--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3
... VERSE 27:
Luke 1:27 --- "To a
virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of
David; and the virgin's name was Mary."
Here we have an announcement with some
specifics included!
The angel went to see a young Jewish girl
named Mary. Her name means (according to Unger's Bible
Dictionary) stubborn or obstinate! She is here perhaps a
type of mankind ... who is lost and rebellious and stubborn in
our sins! Mary, you know, was born into sin and had to be
saved just like everyone else who goes to Heaven! In fact, once
she called Jesus her "Saviour!" She got saved! (Luke 1:47
--- "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour.")
Yet this lady whose name means stubborn
... surely was submissive to the Will of her Father in
Heaven! Her now famous words after hearing of God's
(Virgin-Birth) plan: "And Mary said,
Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy
word." Luke 1:38
But not only was Mary a godly young lady
... she was a Virgin too! The Greek word here is "parthenos"
and means a lady who has never had sexual intercourse with a
man. It is so used 14 times in the King James Bible
(always being translated "virgin")! The Virgin Birth of
Jesus is a Bible reality! And it is a necessary part of
Jesus' Incarnation which is essential to our very salvation!
(Jesus "incarnate" is Jesus "in the flesh!" Flesh
in Latin = "carne" ... and within in Latin = "in!"
Jesus came as God
in human flesh!)
The verb "espoused" translates "mnesteuo"
and means betrothed or promised in marriage. It is similar to
our expression "engaged" but was much more binding. It was
a legal and permanent agreement to marriage ... just lacking the
physical aspects of the commitment. For all purposes Mary
and Joseph were as good as married ... without having ever
"touched" each other sexually.
For the noun "man" Scriptures uses the
term "aner," meaning the male of the species! We're
talking husband/wife and male/female language here for sure.
And the name Joseph, a godly man of the
tribe of Judah, means "adding and adding" to something that
already existed. Joseph had nothing to do with the Birth
of Jesus ... but was certainly used of our Lord to "add" to
God's great program of Redemption. He gave Jesus a legal home
and provided for Him via his carpentry work in those early
years. After Jesus' 12th year, Joseph is never mentioned
in the narrative again. Perhaps he died when Jesus was
still a young Man.
If so, Jesus as the Firstborn Son, would
have had to specially care for Mary His mother.
Not incidentally is added that Joseph was
of the "house of David." He was in the blood-line that led
back to the king (David) himself! Therefore Jesus is in
line to legally occupy the Throne some day ... the throne of
Israel I mean. He already occupies the Throne of God!
Notice that TWICE in this short verse we
are told that Mary was a Virgin! Don't suggest to me that
the Virgin Birth is not emphasized by these Gospel writers!
(That's exactly what the liberals and Bible haters say!)
Now we've met the main characters in the
Birth Narrative of Jesus.
Tomorrow, Lord willing, we'll see what the
angel says to Mary the Virgin.
It is one exciting message!
In fact, because this exciting message
came to pass just as Gabriel said ... I got an equally exciting
message years ago! Jesus saves!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4:
The great doctrine of the Virgin Birth is
under attack perhaps as never before in all of history!
Just the other day I heard a "liberal" (a
Bible hater) say that the Gospel of Mark, considered by many to
be the first Gospel chronologically, does not even mention
Jesus' Virgin Birth at all!
The enemies of the Gospel blatantly say
that Mark must have been ignorant of the whole doctrine ... due
to his "silence!"
But what if the Virgin Birth was so
commonly believed that no further mention of it was necessary at
all? Is that not at least a possibility? But the
closed minded haters of Jesus will not even consider that!
By the time Mark wrote I guarantee you that everyone knew of
Jesus miraculous Birth and life and death and resurrection and
ascension! Mark did not need to re-teach it to the
Believers to whom he was writing!
And while it is true that
there is no explicit reference to the Virgin Birth in Mark, I do
believe some inferences to it are often seen!
For example,
Mark is the only Gospel
writer who does not once even
mention Mary's husband Joseph! Not once!
In fact, it seems that Mark went out of
his way to avoid the name!
Since Mark recorded no birth story for
Jesus at all ... it would have been risky for him to infer that
Mary and Joseph reared Jesus in Nazareth in their home by the
carpenter shop! So ... to avoid any misunderstanding ...
Mark just does not mention Joseph at all!
He took pains not to suggest (or even
hint) that Jesus was the Son of Joseph!
But I will tell you Who Mark says is
the Father of Jesus.
And it does not take him long to tell us
either!
Read Mark 1:1!
"The beginning of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God!"
Wow!
Folks, that's pretty strong evidence!
Jesus is NOT
Joseph's son. He is God's Son! And He came to earth
in a physical body by means of a
virgin's womb!
And ... hear me ... what we believe about
Jesus' identity and life work ... determines where we shall
spend eternity ... heaven or hell!
The Bible says in Romans 10:9 ---
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5 ... VERSE
28: (SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2004)
Today we are to study Luke 1:28 ---
"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art
highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among
women."
The angel (in Greek = "aggelos" or
messenger) is Gabriel.
The verb "came in" translates "eiserchomai,"
a Greek compound word meaning to enter into someone. We
are being told here that the angel actually entered into Mary's
consciousness. The verb is used when Jesus entered into a
country and when He entered into a room as well. The "aorist"
tense here indicates that this happened one time only.
The angel's first words were "said" to
Mary, a verb ("lego") meaning to speak with forethought and
logic behind one's communication! Gabriel did not "jabber"
or "gossip" ... he carefully spoke the truth. He was just
delivering (apparently word-for-word) a message from God!
THE Message from God for that hour!
"Hail" is "chairo" in Greek and means
"rejoice!" It is an imperative verb ... issuing a command!
Mary, fear not ... but rather rejoice! It is strongly
believed that at this time in Israel's history (due to Daniel's
"70 weeks" of prophecy) the godly people of the land knew Jesus
was soon to come! Hence every precious virgin in
Israel who truly had faith was hopeful that Jesus just might be
born through her womb! And Mary was the chosen one!
Rejoice, young lady! (In our King James Bible it is
rendered "hail" 5 times and "rejoice" 42 times!)
The other 4 New Testament times this word
(in its exact form as here) is used is invariably in the context
of Calvary! (Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion!) So
this grammatical point links the Virgin Birth and the Vicarious
Death of our dear Lord! What a thing of amazing beauty!
The first time it is used in the New
Testament's first Gospel is in Matthew 2:10 ---
"When they (the wise men) saw the star,
they rejoiced
with exceeding great joy." Again, this is
associated with the Virgin Birth! I wonder in what
"constellation" this star was located? Could it have been
"The Virgin" or some other Type of Christ? No doubt!
The next descriptive phrase is "highly
favoured!" The word "chariton" means "graced!" It is
a verb form of "charis," the noun for grace! It has a
"perfect" sense of time and suggests that Mary was graced
of God from that very moment forward!
