Sermon Number Four

Sermon Apostle’s Creed IV

This is the fourth in our series on the Apostle’s Creed. When we recite our affirmation of faith, I think it is imperative to understand what we are saying. There is a body of opinion that faith and understanding result from rote memorization. I do not hold that opinion. There is no room in faith for questions. When you come to truly believe, all questions are behind you. That is the goal that Christ laid out. Mark chapter five tells of the woman who had suffered a physical problem for many years was convinced she would be healed if she touched the cloak of Jesus. When she saw her hope become reality, Jesus said, “Daughter your faith has healed you.” Shortly thereafter a synagogue official asked if Jesus could help his daughter who had just died. Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid any longer only believe.” I left off in my last message on the Apostle’s Creed with, “I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” We can approach this sentence with questions, but we must eliminate those question before we continue.

Several years ago, a Methodist Bishop somewhere in the Midwest published his disbelief in the virgin birth. He claimed Mary most likely had relations with a man. He went on to say that acceptance of the virgin birth did not detract from the works of Jesus, and Christianity did not depend on Crist being fathered by the Holy Spirit. At that time, we had a men’s group of five who met every Wednesday, and unanimously disagreed. It is requisite to being a Christian to believe Jesus Christ was the biological son of God and the virgin Mary. The two statements “Conceived by the Holy Spirit” and “Born of the virgin Mary” go hand in hand; you cannot believe in one without the other.

The definition of “Christ” in Greek is the anointed one --the Messiah. A messiah had been promised the Jews for hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. They believed and waited. Isiah said the Lord would give a sign of the coming of the Savior. “A virgin will be with child and she will bring forth a son.” This proclamation is followed by the Halleluiah Chorus, a description of Christ. Thus, to call Jesus The Christ or the Messiah was to acknowledge the virgin birth. When Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, he told her the child would be fathered by the Holy Spirit and instructed her to name the child Jesus meaning God saves. Jesus Christ was the anointed savior. When Jesus asked who Peter thought Jesus was his answer, “You are the Christ.” Peter, therefor, acknowledged that he believed Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Peter wasn’t the only one who proclaimed Jesus the Messiah.

Mary believed. She talked to the angel Gabriel and experienced the visit of the Holy Spirit. She had no doubt, but try to tell that story to your parents. She was an unwed pregnant teenage girl. I don’t think her family would have accepted this story, but her Aunt Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah did. The Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him Elizabeth would give him a son even though she was well beyond child bearing age. When Elizabeth saw Mary six months pregnant, she knew and believed.

Joseph believed. At first, he doubted but then had a dream that Mary’s baby was the long awaited Messiah. Try explaining to your family that your girlfriend is pregnant, but you are not the father, and still want to marry her. Is it any wonder, he took his very pregnant fiancé to relatives in Bethlehem? Family lines were all important to the Hebrews. