This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
6 sermons cite this verse
… I'm going to focus on verse 20. Verse 18 says, now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed, that word betrothed means engaged, was engaged to Joseph before they came together. Somebody say before they came together. Just for those who don't know what that means, that means before they had sex. she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly, to end the engagement secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of Mary, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife. For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. This is a big deal. It's a big deal because it distinguishes Jesus from you and I. Amen. You here because your mama and daddy did it. …
… He says, All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet, that a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us. And I think that's incredible. But let's put a context around this. The context is what? Isaiah said these words. Again, Matthew's quoting these words over 600 years after Isaiah wrote those words. And he says, all this took place to fulfill what had been spoken to Isaiah the prophet. Almost 700 years before this, Isaiah had spoken these words. God had spoken these words. God had made this promise. Now think about if you were living in the time of Isaiah, here's a promise. you never got to see the promise fulfilled. The generation after Isaiah, you lived in the promise, you never got to see the promise fulfilled. Next generation, next generation. In fact, the letter to the Hebrews talks about, Hebrews chapter 11, where the author of Hebrews is going through all of these people who were promised God's blessings, promised a certain thing. …
… I believe it's going to bless you today. Let's begin reading in Matthew 1, verse 18. And I don't want to hurry through this. This is a beautiful story. This is what it all comes to. This is what all of the types and the shadows and the tabernacle and the sacrifices and the priesthood, it all comes to this moment. Verse 18, now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly to divorce her. Because back then, if you were engaged to be married, you had to get a divorce. But 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. …
… to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, 14 generations. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet. Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph awoke from his sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus. This is the word of God for you, the people of God. Thanks be to God. …
The virgin birth shows us that God is God. As Jesus comes into the world, Matthew 1, verses 18 through 25, can we have class before I preach? Matthew 1, verses 18 through 25, it says that Mary conceives before her and Joseph shake hands. Which means Jesus is conceived unlike anybody else. Before Joseph and Mary hook up, Mary's already pregnant. Now we're trying to duplicate that and replicate that in our culture now in a human way. I think we call it in vitro fertilization. And we're trying to figure out with humanity how to plant seeds. But before scientists could get together and try to figure it out, the God who made science. Brought Jesus in the world in verse number 18 of Matthew 1 says the Holy Spirit planted the seed in Mary. and she became impregnated. It is the virgin birth that causes Jesus to stand alone unlike any other. He is born unlike any other, conceived unlike any other, which qualifies him to be unlike any other and to be the savior for the entire world. …
… Matthew chapter 1, beginning at verse 18, it reads this way from the New International Version. This is how the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law. Everyone say faithful to the law. Because he was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son and he gave him the name Jesus. You may be seated in the presence of our God. …