According to Paul (using the same "root"
verb) we also who are saved have been "graced" by God! In
Colossians 2:13 where he says: "And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you
all trespasses," the verb "having forgiven" is "graced
away!"
Additionally, in Ephesians 1:6 we are told
that Believers are: "To the praise
of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us
accepted in the Beloved." We have been
"graced" or "highly favoured" in the Beloved, Who is Jesus!
Mary, who had Jesus IN her literally and
physically, was highly favoured. And we Christians who
have "Christ IN us" spiritually are also highly favoured!
It's the same word in both cases! ("
... The glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is
Christ in you,
the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27)
Wow!
Next we read ... Mary, the Lord is also
"with" thee! The preposition here is "meta" and means "in
the midst!" Literally this will be true of the Virgin!
The body of our Lord will live within her womb for 9 months!
Yet today when we meet as a church body, He (through the Holy
Spirit) is in our "midst: too! "For
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of
them." Matthew 18:20
And the word "blessed" translates "eulogeo,"
meaning "well spoken of!" We have a "perfect" tense here
... "well spoken of" from that day forward! (Some have
carried this way too far! Others not far enough! But
we are to respect this godly young lady who was chosen to bear
the little body of our Saviour!)
Mary will hear these words yet again
(twice) from the lips of Elisabeth. In Luke 1:42 we
read: "And she (Elisabeth) spake out with
a loud voice, and said,
Blessed art thou (Mary) among women, and
blessed is
the fruit of thy womb."
The only other time it is used in this
exact form is in Mark 11:10 where it's used in reference to the
Davidic Line! "Blessed
be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the
name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest."
The Virgin Born One will some day be King
of the Jews too!
How we all should appreciate the obedience
and submission (not to mention the purity) of this young lady,
the Virgin Mary!
When God plans to do something, He does it
well! It was said of Jesus: "He hath
done all things well." Mark 7:37
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6 ...
VERSE 29:
"And when she saw him, she was troubled at
his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this
should be." Luke 1:29
This verse gives us a glimpse into the
inner workings of Mary's mind. It actually tells us how
this pure godly young lady thought.
The "blessing" from Gabriel astonished
her! In fact, it "troubled" her! (The verb "saw"
means to perceive, to understand or to comprehend as well as to
visually notice.)
To be troubled ("diatarasso" in Greek)
means to stir or to agitate (as when water is in turmoil)!
The prefix "dia" means through and through! Mary was
completely upset by this salutation. The word is found
only here in all the Bible!
Maybe Mary was "hopeful" about some things
concerning the prophetic plan of God! She knew the Bible
quite well. I think it's even possible that she was
anxiously anticipating more information from this angel of God!
Just maybe! Just maybe He had some real good news to
share! (Maybe the Saviour was coming soon, the very
Messiah for Whom the righteous had so long waited!)
The noun for "saying" ("logos") means a
pre-pondered and logically deduced statement! It's a
message from God Himself to this little virgin maiden!
Then the unusual phrase "cast in her mind"
must be studied. It is in Greek "dialogizomai" and means
to reckon or to calculate or to enumerate one's thoughts in an
orderly manner! She meditated or concentrated studied
these facts she had been given so far.
Both action words ("was troubled" and
"cast in her mind") so far are "perfect" verbs in the middle
voice. They suggest activity that once started (and
completed) ... continued onward with influence and bearing on
the young girl's mind and heart. The "middle" voice further
proves that these "troublings" and "ponderings" impacted Mary
... changed her in some way. (I'd say for the good!)
The little word "manner" can mean "from
what country!" I'd say this is amazing! The Message
Gabriel soon will give IS from another land!
"Salutation" is "asposmos" in Greek and
means a greeting. ("Spao," it's root, means to draw near
to hug something or someone!)
Something great is going to happen and
Mary senses it already!
Let me close by saying this: Mary
was spiritually discerning! She was sensitive to the times
and to the moving of God in her life!
She here reminds me of a certain tribe of
the Israelites described in 1 Chronicles 12:32 ---
"And of the children of Issachar, which
were men that had understanding of the times, to know what
Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred;
and all their brethren were at their commandment."
Do you reckon it's about time some of us
in these last days ask the Lord to make us more discerning about
the "times" in which we live?
"Times" that just may be as close to a
GREAT prophetic event as was the Virgin Mary in her days!
I'm saying: Jesus is coming again!
And it could be soon ... real soon!
"Even so, come, Lord
Jesus." Revelation 22:20
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7 ... LUKE CHAPTER 1
...
VERSE 30:
Luke 1:30 tells us:
"And
the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found
favour with God."
God is a Heavenly Father Who seeks to remove
our fear!
I just counted sixty three times that
Scripture records the expression "fear not!" (The vast majority
of these are from the lips of the Lord God Almighty too!)
These begin in Genesis 15:1 when God speaks
to Abraham and continue through Revelation 1:17 where the
glorified Christ Jesus calms John the Apostle on the Isle of
Patmos!
The noun "favor" is in Greek "charis" or
grace!
"Noah found grace in
the eyes of the Lord" says Genesis 6:8. Certainly,
Mary did too!
You might say that Mary has been "graced" by
God! (That's precisely what Gabriel said to her in verse
28 ... "thou art highly favoured!" In
Greek it looks like this: "charitoo." That is "charis" or
"grace" used as a verb!)
The only other use of this exact verb is in
Ephesians 1:6 where WE are said to be graced by God ... or
"accepted" by Him! Here's the verse:
"To the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us
accepted in the beloved." (A distantly
related verb is used in Colossians 2:13 and numerous other
places too.)
Mary was about to be "graced" because Jesus
was going to be literally IN her (the virgin birth)!
We are also "graced" because Jesus is IN us
via the Holy Spirit! Let's allow Paul to tell us our hope:
"To whom God would make known what is
the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles;
which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory." Colossians 1:27
No wonder Paul often greeted his converts to
Christ with these simple words: "Grace and
Peace!"
See Romans 1:7 and 1 Corinthians 1:3 and 2
Corinthians 1:3 and Galatians 1:3 and Ephesians 1:2 and
Philippians 1:2 and Colossians 1:2 and 1 Thessalonians 1:1 and 2
Thessalonians 1:2 and 1 Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2 and Titus
1:4 and Philemon verse 3! Wow!
You can't have "peace"
until you first have experienced His
"grace!"
This is amazing!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8 ... JOHN AND
THE VIRGIN BIRTH:
Those who teach
(???) the Bible and will not admit to the Virgin Birth often say
something like this: "The Biblical writings of John never
mention the miraculous Birth of Jesus!"
They actually
deny John the knowledge of this great Doctrine!
