Now, we see the gospel here that God is going to bring forth a seed to be born, passed down through the woman. And she's going to have a son because the word says his heel, referring to the masculine. So it's going to be a baby boy. And here's what's. Something else we probably don't realize initially, this prophecy. The early, early mention here of the coming Christ who would bruise the head of Satan. This prophecy about the gospel The early mention here of the gospel was not given to man. It was actually given to Satan. It was a prophecy to Satan. That there would be a Messiah who would come. And would bruise Satan's head. And the enemy would bruise his heel, referring to the masculine, the boy. So God is telling Satan that the seed of the woman will bruise his head. So we have the first insight to the gospel message, and it's actually told to Satan. So we know it's a boy. We know he will be born of a virgin. It's going to be an amazing birth and part of Mary. And even though this was a virgin birth and had nothing to do with Joseph even being present, Joseph was still a man of great integrity, a man of great self-control. Turn to Matthew chapter one again. Joseph is now being told by the angel what's going on. Those things are looking kind of confusing to Joseph. He was a just man, the scripture says. So what does the angel say to Joseph? He appears to him and says, And she shall bring forth a son that shall call his name Jesus. This is verse 21. For he shall save his people from their sins. Now, all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son. They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us, which is the reference to what Isaiah, that's the prophet Isaiah that the angel was quoting. And then look at verse 24. Then Joseph, being raised from his sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took unto him his wife. So as we talked about betrothal in the Jewish marriage, that's where Joseph and Mary were at that point. But now she is pregnant and God has told Joseph, the angel has come and spoken to Joseph and said, go take Mary now to be your wife. And so they were already planning to get married. They were already in the betrothal period. Remember what we said last week of breaking up during the betrothal was just like a divorce. And so he said, now she's pregnant with child through the power of the Holy Ghost. Go and make her your wife. Go have your marriage. And so Joseph went and did that. So now Joseph is going to be living with Mary. as husband and wife. But I want us to notice the self-control of this Joseph, this man. Look at verse 25. And knew her not that she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. Joseph was going to continue with the promise of the Lord. Mary is going to be a virgin until the birth of Jesus. And so we look here at Joseph and his life. A man of great integrity, a man of self-control. He protected her virginity even after they had become husband and wife. That's how much respect and love he had for his God and for his wife. What an amazing man of God. I can't wait to meet him someday. There's also another Old Testament prophecy about Jesus. It says that Jesus would descend from King David's lineage. Now, turn back to Jeremiah chapter 23. Jeremiah chapter 23. So what bloodline is Jesus going to come from? What's the legal line he's going to come from? Jeremiah chapter 23, verse 5, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper. It shall execute judgment and justice in the earth in his days. Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is a name whereby he shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. And so the Messiah is going to come from King David's lineage. He's going to descend from King David, but this prophecy has a problem. And this is our next point there regarding the prophecy. Because there's another, a sad prophecy, actually, seems to be one of doom when it comes to the lineage of King David. This is the prophecy concerning the curse of Jeconiah. In Matthew chapter 1, you stay there in Jeremiah, Matthew chapter 1, verse 12, in the lineage, Abraham would get Isaac, Isaac, Jacob, and it just continues on for several verses. And then in verse 12, there's a couple more names mentioned. In verse 11 it says, Josiah did get Jeconiah, and then Jeconiah was taken to Babylon, and there Jeconiah, that's Letheal, so there was some more children. But there's the mention of Jeconiah in the lineage in Matthew 1 of Jesus' lineage from King David all the way actually back to Abraham in Matthew 1. So we have a problem here though. Look at Jeremiah. There's a curse regarding Jeconiah, the man we just read about in Matthew chapter 12. Who is Jeconiah and why is that important at all to the virgin birth? Now, he's referred to in the scriptures as Jeconitian or Keniah. There's different spellings, but we're talking about the same guy. Let me tell you a few things about Jeconiah. First of all, he was 18 years old when he began to reign as king. And he was king for three months. And in 2 Kings chapter 24, the Bible tells us that Jeconiah did evil, which was in the sight of the Lord. So we have an 18 year old ruling as king. It only lasted three months before he was taken captive of Babylon. Now flip over to Jeremiah chapter 22. You got to remember in chapter 23 of Jeremiah, we read about the Messiah coming from King David's lineage. But we're going to back up a chapter and see there's going to be a problem with this. Because in Jeremiah 22, there's a curse that is put on Jeconiah regarding his descendants. And remember, Jeconiah was a descendant