Title: No Hope In Us
Sunday, December 16, 2012 Sermon
Sermon Sermon: 'What Do We Believe?' (3)
No Hope In Us
He Was Conceived by the Holy Spirit
Matthew 1:18-25
One.
Jesus begins his work in Galilee around the age of 30. Little is known about how he was until then. When a little-known man suddenly appeared, did a marvelous thing, and taught the Word with authority, curiosity about him began to arouse. I wanted to know where that amazing wisdom and power came from, who my parents were, and what education I had.
But no matter how much you look, you can't find anything like 'this is it! There was nothing I wanted. It was all that his hometown was Nazareth, that his father was a carpenter, and that he lived with his father as a carpenter in his hometown of Nazareth. The more you know about his background, the more curious and mysterious about him. There was no way to explain the words of wisdom and the marvelous power that flowed through him.
The Gospels record the words of the people of the town astonished when he taught in the synagogue of his hometown of Nazareth.
Where did this man get this wisdom and his marvelous power? Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Mary? Aren't his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And don't his sisters live with us? But where did this man get all this? (Mt 13:54-58)
At the time of Jesus' activity, there were rumors circulating that he was not Joseph's son. Before Mary and Joseph were married, Mary became pregnant, and Joseph took Mary and raised her as his own son. So who was Jesus' father? People said that he must have been raped by a Roman soldier, and that he had a secret lover.
People did not understand Joseph's actions. He whispered, "Is it because the man has no pride, is he crazy, or is it because he is a true saint?" After all these suspicions, insults, and misunderstandings, Joseph married Mary and raised Jesus as his son. Mary and Joseph remained silent as parents, without excuses, like those with great secrets that should not be revealed. As time passed, people recognized Joseph's generosity, and so did the number of people who recognized Mary for being so loved by a man.
Most of Jesus' disciples were from Galilee, so you must have heard of this. I wanted to know what the English was, but it was something I couldn't understand, and it didn't seem that important. Now that he is revealing his wonderful words of wisdom and power, I thought it would not matter if there was a shameful secret in his birth.
It was only after they believed that Jesus was resurrected that the disciples realized that the 'missing link' was hidden in the secret of his birth. Through the resurrection, the disciples realized and believed that Jesus was 'God who came in the form of a human being'. With that belief, attention was again drawn to the mystery of his birth. It may have been around that time that Mary had confided to the disciples the secret she kept in her heart. No one could have believed it until Jesus was resurrected. But Jesus was resurrected. As a result, the disciples began to open their eyes to who Jesus was. So Mary must have divulged the mystery of Jesus' birth.
Those who heard the story would nod their heads, saying, "Oh, so!" Because I found the 'missing ring' in the story. It was not because of the education or training he had received that Jesus, who had lived in complete hiding for over 30 years, was able to shake up Galilee when he suddenly appeared. Because He Himself was born on this earth as a special being. He was like that from birth, or even from the beginning. However, until the time comes, he has only lived without revealing his identity.
2.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary...
This is commonly referred to as the 'Doctrine of Virginal Birth' or 'Doctrine of Virginal Conception'. But more important than the fact that Jesus was conceived in the body of a virgin is the fact that the pregnancy was effected by the holy spirit. Therefore, it is correct to call it the 'Doctrine of Conception by the Holy Spirit'. So John did not record the story of the birth of Jesus like Matthew or Luke, but instead wrote, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us" (1:14). The important thing is that God came in a human body. This is called the 'Doctrine of Incarnation' or 'Doctrine of Incarnation'.
I am sorry that I cannot give you a straight-forward answer to this question. This is partly because of my lack of ability, but also because the theory of the conception of the Holy Spirit itself is not convincing and believable with reason.
There is no way I can convince you of this doctrine, but I can tell you why I believe it. While not giving up reason and respecting scientific research results, I still believe and profess this doctrine. How can that be?
There are several 'Grand Doctrines' or 'Foundational Doctrines' in the Christian faith. These are so important truths that if they collapse, the entire Christian faith will collapse. Based on my subjective opinion, here are a few to list.