Now ... if you
look for the word "virgin" in John's Books (five of them) ... it
is not there. (However, both Matthew and Luke DO have the word
in reference to Mary and the Birth of Jesus!)
BUT if you look
for the theme of the Virgin Birth (in John) it is often mentioned
... or at least implied ... in one way or another.
There's just no
other way to explain this particular verse. John 1:14 ---
"And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh, and
dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
How did Jesus
become flesh? How did God make our Lord incarnate? ("Carne"
means flesh and "in" means within.") God the Second Person put
within human flesh!
There's only one
possible Bible way! By means of the womb of a virgin young lady
named Mary!
That's a
reference to the Virgin Birth for sure!
And here's at
least an "inference."
We look at the
two verses preceding John 1:14. "But as
many as received HIM (Jesus), to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word (Jesus)
was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father,) full of grace
and truth." On both sides of the descriptive term I've
underlined (modifying our new birth in Christ) ... Jesus is
clearly mentioned !
How does one get
saved?
By receiving
Jesus!
By being
"born-again!" (Another of Jesus' terms used by John!)
And this "new
birth" ... what's so special about it?
For one thing ...
it is "paralleled" here to Jesus birth! To Jesus' incarnation!
To Jesus' being "made flesh!"
We were "born"
(again) ... "not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God!" (Your
earthly Daddy had nothing to do with your new birth in a
physical sense! Sexual relationships had not one thing to do
with your getting saved! It was all of God!)
JUST AS
(and this is what John is saying here)
... Jesus' "being made flesh" (His Birth) was NOT of
blood ... and NOT of the will of the flesh ... and NOT of the
will of man ... BUT OF GOD!
Amen!
Then, thirdly, in
John's Gospel ... Jesus and the "Jews" were having a
conversation about the Messiah! They, scoffing and mocking,
said to the Lord, "Do the rulers know
indeed that this is the very Christ?" Then the Rulers
themselves speak up and declare: "Howbeit
we know this man (Jesus) whence he is:
but when Christ cometh,
no man knoweth whence he is." Whereupon Jesus is
described: "Then cried Jesus in the
temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and
ye know whence I am: and I am not come of
myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not."
John 7:26-28
Folks, this is a
Virgin Birth discussion. And John knew that his readers were
familiar enough with that great Doctrine to read "between the
lines" and understand the implications of this whole
conversation!
All of a sudden
John's "silence" about the Virgin Birth has begun to
thunder rather
loudly!
Do not ever let
anyone tell you that the Virgin Birth is a relatively minor
teaching of Scripture! It is a Fundamental Fact of the Faith.
If you do not
believe He is the virgin-born Son of God ... you can't even be
saved!
If He is not God
(in a human body) ... His death on Calvary can be neither
substitutionary nor atoning in its power!
Paul is right.
Jesus was (and still is) "God manifest in the
flesh!" 1 Timothy 3:16
Hebrews 10:5,
quoting the Psalmist (Psalm 40), says of Jesus:
"Wherefore when he cometh into the world,
he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not,
but a body hast thou
prepared me." God prepared Jesus a body ...
through the miracle known as the Virgin Birth!
And I didn't even
get to John's Epistles yet!
Listen.
"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesseth that
Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh is of God: And every spirit that
confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this
is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it
should come; and even now already is it in the world."
1st John 4:2-3 (And HOW did Jesus Christ come in the flesh?
Via the Virgin Birth!)
And read:
"For many
deceivers are
entered into the world,
who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
This is a deceiver
and an antichrist."
2nd John 7
Why, John is a
Virgin Birth Preacher for sure!
Praise the dear
Name of our Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9 ... VERSE 31:
Here comes some great news!
And a young lady heard it first!
The angel Gabriel said: "And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son,
and shalt call his name JESUS." Luke 1:31
"Behold" is an imperative verb that means:
"Look!"
The verb "shalt conceive" translates "sullambano,"
a Greek future tense middle voice action word! It means
"to take or get hold of" ("lambano") and "with" ("sun"), a
preposition which intensifies the activity. It can even
mean "to seize." It is only used 16 times in the Bible! It
is translated in various (but accurate) ways such as: to help,
to catch fish, and to arrest! (I have given here either
the literal wording of the King James Version or a grammatical
synonym true to the text.)
Did Mary so long to be the mother of the
Messiah that she actually had via prayer or submission or purity
of life seized the opportunity? This word for "conceive"
in meaning is similar to the verb Jeremiah uses in reference (I
believe) to the Virgin Birth! "For
the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman
shall compass a
man." Jeremiah 31:22 (Wow!)
The "middle" voice of "conceive" indicates
that Mary will be impacted and changed by this event too!
(She was never to be the same again!)
Then the noun womb is "gaster" in Greek.
It literally means the stomach ... but here by contextual study
obviously means the womb!
The child shall be a little Boy! ("Huios"
emphasizes the humanity of Jesus/God becoming man!)
The Name "Jesus" means salvation!
(Literally, Jehovah is Salvation!)
What an announcement!
And the angel is not through yet! In
fact, he's just getting started!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10 ... VERSES 32
AND 33:
All our Christian
lives we believers have heard preachers talk about "comparing
Scripture with Scripture."
Isaiah was mocked
for preaching "line upon line and precept upon precept!" (See
Isaiah 28:10 and 13.)
And each of us has
been taught that the Old Testament has in it the New Testament
concealed! And the New Testament is in reality the Old
Testament revealed!
There are two verses in the Annunciation
(Gabriel's Message to Mary about the Virgin Birth of Jesus) that
well illustrate the truth of New Testament/Old Testament
harmony!
This is the "heart" of the Angel's Message!
Gabriel, speaking of Jesus, told Mary:
"He shall be great, and 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 for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
Luke 1:32-33
These words closely parallel a passage in the
Old Testament! In 2nd Samuel chapter seven (verses 8-16) we,
through the Prophet Nathan, hear the Lord promising David some
things. More about this in a second.
First we had best analyze a few key words in
our Luke (Virgin Birth) text.
The adjective "great"
is in Greek "mega!" It means big (in height and length
and mass and weight and statue and age and compass and extent!)
We have a Mega-Saviour!
He also will be know as the Son of the "Most
High" God! "Highest" (in Greek =
hupsistos") means most high (in rank)! Luke just declared Jesus
to be God!
He also will sit on a
throne (in Greek = "thronos") which here means a seat.
(A Royal Seat!)
He will occupy the very Throne of
David! (Hence the Child will have
to be out of the Tribe of Judah!)
His lineage or genealogy will be traceable
back through and including King David himself!
And His Kingdom will last
for ever! (In Greek = "eis tous
aionos" ... into the ages!) Eternally King!
Jesus either has or will fulfill ALL of these
prophecies!
But ... again ... many
godly Bible students have noticed that the angel's message
roughly corresponds to the Old Testament promise given David
about his throne lasting for ever!
