CHAPTER 1 Return to Matthew Chapter One A. The Virgin Birth Of Christ:                   1. Because of the sin of Josiah (Jechonias), the line of Joseph is cursed. God had to find a way to remove that curse on the royal line so His Son, Jesus could claim the royal right to the throne.   2. There is only one way this can be done. Joseph cannot be the human father of the body of Jesus. The curse is passed along through the seed of the man.   The Holy Spirit made it possible for Mary to conceive and prepare the body of Jesus without the seed of man. Return to Matthew Chapter One          3. Read Luke 1:30-38.   4. After the body of Jesus is born, Joseph and Mary were married. Through Mary, Jesus received the legal right to the throne of David. Through marriage, Joseph gave Jesus the royal right to the throne of David. Through the Virgin Birth, the curse is removed from Joseph's line for he was not the natural father of Jesus.   5. Since the Lord Jesus Christ had no natural heirs, He claims the sole right to rule the world as the Son of King David with no person able to dispute that claim.   6. Satan will try to rule the world, but he is an imposter. He can claim no kingly rights. He will be a usurper of a throne that is not his. B. More On The Virgin Birth: [ See more on Mary Six Marys in the New Testament ]                1. Notice a very interesting fact in Matthew 1:1 - 16.   2. 39 times the word “begat” is used in the passage. Abraham begat Issac; Isaac begat Jacob, etc.   3. When you come to verse 16, notice how the wording changes; Jacob begat Joseph. You would expect it to read, “and Joseph begat Jesus. “   4. This is not the case, however. The verse reads, “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:16 KJB). Return to Matthew Chapter One                  5. We are assured that Jesus was born of Mary, but not of Joseph.            6. We will look at more of this in the next verse.   7. The truth of the Virgin Birth is foundational to the whole Gospel story. C. The Conception And Birth Of Jesus:   1. “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.” (Matthew 1:18 KJB).   2. Words could not be plainer. Although Mary and Joseph were engaged, they did not have sexual intercourse until after the body of Jesus was born. Then they bore children the normal way. Therefore, Mary could not from that time forward be called “the Virgin Mary,” for she was not. (See Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55;Galatians 1:19).                 3. Mary was pregnant, but not by Joseph.   4. Mary was pregnant through the Divine Miracle of the Holy Ghost.   5. If the body of Jesus were not divinely conceived, then Jesus was a sinner in need of a Savior like the rest of us.   6. The body of Jesus did not partake of the nature of His mother. She gave Him the body that God had prepared. He partook only of the nature of the Holy Ghost.   7. The Lord Jesus Christ did not have a sin nature. He never sinned. He was God the Son and the Son of God.   8. “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 KJB). Return to Matthew Jesus Birth G. The Character Of Joseph: v. 19   1. “Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily” (Matthew 1:19 KJB).   2. Joseph was a just man. This means he obeyed God and kept God's laws.   3. God's law stated that adultery was punishable by death. See the Old Testament penalty in Deut. 22:20-30.   4. Since Joseph was a just man, even though he loved Mary, he must put her privily. His love for her prompted him to have her punished secretly rather than openly.   Note: the word “Privily” is the correct word. It always is used in the Bible to speak of something done slyly, secretly or under cover. “Privately” in the new bibles is the wrong word. Return to Matthew 1:19 H. Rescued By The Angel Of The Lord: v. 20                1. The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph.   2. He refers to Joseph as the “son” of David. (He was in the genealogy of David as we saw previously).     3. The angel of the Lord tells Joseph to continue with their marriage plans.   Note: engagement in Jewish practice was as legally binding as a marriage ceremony. Joseph would have had to divorce Mary if she had committed adultery even though they were merely engaged.   4. Joseph was told to proceed with their marriage plans since Mary had not committed adultery.   5. Joseph was told that Mary was pregnant of the Holy Ghost, not of man. Therefore, she would be the mother of the Messiah as prophesied in the Old Testament. See Isaiah 7:14.   6. What a relief! Not only was Mary not guilty of adultery, but she had been chosen of God to be the mother of the body of the Messiah. Joseph's joy must have been beyond containment. Return to Matt. 1:20 I. The Baby Boy Is Named Before Birth: Verse 21                1. He was to be called “Jesus.”                2. Jesus means: Savior. It is the same name as the Old Testament name, Joshua.   3. He was to be called, “Jesus” because He would save His people from their sins.   