of King David. So in Jeremiah chapter 22, verse 26, it says, and this is referring to Jeconiah, verse 24 mentions that, it says, And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that beareth thee, into another country where you were not born, and there you shall die." So he's telling Jack and I, listen, there's a curse upon your family. In fact, you and your mom are going to be taken to another country that you weren't born in, and actually that's where you're going to die. And then in verse 27 it says, "...but to the land whereunto they desire to return, neither shall they not return." So even as he's in this other country, the Bible says he's going to die there, but his wish is that he can come back, but it's never going to happen. This man has been cursed. In verse 28, it says, Is this man Keniah, or Jeconiah, a despised, broken idol? Is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore, they cast out he and his seed, referring to his descendants, and are cast into a land that they know not. They're actually taken back to Babylon. O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. And here's the curse in verse 30. Thus saith the Lord. Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days. For no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah." So there's a curse here of Jeconiah. Now it sounds kind of confusing because the Bible says this man is going to be childless. But what that was referring to is that he would have no children who would reign because we know he had children. Matthew 1 verse 12 says, And he begat And he begat. It just continues on. So we know this man had children. In verse 30, it says, write this man childless. It's as if he had no children because there was a curse, which means he had no children that could take over the throne. And the Bible even says, in a couple lines, that for no man of his seed shall prosper. It wasn't that he wouldn't have children. It's just that none of his children would ever sit on King David's throne. This man did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And so we have a curse. in Jeremiah 22 about Jeconiah. But Jeconiah was in King David's lineage all the way to Joseph. In fact, the next chapter after this curse, it says, I mean, here he is pronouncing a curse on Jeconiah and his children. And the next chapter says the Messiah is going to come from King David's lineage. How can that happen if there's a curse on Jeconiah? King David came before Jeconiah. So how is that going to happen? If the king has to come from King David, and then Jeconiah is somewhere before Joseph, and Jeconiah is cursed, that means anybody after Jeconiah cannot rule or reign on the throne. So how is it going to happen? Nobody, and the key word is his seed. That's what the curse is upon, his seed. Jeremiah tells of the curse found in King David's lineage. And then he says the Messiah is coming from King David's lineage. How can that be? It can't, except by a virgin birth. So this curse here, it's worse for the children than it is for Jeconiah, although he died in a foreign country and the whole time he longed to go back. And so if we go back to Matthew one, we know that Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah. Joseph was of the seed of Jeconiah, who was of the seed of King David, who was of the seed of Abraham. So we have the lineage here. How's it going to work? Joseph, because of the curse of Jeconiah, would not be able to have a biological son sit on the throne of David. just because of that curse of Jeconiah. And that is where the virgin birth is so important. So we've already established that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. God, the father through the power of the Holy Spirit, but Jesus was a legal descendant of Joseph, which means he obtained all rights legally, although he was never a part of the blood of Joseph, which is a good thing because the bloodline of Joseph was cursed. through Jeconiah. And so although Joseph's bloodline would not sit on the throne, the royal line continued because Jesus was the legal son of Joseph. The curse had been bypassed through the virgin birth. It's another reason the virgin birth is so critical to our salvation. Let's look at another Old Testament prophecy. This had to do with what would happen before Jesus began his ministry. Malachi chapter 3, the prophecy of John the Baptist. Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, said the Lord of hosts. So we have in Malachi 3, a prophecy of John the Baptist. Malachi is predicting the ministry of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. So the role of John the Baptist was to prepare for the way of the Lord. Now, we studied Matthew, we've read about John the Baptist in his ministry, we've read about his death. So even the life of Jesus's cousin was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. But we still have one more turn to the book of Micah. In the book of Micah. Chapter two. It's even prophesied where Jesus will be born. But thou Bethlehem, Africa, though thou be little among thousands of Judah, yet out of thee, talking about Bethlehem, out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. So we have the prophecy of Bethlehem, where Jesus is going to be born. And again, world history is not going to really argue about where Jesus was born. They're not going to argue that he even really existed. They'll say he's a man. They'll even say, yeah, he was born in Bethlehem. There's some things about that that even the unbelievers are sort of given. That's not where the debate is. That's not really where unbelief is. But