Watch: In 2 Samuel 7:8-16 the Prophet Nathan
reports God's very Words to David ... "I
have made thee a great name!" And of David's posterity:
"I will establish the throne of his
kingdom for ever." Then of David's seed it is said:
"I will be his father and he shall be my
son." Furthermore, "Thy house and
thy kingdom shall be established for ever: thy throne shall be
established for ever!"
In each case where I've used
blue type ... the Old Testament is
revealed and fulfilled in Jesus! Jesus is The Promised One! He
is the Apex (the Height, the Supreme One) of David's lineage!
He will complete all these qualifications literally!
God keeps His Word,
doesn't He?
So ... based on this information ... JESUS is
the literal Son of David, King of Israel and Saviour of the
world!
This is great news about a great Saviour! (A
Mega-Saviour again!)
Praise His Name!
(Don't ever be afraid to compare and delight
in the many Old Testament/New Testament relationships! They are
beautiful!)
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11 ...
VERSE 34:
"Then said Mary unto
the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" Luke
1:34
What a question!
To "know" a man is here used in the sexual
sense. It's the Greek parallel to Adam's situation in
Genesis 4:1 --- "And Adam knew Eve
his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have
gotten a man from the LORD."
Mary is helping us (by her sincere question)
to more clearly understand that Jesus' Birth is supernatural ...
without any human (male) involvement!
The adverb "how" means "by what means, in
what way or after what manner!"
Watch this.
Mary asked a question prompted by the angelic
announcement ... and got a gracious answer!
Zecharias asked such a question also prompted
by Gabriel's announce (concerning the birth of little John the
Baptist) and was sharply rebuked! Struck dumb!
The question: "And
Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I
am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years." Luke
1:18
The rebuke: "And
the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in
the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew
thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and
not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be
performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be
fulfilled in their season." Luke 1:19-20
The only answer I know is this.
Mary asked sincerely in faith ... and was
rewarded!
Zecharias asked in doubt ... and was
disciplined!
Either way ... we learn that God is at work
in the births of these two godly children!
One a great Prophet!
The Other ... the God-Man!
Praise the Lord for the Virgin Birth!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 12 ... LUKE'S
OBVIOUS EMPHASIS ON THE MOTHER OF THE CHILD! (SIMPLY BECAUSE THE
CHILD HAD NO EARTHLY FATHER!)
In the Gospel of Luke's birth account of John
the Baptist, great emphasis is laid upon the child's father,
Zecharias. In Luke 1:5-25 I have counted (using nouns and
pronouns alike) a 3 to 1 ratio in Zechariah references as
opposed to Elisabeth references. The focus is on Daddy!
That's just the way it is in Biblical
culture. Remember how the two Disciples of Jesus, James and
John, are often designated. Five times in the New Testament
they are "the sons of Zebedee!" (Sons of their father!) This
is so typical.
However, when Luke begins to relate the story
of Jesus' Virgin Birth, His emphasis dramatically shifts to the
mother of the Child! In fact, it appears to me that
Mary's eventual husband Joseph is only mentioned when necessary!
This is atypical, unusual ... even unique!
It is another way to discern spiritually the
fact of the miraculous Virgin Birth of Jesus!
Isaiah was right! A Virgin DID conceive and
bring forth a Son, the Son of God! ("Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Isaiah 7:14)
The Holy Spirit teaches us this great
Doctrine both directly and indirectly. He reveals it both in
thunderous tones of dogma and slight whispers of Scriptural
syntax.
Jesus, the Second Person of the triune
Godhead, came to earth by means of a virgin's womb! How very
amazing!
Indeed it was a silent night, a holy night,
when Christ the Saviour was born! Virgin Born!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 13 ... THE
EPISTLE OF 1ST JOHN AND THE VIRGIN BIRTH:
I've just counted the clause five times (5
times) in the little Epistle of First John!
John, under Holy Spirit leadership, seems to
love it!
See if you can "spot" what I mean.
1 John 3:9 ---
"Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he
cannot sin, because he is born of
God."
1 John 4:7 ---
"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every
one that loveth is born of God,
and knoweth God."
1 John 5:1 ---
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is
born of God: and every one that
loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."
1 John 5:4 --- "For
whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith."
1 John 5:18 --- "We
know that whosoever is born of God
sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and
that wicked one toucheth him not."
See it?
"Born of God!"
Where did John get such terminology?
In the Old Testament, John would have been
drawing primarily from Psalm 2:7 where the Father is speaking to
the Son --- "I will declare the decree:
the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day
have I begotten
thee."
In the Greek Bible that John would have been
using, the verbs are the same in Psalm 2:7 ("begotten")
and in every instance of his First Epistle's
"born of God" sequences!
And Psalm 2:7 unquestionably is speaking of
The Messiah, of Jesus!
Even in His Gospel John refers to Jesus as
"born of God!" In John 1:14 John says ---
"And the Word was made
("born")
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Then John adds in John 1:18 --- "No man
hath seen God at any time; the only begotten
("born") Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."
John calls us who are saved "born of God"
ones!
And Jesus also is the One "born of God"
in relation to His humanity, His physical body!
What I'm trying to say (rather awkwardly I
fear) is this: Jesus is "born of God." That's the Virgin
Birth! We too are "born of God!" That's the New
Birth!
This strongly argues for the Virgin Birth!
Just as Jesus' Birth was a miracle ... born
of God, not of man ... (follow this reasoning now) ... so our
being saved, our new birth is a miracle, man having nothing to
do with "fathering" us!
So, dear Christian friend, your (new) birth
is also a miracle! You are born of God too! No human
father ... just the Holy Spirit! Along with the "seed" of
the Word! James says to "Receive with
meekness the engrafted ("implanted") word, which is able to save
your souls." James 1:21
We've just seen our NEW BIRTH distinctly
compared to Jesus' VIRGIN BIRTH!
Thank God for salvation!
Paul says we are "cruified with Christ" in
Galatians 2:20. That would mean nothing if Jesus had not
literally been "crucified" ... which He was! Therefore
when John (6 times) says we are "born of God" ... that would
mean nothing if Someone had not literally been born ... not of
Adam or his fallen race, but ... born of God literally!
Again, that is the Virgin Birth! It was such an assured
Truth in John's mind that he argued from it almost
unconsciously!
I've always firmly believed in the Virgin
Birth.
But, truly, after having studied these
lessons and numerous Bible Passages, I believe it more than
ever! It's in the very "warp and woof" of Scripture!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 14 ...
VERSE 35:
This great verse is the "apex"
of the whole paragraph!
The angel Gabriel here answers
Mary's question, "How shall this be?"
"And the
angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshdow thee:
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35
The verb "answered" is a
rendering of the Greek word "apokrinomai," which means "to give
judgment from oneself." This angelic response has behind it some
serious forethought. (In fact, the very omniscience of God
supports it! Here comes the Virgin Birth described in
proper yet thorough fashion.)