Note: He could only do this if He were sinless Himself with no old nature from Adam.   4. Note: The Name “Jesus” has five letters. Five is the number of death in the Bible. Jesus will have to die for sinners if they are to be saved from the penalty of sin.   Note also: “Satan” or “Devil” have five letters. He is the one who wants us to die in Hell with him.   5. “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16).   6. Remember, the Angel of the Lord has previously visited Mary and told her the great truth of her being the one chosen by God to prepare the body of the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior, Jesus. See again Luke 1:26-38. Return to Matt. 1:21 J. Another Name For The Savior: Verses 21-22.   1. The Angel of the Lord reminds Joseph of the promised Virgin Birth as recorded in Isaiah 7:14.   2. The Divine Child is to be called, “Emmanuel” which means: “God with us.”   3. Note the many references to the Virgin Birth in this section of Scripture.   4. Note in Luke 1:46-47, “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.”   5. See Isaiah 9:6 for additional Names for our Savior: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”   6. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1 KJB). “And the Word 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.” (John 1:14 KJB). Return to Matt. 1:23 K. Proof From The Prophets:   1 .The Old Testament prophets were men who were called of God to give truths of history before the events happened.   2. The truth of the Virgin Birth of Christ was given 700 years before it happened. (Isaiah 7:14). No one but God could forecast such an event. The accuracy of the Bible is astounding.   3. The prophet Mic ah foretold where the Messiah would be born, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose going forth have been from of old, from everlasting. “ (Micah 5:2 KJB).   4. Micah gives us the city, the county and the state where the Messiah will be born. He gives this information over 700 years before the fact. Only God could have revealed this.   5. There are over 48 prophecies given for our Lord in the Old Testament which all came to pass exactly. We are given His place of birth (Micah 5:2); His time of birth (Daniel 9:25-26); His manner of birth (Isaiah 7:14) for examples.   6. The odds of 48 prophecies coming to pass in the future are about 1 to 10 raised to the 157th power. That is 10 with 157 zeros after it.   7. Take time to praise the Lord for Jesus, Emmanuel, Who is God with us and our Savior. Return to Matthew 1:22 L. The Obedience Of Joseph: v. 24.   1. Joseph obeyed the Lord Who gave Joseph this marvelous, but mind boggling set of truths.   2. Now Joseph publicly marries Mary, who is pregnant by the Holy Ghost, even though they both will suffer scorn, laughter and abuse from their friends and loved ones who will not believe the story.   3. We too, must be obedient to our Lord no matter what friends, loved ones or anyone else says or thinks. M. The Glorious Event: v. 25   1. “And knew her not till she had brought forth her Firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. “ (Matthew 1:25).   2. Although married, Joseph and Mary did not have sexual intercourse until after Jesus was born. They refrained from this natural God given relationship to be postponed so that the marvelous truth of the Divine Conception and Virgin Birth could remain in tact.   3. After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary then had the proper marital relations which resulted in many other children being born to them naturally. (See again Mark 6:3).   4. They also obediently named the Christ Child, JESUS, as they were told by the Angel of the Lord. Return to Matthew 1:24 N. An Illustration:   “During the Revolutionary War there was living in Pennsylvania a faithful preacher of the Gospel named Peter Miller. Near him lived a man who was violently opposed to Miller, and openly abused both him and his followers. The man was found guilty of treason, and sentenced to death.   No sooner was the sentence pronounced than Miller set out on foot to General Washington to intercede for the man' s life. He was told that his prayer for his friend could not be granted. 'My friend! He is not my friend,' answered Peter Miller. 'I have not a worse enemy living than that man. '   'What,' said Washington, 'you walked sixty miles to save the life of your enemy? That, in my judgment, puts the matter in a different light. I will grant the pardon. ' The pardon was made out, and Miller at once proceeded on foot to the place, fifteen miles distant, where the execution was to take place. He arrived just as the man was being taken to the scaffold. The traitor, on seeing Miller in the crowd, exclaimed, 'Why, there is old Peter Miller! He has come all the way from Ephrata to have his revenge gratified today by seeing me hanged. ' These words were scarcely spoken before Miller stepped forward, produced the pardon and the life of his worst enemy was spared. 'When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son' (Romans 5:10. 'Christ died for the ungodly. '”

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