what you don't hear much about is that the fact that the place of Jesus, where he was going to be born, Micah's prophecy is about 700 years before Jesus's birth. Now, that should ring a bell, something I just said a few minutes ago, Isaiah prophesied 700 years before the birth of Jesus as well. See, Micah and Isaiah were contemporaries. They were living at the same time during the same time in history. Micah's ministry was actually a little bit later than Isaiah's ministry, but they both were in the southern kingdom of Judah during that same time period. And so they're both predicting and prophesying 700 years before Jesus, Isaiah, that he would be born a son of a virgin. Isaiah's saying he's going to be born in Bethlehem, and this is 700 years. They have a hard time predicting what's going to happen tomorrow, much less seven years from now. So we look at seven of the six of these prophecies in the Old Testament that surround the birth and the ministry of Jesus and how the virgin birth is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. There's a few more reasons why the virgin birth is so critical to our salvation. Number three, there in your outline, the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. These things are at stake if the virgin birth did not occur. You see, just the idea of a virgin birth is beyond really comprehension. But if it did not happen, then just that one prophecy not happening, not being fulfilled, would mean that we cannot trust the scriptures and that they are filled with error. And to claim that the virgin birth did not happen would mean that Christianity itself is a lie. And then we couldn't believe anything else we would read in the scriptures. But the virgin birth did occur. You know, in our study of Matthew, there's one thing we've never read regarding the Pharisees accusing Jesus, regarding him being the Messiah. I mean, there was always, you're not the Messiah, you're not the Messiah. But we don't ever, we don't ever hear him accusing, you don't ever hear him accusing them saying, well, Joseph's your father. I mean, the virgin birth, I don't recall it ever being brought into question. Maybe I thought it was kind of off limits in the discussion of that day, but. You know, to accuse Mary of actually not being a virgin. But if they were driven enough to kill the Messiah and hated him so much, why didn't they make that an issue? I mean, the Pharisees, they studied the scriptures, they knew about the curse of Jeconiah. They didn't even bring that up either. See, the virgin birth happened and the Bible is true. It's inerrant, meaning it's without error. It's also infallible, meaning it cannot fail and therefore can be trusted. But all that's at stake if the virgin birth did not happen. And the fourth reason the virgin birth is important for our salvation is that without a virgin birth, Christ would not have been sinless. Turn to Romans chapter five. In Romans five, verse twelve. Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men for that all have sin. How does sin come into the world? Through Adam. But Jesus was not a biological descendant of Adam. But we are. He was not of the seed of Adam. Therefore, we all in here have inherited a sin nature from our fathers. It's been passed down to me from my father, I passed it on to my children, and even this grandchild will have next year also will have a sin nature. It's the only sure thing that all of our children will really inherit. I mean, that's guaranteed. But because of the virgin birth, the sin nature of Adam was completely avoided because he was not of the seed of Adam. There was no sin in Christ. In fact, I'm going to read a few verses here of the sinlessness of Christ. I want you, especially you children, to understand Jesus never wants sin. Not only did he not do anything wrong outwardly, he never even had a bad thought. A bad attitude. I mean, that's how perfect he was in 2nd Corinthians. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. Why? That we might be made the righteousness of God. 1 Peter 2, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Hebrews 4, seeing that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. In other words, we're not talking about someone who doesn't understand what we go through on this earth. We do. It says, but in all points was tempted like we are, yet without sin. And because of that, the Bible says, let us therefore come into boldly the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace in the time of need. Jesus understands because he was a man, he understands our weakness. He understands our infirmities. He knows how hard it is to live as a man in this world. And yet he still did not sin. So since God is the father of Jesus, his son is sinless. He was not of the seed of Adam. And the miraculous conception of Jesus allowed the Lord to bypass the wicked, evil nature of sin that was found in Adam, and yet still remain in the legal line of Joseph's family as his adoptive son. That's what the sinlessness of Christ. That's why it's so important, because it has everything to do with our salvation. Because had Christ not been born of a virgin, he could not have been sinless. And then if he had not been sinless, then we could not be saved. The virgin birth had not happened when Christ died on the cross, he would not have been able to pay for our sins. He would have been a sinner. Had his father been Joseph. I want us to understand the significance and the magnitude of the virgin birth. It is critical to the Christian faith. There would be no perfect spotless lamb of God if there was no