The accompanying verb "saith"
is an aorist form of "lego." Again, logical deliberate
expression is indicated. Both verbs are telling us that
the action described is in the past and is complete. This
conversation will not again occur.
The "Holy Ghost" ("hagios
pneuma") is the Third Member of the Godhead. (Very God of
Very God!) The Father devised the plan of redemption.
The Son gave Himself to effect it. And the Spirit executes
it in the lives of human beings!
To "come upon" one is to "eperchomai"
and means to influence, to arrive, to supervene or to impend.
This verb is used less than a dozen times in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirit is again
promised to "come upon" some in Acts 1:8!
"But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come
upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth."
Jesus (using this same verb)
has "come upon" the devil and robbed him of his spoils too!
(I believe this happened at Calvary.) See Luke 11:22.
"Power" is the noun "dunamis,"
indicating strength in action! Miraculous power! Some
scholars label dunamis as "inherent power." (Stored power
within an entity ... with plenty for future use!)
"Highest" is the superlative
form of "hupsos," and means most high! (Or greatest in
rank!) We do serve the "Most High God!" See Genesis
14:18-19.
The verb "overshadow" is "episkiazo"
("epi" = upon! "skia" = shade!) One lexicon says:
to envelope in a haze of brilliancy! Only 5 times do we
see this verb in all the Bible! Four of those five times
it refers exclusively to Jesus! (Three times are in
reference to His Transfiguration ... and once here to His Virgin
Birth.) The fifth time it's used is in Acts 5:15 of Peter.
The word indicates the overwhelming Presence of God!
Then comes a darling term used
in regard to our dear Lord! He is "that Holy Thing!" All three words translate but one noun in Greek ... "hagios!"
(It is neuter in gender ... so the King James translators
rendered it "thing.") Luke loves this word! Of the
22 times it is used in the New Testament, all of them but 4 are
in Luke or Acts!
And we are studying the Virgin
BIRTH ... so Luke (a physician) uses the verb "gennao," meaning
"to bear a child." There is some reason to believe that the
word can also mean "to conceive." If so ... this verb,
being in the present passive form here, possibly means that the Conception could
have occurred the very moment Gabriel announced it. (I
base this comment on the sheer grammar of the words involved.)
A further "hint" of this may
be that the verb "shall be called" translates "kaleo" as a
future passive ... the naming will come later! (Although
the Name has been given prior to Birth ... and that by God
Himself!)
Who is He? This Child of
Mary the Virgin?
He is "The Son of God!"
He is the "huios" (son) ... with an emphasis on the
honor of such a position! (So the noun implies!) It is
a word invested with dignity ... the son of His Father!
I point out that the first
time the "string" is used ("the Son of God") is in Daniel 3:25
where Nebuchadnezzar sees four men walking in the fire!
"Lo,
I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they
have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
The next two times it's used
in the Bible, the devil employs it! During Jesus'
temptation (Matthew 4:3 and 6) our Lord is so addressed!
Then finally, after the
miracle of stilling the storm (having walked on the water), the
disciples call Jesus "the Son of God!" (Matthew
14:33 --- "Then they that were in the ship
came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art
the Son of God.")
Jesus is "the Son of God" in
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts. Romans, 2nd Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Hebrews, 1st John and Revelation!
(Nine times alone in John's Gospel and seven more in His First
Epistle!)
God came to earth!
Immanuel!
God with us!
We have here as far as Jesus'
humanity (body) is concerned a "new creation!" This has
never happened before nor will it ever again!
One writer compared this to
the original creation week! The earth was without form and
void ... until the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters
... then came LIGHT and LIFE! So Mary's womb too was empty
and unfulfilled ... until the Very Same Spirit moved
(overshadowed her) and then really came LIGHT and LIFE
(JESUS)!!!
Hallelujah!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 15 ...
VERSES 36 AND 37:
The Angel Gabriel makes the
statement. He is talking to the young Jewish Virgin Mary.
Luke 1:37 records it word for
word: "For with God nothing shall be
impossible."
How very encouraging!
These words remind one of
Genesis 18:14 where God asks Abraham:
"Is any thing too hard for the LORD?"
Or God's question again in
Jeremiah 32:27 ---
"Behold, I am
the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard
for me?"
I think that in the context of
this Virgin Birth (just announced to Mary), the Lord felt it
appropriate to remind the young maiden that HE could do
anything!
(Anything! Even to
bringing His only begotten Son into the world by means of
physical birth!)
When Israel had the army of
Pharaoh behind them and the sea in front of them ... seems like
I can hear old Gabriel saying: "Is
any thing too hard for the LORD?"
When three Hebrew young men
were being thrown into a burning fiery furnace, I can hear him
again: "Is any thing too hard for
the LORD?"
When Daniel was thrown into
the den of lions ... listen! "Is any
thing too hard for the LORD?"
When YOU face your next great
battle ... I trust these words of Gabriel (meaning ... the man
of God) will echo in your ears: "Is
any thing too hard for the LORD?"
And just to illustrate his
point the angel recounts something that has recently happened to
Mary's cousin Elisabeth. "And,
behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in
her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was
called barren." Luke 1:36
Now in her later years,
Elisabeth giving birth will also be a miracle of God. (Although
let it be understood that John the Baptist had a literal
physical Daddy, Zecharias! Jesus is the Son of God!)
God often loves to re-tell an
old story that magnifies His power and grace!
So should we!
For example, Psalm 105:2 encourages us to:
"Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk
ye of all his wondrous works."
And here's the longing of
David in Psalm 26:7
--- "That I may publish with the voice of
thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works."
Let's today join in the heart
throb of Psalm
145:4 --- "One generation shall praise thy
works to another, and shall declare thy mighty
acts."
The last Psalm actually
commands us to ... "Praise him for his
mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness."
Psalm 150:2
And one of His mightiest acts?
The Virgin Birth!
Thank God for the Virgin
Birth!
(Paul so loved to tell of
God's mighty power in saving his lost soul that he recorded it
in Acts 9 ... and again in Acts 22 ... and yet a third time in
Acts 26!)
Go tell a man or woman today
something GREAT the Lord has done for you! Then tell them
about the GREAT Virgin Birth too!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 16 ...
PAUL AND THE LAST ADAM ... HINTS OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH:
In 1st Corinthians 15 Paul
compares Christ Jesus to Adam.
For example, he says in 1
Corinthians 15:22 --- "For as in Adam all
die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
Everyone "in" Adam dies!
Everyone "in" Jesus lives!
Then in verse 45 the Apostle
adds: "And so it is written, The
first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made
a quickening spirit."
Adam is the first man!
Jesus is the last man!
Paul actually calls Jesus the
"last Adam" here!
He says Adam "fathers" one
kind of people ... those doomed to sin and death!
Jesus "fathers" (via the new
birth) another kind of people ... those blessed with cleansing
and righteousness and (eternal) life!
Therefore ... since the first
Adam had a miraculous entrance into this world scene!
Is Paul not (indirectly)
saying that Jesus also had a miraculous entrance! (Which would
be called the "Virgin Birth!")
Adam came into existence by
means of Creation!
We believers come into
existence by the New Creation!
For those of you who think I'm
carrying things too far by calling Adam a "type" of Christ, let
me point you to Romans 5:14 where Paul says:
"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgression, who is the figure (in Greek = tupos ...
our word type) of him that was to come." Adam IS a
type of Christ.
By the way, for Paul to speak
so casually of "the Last Adam" (Jesus) as the anti-type (the
fulfillment) of the "first man Adam" proves that He could simply
allude to the miraculous origin of Jesus' earthly life ... and
be well understood by his Corinthian converts!
EVERY Believer in that day
well knew the truth of Jesus' Virgin Birth!
It was universally preached
and believed!
Glory to God!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 17 ... VERSE 38:
One of the most
obedient statements in the whole Bible is found in Luke 1:38.
Mary the Virgin,
after being informed of the miraculous plan of God in bringing
His Son Jesus into the world, said: "Be
it unto me according to thy word!"
Here's the exact
verse: "And Mary said, Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And
the angel departed from her."
It appears that she is talking directly to
the angel Gabriel here, but he has simply reported to her God's
will for her young life! She is to be the mother of the
humanity of our Lord! And no man has ever touched her! This is
all of the Lord!
So Mary simply yields to God's directive!
Again, here are her words:
"Be it unto me according to thy word!"
That is obedience!
It's the equivalent of saying "Thy will be
done, O Lord!"
Notice that she calls herself here the
"handmaid" of the Lord!
That noun is "doule" (feminine form of doulos)
and is the common Greek word for "slave." (One in bonds) It is
derived from a root verb that means "to tie or bind."
Again, what obedience that reveals!
Her words completely satisfy the angel and he
leaves immediately. The interview is finished. As far as I can
tell, Gabriel never visits her again. The verb for his
departing is "aperchomai" and means "to go away" and is in the
aorist tense. It pictures completed action.
It looks to me like God just loves to set
certain of his children on display ... especially when it comes
to their faith in trust in Him! He surely did so with
Job! Listen to God talk to the devil:
"And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an
upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"
(Job 1:8) God was thrilled with Job's trust!
He says a similar thing about David.
"And when he (God) had removed him (Saul),
he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he
gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a
man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will."
God was proud of David's faith too!
And in Acts 9:15, even before Paul traveled
on a single preaching journey, the Lord called him "a chosen
vessel!" He was special concerning the level of dedication he
would have to his Lord! "But the Lord
said unto him (Ananias), Go thy way: for he (Paul) is a chosen
vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings,
and the children of Israel." Wow!
And it looks to me like our Lord follows the
same pattern here with Mary.
We are given the account of her conversation
with Gabriel (really of his conversation with her mostly) ...
then the paragraph is capped off with Mary's words of trust and
obedience!
Again here they are:
"Be it unto me according to thy word!"
How many of us live by those words of faith?
I believe that's about the same as praying
that part of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will
be done!"
Thank you, Job and David and Paul and
Mary, for such examples of obedience and trust and love!
As a teenager, I once heard an old preacher
say: "The two greatest words in the Christian vocabulary are:
trust and
obey!"
And he well may have been right!
Such attitudes and actions do please and
glorify our Father in Heaven!
If fact, He makes a record of them!
The next time God shows you His will for your
life in some area, consider responding: Lord ...
"Be it unto me according to thy word!"
How very pleased He will be!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 18 ... JESUS IS VIRGIN BORN ... AND
A WHOLE LOT MORE:
Many of the "liberal" Bible-hating (or at
least Bible-questioning) preachers, teachers and theologians of
our land mention again and again that the Virgin Birth is just
NOT given the emphasis in the New Testament that one would
expect of such a basic doctrine.
They say that the virginal conception is just
a later "afterthought" added to the Bible by some well-meaning
editors or copyists!
I SAY THEY ARE WRONG!
If the Virgin Birth is only taught ONCE in
all the Bible, that's enough for me! God only has to say
something one time and it is sufficient! He cannot lie says
Titus 1:2. (Let me quickly add however that the Virgin Birth is
taught many more times than once in Scripture! Two Gospels,
Matthew and Luke, explicitly record It!)
Besides, who am I to tell God how many times
He ought to mention something? His ways are not my ways! ("For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts
than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9) He teaches the
Virgin Birth just the right number of times!
But let me add this thought today.
It is not the fact of the Virgin Birth
alone that saves old sinners!
Truly there is not one shred of evidence in
all the Bible that belief in Mary being a Virgin will redeem any
lost soul!
No! Jesus, truly being the Son of God (not
of man), and truly being sent into the world by means of a
virgin's womb, still had to live a sinless life and die a
substitutionary death (shedding His precious Blood on Calvary),
being buried and raised again the third day ... to save wicked
hell-bound sinners!
Plus Paul says this. THE act of God that
proves Jesus to be His approved Son is not just His Virgin Birth
... but His literal victorious Resurrection from the dead!
Listen. "Concerning his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh; and declared to
be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead."
Romans 1:3-4
See that? God declared (or "marked out")
Jesus as His Son by means of the Resurrection!
You can be sure of this! If Jesus was raised
from the dead by the power of God (and He was) ... then He IS
the Virgin Born Son of God! He IS the Man of Truth! And He IS
everything else He said He was too!
Without the Cross, without the Blood, without
Propitiation ... none of us would go to Heaven!
And equally so ... without the Virgin Birth
the Cross would have had none of its efficacy (power) to redeem
the lost! God as Man must die to save
sinners! Had Jesus been an imposter, not born of a Virgin as
the Bible says ... His death would have been just another
martyrdom or maybe even just another execution by Rome!
BUT, putting it all together in Biblical
balance, Jesus is the VIRGIN BORN, SINLESS, CRUCIFIED, BURIED,
RISEN, ASCENDED LORD WHO EVER LIVETH TO SAVE SINNERS! (And He
is coming again too!)
It takes it ALL to properly tell His Story!
(I'm sure you have noticed that "history" is just a combining of
HIS STORY!)
We have a perfect, complete Saviour! In Him
there is nothing lacking!
Praise His Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 19 ...
JESUS, THE GOD-MAN AND THE SON OF MAN TOO:
Whenever I speak of Jesus, I
always want to make it clear that I believe Him to be the very
Son of God!
He is NOT just a man!
Therefore I emphasize His
Deity.