virgin birth. And therefore, there'd be no salvation for us because Jesus never sinned. He completely satisfied the demands of God's holy law, doing what no other man could ever or will ever be able to do, be saved from our sins. But the virgin birth, by going around the sinfulness of the seed of man, enabled Jesus the Messiah to be the perfect sacrifice. The fifth reason the virgin birth is so important is that it bears witness of the truth that Christ has always existed. You see, the son of man, the son of God, he calls himself the son of man. He was born of a woman. But his life did not begin in the manger. And I know during this time of year, we talk about Jesus coming to earth. But that's important to understand even that terminology, he came to earth. It wasn't that his life started in the manger. His physical life did, but Jesus has been here forever. We have a beginning point. Jesus has always existed, even in the manger. As a baby, he had already existed for eternity. And during his 33 years on earth, as a man, that was his physical life. But the virgin birth confirms His eternal nature, that He has always been. In fact, listen to John 8, verse 58. Jesus is talking to the Jews about His eternal existence. Jesus says to the Jews, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. Now think about what He's saying. Your father Abraham, go back hundreds and hundreds of years. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. And then the Jews said unto him, Thou art not fifty years old. I mean, they're looking at Jesus going, you're not even 50. How have you seen Abraham? That's what they asked him in John 58. You're not even 50 years old. How in the world did you see Abraham? And Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. He's referring to his eternal existence, even before the manger. And then later, Jesus was praying in John 17. And this is what he prays to his father. He says, I have glorified thee on earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do. Now, father, glorify me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee. And he says when? Before the world was. He's telling the father about his glory and the glory that he had. Jesus had even before the world became into existence. How can you do that if you're born of the seed of Adam? You can't. Jesus was the son of God, not the son of a sinful man. And as great as a man as Joseph was, my other than Jesus, my hero of the scripture, is Joseph, the husband of Mary. And as great as a man as he was, he was still a sinner because he was a son of the seed of Adam. And then lastly, there, the virgin birth provides for us the pathway for the payment for our sin. I realize the death of Christ was our payment. It was through his precious blood. But had he not been born of a virgin, that payment would not have been sufficient. It paved the path for Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice. 1 Peter 1, 18 and 19 tells us, For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, for your vain conversion received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot. This is where our redemption is found, not in something that's like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. You see, if Jesus had not been perfect, had he not kept God's law, Jesus would not have been sinless. And then there would be no payment that would be sufficient for our sin for all of eternity. We'd have to pay for our sin ourselves through death. There's a great truth here. Jesus was and is our only hope for salvation. His blood was the payment for our redemption. But had he not been born of a virgin, he would have had the sin of Adam in him. But he was not born naturally. He was born supernaturally or conceived supernaturally. And because of the virgin birth and his sinless life, the perfect sacrifice was made on our behalf. Now, I want us to understand during this Christmas season that The doctrine of the virgin birth is essential to our salvation. And I know that during this time of year we hear, you know, Jesus is the reason for the season. You see it on church signs, you see it on bumper stickers. But the truth is, Jesus is the reason for all seasons. He's the reason for our salvation. He's the reason that we can have salvation. December is not Jesus month. Every day is to be lived for his glory. to further his kingdom. And yet we pause this time of year to celebrate his birth as the shepherds were awakened during the night and startled and were told the good news. But this isn't even about a birthday party. Christmas is about salvation beginning. In the life of a baby that was born in a manger that was a virgin. Who conceived the son of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. And because of that, salvation had come to earth. And now we can be saved. Let's pray. Father, I thank you that this year, as we celebrate during Christmas time, the birth of our Savior, that we would not forget the great doctrine of the virgin birth. Not only the miracle of it, but the result. We have a Savior. We have a sacrifice because of his death that satisfied you. Lord, I thank you that we do pause during this time and we are grateful for what you have done. And we celebrate the miraculous birth. But Lord, because of. The sinlessness of Christ. You bypassing the curse of Jeconiah. Yet still keeping Jesus in the legal line of Joseph to fulfill prophecy and Lord, these things spoken even all the way back to the Garden of Eden. How sure your word is. That we humble ourselves Submit to the Savior. Father, thank you for your goodness to us. In Jesus' name, Amen.