I would much rather call Him
the Son of God or the Lord Christ or even the Lord Jesus Christ
than just the Carpenter or the Master or the One named Jesus.
I love to quote verses such as
John 14:9 where Jesus says: "Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me,
Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the
Father."
Jesus and the Father are co-eternal and co-equal!
He also said once:
"I
and my Father are
one." John 10:30
Exalt His Deity! His
Sonship! His Godhead!
I tend to do this because I
have no problem whatsoever in acknowledging and believing His
humanity. It is His position as God that is so often
doubted today.
BUT ... and here's the point
of this article today ...
But when Jesus came He nearly
took the opposite view!
He was so assured of His Deity
... having been the Son of God eternally ... that He did not as
often mention It!
He rather talked about being
the "son of man!"
It seems that this was His
favorite Name for Himself, son of man!
He, being very God of very
God, wanted to let people know that He was also very man of very
man!
That title (The Son of Man) is
used 30 times of Jesus in Matthew! And another 14 times in
Mark! Plus 25 more times in Luke! And even 11 times in
John!
And the majority of these
occurrences were occasioned by Jesus Himself! He called
Himself the "son of man," emphasizing His humanity!
Naturally the New Testament
writers often called Him what He called Himself, the son of man!
This fact alone may have led to the relatively few direct
statements we have in Scripture about His Virgin Birth! He
wanted folks to know He had a human Side! I want them to
know He is God!
Blessed Saviour!
He is God!
He is man!
We call Him the Son of God!
He calls Himself the son of
man!
(Of course Jesus does refer to
Himself as the "Son of God" too! For example, John 3:18 ---
"He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,
because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
And listen to
Jesus in John 10:36 --- "I said, I am the
Son of God." Then in John 5:25 Jesus, speaking of
Himself, said: "Verily, verily, I
say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead
shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall
live."
Both Names are correct!
He is the perfectly balanced
One!
And He is our Redeemer!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 20 ...
TWO MORE TEXTS:
Did you ever wonder what the
"sources" were that Luke and Matthew used to relate their Virgin
Birth facts?
Neither of course were there
when the event occurred!
Nor was Joseph (who was
present but was not the father of the Child) still around to
tell them anything.
But ... wait a minute!
That old theological line
about having to know the "sources" these writers used is a
pointless one anyway!
I'll tell you their Source!
The Holy Spirit of God!
Yes, I still believe in the
Divine inspiration of Scripture!
I agree with Simon Peter when
he said: "For the prophecy came not
in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2nd Peter 1:21
Their Source was God Himself!
However, I do want to say
this. If Doctor Luke wanted to get further "independent"
confirmation of his material, it would have been easy to do so.
There was someone still alive who could give him eye-witness
information! (And the Holy Spirit MAY have directed him to
her!) I'm of course speaking of the mother of the humanity
of Jesus, Mary. She was a believer herself! She was
present at many of the early church meetings. She was at
the Cross! She was in the "Upper Room" for ten days prior
to Pentecost! Acts 1:14 proves it. "These
all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with
the women, and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." I
suspect she gladly would have given her "testimony" about Jesus'
miraculous Birth! And, of all people, she would have
known!
Then the other day I noticed
something else unusual about Luke's Gospel in this area.
Luke is well aware that Jesus is NOT the son of Joseph. Let
me show you. "And Jesus himself
began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed )
the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli."
(Luke 3:23) The way Luke worded that is great --- "as was
supposed!" Three words sure can say a lot!
But Who is Jesus' Father.
Luke tells us that clearly also. Gabriel, speaking to the
Virgin Mary said: "And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshdow thee: therefore
also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called
the Son of God." See it! He is the Son of
God!
But, watch this. When
Luke gives us the genealogy of mankind right back to the
beginning, see what is told about Adam.
"Which was the son of Enos, which was the
son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of
God." Luke 1:38 Adam had no earthly father.
He was created by God directly ... so Luke terms him "the son of
God!" (With a lower case "s")
So notice what we have.
(Very similar to Paul's First Adam/Last Adam scenario!)
Adam is the son of God! Jesus is the Son of God! Two
bodies who lived on earth ... one who brought death and One Who
brought Life! One who introduced sin ... One Who
introduced Victory over sin! Two heads of the peoples of
the world ... one the physical head the Other The Spiritual
Head! Both without human fathers! Both of God!
This line of reasoning absolutely demands The Virgin Birth!
I have one word for all this
... amazing!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 21 ...
SOME ADDED THOUGHTS:
I have tried to cover with you
many of the main points of Scripture concerning Jesus' Virgin
Birth.
Let me close this Series of
Bible Studies with a few more thoughts.
Twice in the New Testament
Jesus is associated with David in an unusual way!
In Matthew 22 we are told:
"While the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them, saying, What think ye of Christ?
whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord,
saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right
hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David
then call him Lord, how is he his son?" (Matthew
22:41-45) Here we are shown how Jesus is the son of David
and the Lord of David! Even Jesus' enemies had to admit this!
Jesus as God's Son exists on both sides of David ... before him
and after him! This proves the eternal Sonship of Christ
for sure! But if Jesus is the literal son (descendant) of
David ... some kind of "God-come-in-human-flesh event" had to
occur! It did and it's called the Virgin Birth!
Again in Revelation 22:16
Jesus calls declares: "I Jesus have
sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the
bright and morning star." Now if Jesus is the Root
of David ... he was before him in time! And if Jesus is
the offspring of David ... he is after him in time! Again, Jesus
is eternal! And, again, to be the offspring of David ... a
birth of God into humanity had to occur! This would have
been a miraculous Birth! And Scripture says it was a
Virgin Birth!
And if, as the liberals
wrongly say, the Virgin Birth is insignificant, why does the
Birth account of Jesus take up so much room in the Gospel of
Luke. Luke was a precise "historian" in his writings!
He researched his material well. He says so in Luke 1:1-3.
Luke's telling of Jesus' Birth takes up more than 10% of his
whole Gospel! (And it's a big Gospel too!) Truth be
told, Luke's Birth narrative is one verse longer than His
Passion (Cross) narrative! Wow! This does not sound
"unimportant" to me!
Think about these three Bible
Passages today: Matthew 22, Revelation 22 and Luke
chapters 1 and 2. They are three more "signposts" clearly
indicating the Virgin Birth of Jesus!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 22 ... ONE LITTLE "PROBLEM:"
We are nearing the
end of our study on the "Virgin Birth" of Jesus.
We have analyzed
and reverently reviewed each verse of the "Annunciation," the
birth announcement made by the angel Gabriel to Mary.
Today I would like
to discuss what some see as a little "problem" to those of us
who believe in a literal miraculous virginal birth of our Lord.
Luke particularly is the biographer of the
Birth of Jesus.
And he occasionally uses some terminology
that can at first bring some questions to one's mind.
Listen:
Luke 2:27 --- "And he
came by the Spirit into the temple: and when
the parents
brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of
the law."
Luke 2:41 --- "Now
his parents went
to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover."
Luke 2:43 --- "And when
they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus
tarried behind in Jerusalem; and
Joseph and his mother
knew not of it."
Luke 2:33 --- "And
Joseph and his mother
marvelled at those things which were spoken of him."
Luke 2:48 --- "And when
they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him,
Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold,
thy father and I
have sought thee sorrowing."
Wow!
Luke does not seem to mind grouping Mary and
Joseph together in way we would not dare! (Due to our reverent
fear of detracting from the Virgin Birth and the true Father of
Jesus, Almighty God!)
In the five verses above you can easily see
what I mean.
"Thy father and I!"
That's astounding in light of the Virgin
Birth!
In fact, there is only one way to explain it.
And the explanation does not hurt the
Doctrine of the Virgin Birth at all! On the contrary, it helps
validate the great Event!
The only way Luke could so speak of Jesus and
Mary and Joseph is IF all the people to whom he was writing
already KNEW clearly about the Virgin Birth and accepted it as
Truth without doubt!
Then ... and only then ... could Luke have
the liberty to speak as he has done in His Gospel!
If it was a settled fact, undoubted and
widely taught (even to the point of already being incorporated
into the early "statements of faith" that we've found from that
time) that Jesus came to earth via a virgin's womb and without a
human father ... then Luke could have followed more conventional
ways of discussing Jesus' early life. That's exactly what Luke
did too.
He no longer needed to stop at every mention
of Jesus' mother or Joseph to "detail" the Virgin Birth.
Everyone knew about It! Luke could speak colloquially ... and
he indeed did.
Oh, how this helps me as I ponder the earthly
origin of my Saviour!
If He (Jesus) is God ... He had to be virgin
born!
(If Mary was not a virgin at Jesus' Birth ...
she, being untouched by her espoused husband Joseph, would have
been an immoral woman, a fornicator! That's unthinkable! But
it's the only other choice the Virgin Birth doubters have as I
see it!)
But when Jesus was born Gabriel called Him
"That Holy Thing!" No sin there!
No "hint" of any wrongdoing by Mary! (Again see Luke 1:35)
Please do not misunderstand me here. I am NOT saying that Mary
never sinned in any area. She was a lost soul who needed
to be saved by Grace as is every other individual humanly born.
I am just saying she was a Virgin when Jesus was born. She had
never been with a man. (In Luke 1:47 Mary gives her "testimony"
and calls Jesus her Saviour! "And my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.")
Now, back to Jesus!
Our Lord had a sinless past, a sinless birth,
a sinless life, a sinless death, a sinless resurrection and has
a sinless eternity ahead!
All this demands the Virgin Birth!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 23 ... A FINAL THOUGHT:
In the study of the Bible one
often hears an expression called "the argument from silence."
By this theologians and preachers and teachers mean that when a
text or an author does NOT mention something ... it may mean that he
does not know about it. They are implying that "silence"
indicates likely "ignorance!"
I do not agree!
One may know many things he or
she does not tell in every letter or conversation!
After all, Proverbs 29:11
teaches us: "A
fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till
afterwards." Wow!
We don't tell all we know
immediately, do we?
The reason I'm thinking of
this today has linkage with the Doctrine of the Virgin Birth!
The skeptics and Bible mockers
say that many books in the Bible do not mention the Virgin
Birth. Hence they draw from this fact the conclusion that
Jesus' miraculous Birth was relatively unknown to most
believers!
That's terrible logic!
They say even Paul does not
mention the Virgin Birth! (They are wrong as we've already
seen in this series of studies.) His "silence" assures
them of his "ignorance" of the matter! (I'd hate to call
Paul ignorant about anything, wouldn't you?)
Let me show you today why it
is risky at best to call "silence" a clue to "ignorance."
I want to illustrate with the
Apostle Paul and the great Doctrine of the Lord's Supper.
Jesus' last meal with His disciples is mentioned by all 3
"synoptic" Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark and Luke) in some
detail. And John adds even further specific information
about it.
Also Acts mentions the
"breaking of bread" the early Christians practiced regularly, a
term most students believe refers to the communion service!
But what about Paul?
He never mentions it in
Romans, that great book of Doctrine! Perhaps he's never
heard of it, the liberals would say.
Nor does he suggest it in
Galatians ... or Ephesians ... or Philippians ... or Colossians
... or Thessalonians ... or Timothy ... or Titus ... or Philemon
... or even Hebrews! Neither will you find it in 2nd
Corinthians!
Truthfully, you will not find
the Lord's Supper, an ordinance which Jesus taught us to observe
"often," referenced in any of the New Testament Epistles
(except one)!
If I am wrong here, someone tell me soon.
Twenty New Testament Epistles
... all silent on the topic of the Lord's Supper!
Then ... the liberals would
have said (from the "silence" argument) that neither James nor Peter nor
Jude knew a thing about it!
And they would have said it
about Paul too ... except for one paragraph in one chapter in
one Epistle!
Such silence!
Yet it does NOT indicate
ignorance!
"For I
have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was
betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he
brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is
broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the
same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye,
as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as
often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the
Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat
this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily,
shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let
a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread,
and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and
drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself,
not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are
weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we
would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when
we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not
be condemned with the world. Wherefore, my brethren, when ye
come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man
hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto
condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come."
1 Corinthians 11:23-34
And when Paul broached this
subject he was NOT teaching a class per se on Communion!
He was correcting an error in the Corinthian fellowship!
Wow! Paul did know about
the Lord's Supper!
His many many years of silence
did NOT mean ignorance, did it?
And ... so ... I rest my case.
The lack of mentioning the
Virgin Birth in many places in the New Testament does NOT mean
ignorance of that precious Doctrine.
We Bible students owe a lot to
these misbehaving Corinthians!
Without their irreverence, for
which they were stiffly disciplined, we would not be so easily
able to shut the mouths of the wicked crowd that argues:
No Virgin Birth! It is not often enough mentioned!
Add up the total chapters of
all the Epistles in the New Testament and you get a total of
120. They are ALL silent about the Lord's Supper ...
except one (1 Corinthians 11)!
How very close we were to
hearing someone say: "Due to the argument from "silence"
the Apostles never taught even one church to observe the Lord's
Supper ... even though Jesus commanded they do so!"
How we should thank God for
those carnal Corinthians!
They have given us proof (once
again) that the "liberals" are wrong!
Praise the Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
I can truly say I have a
better working knowledge of the Virgin Birth after studying
these Scripture Passages. I trust you can say the same.
We have a wonderful Bible to study! Let's tell folks about
our Lord's miraculous Birth as well as His Death, Burial and
Resurrection ... and Second Coming!
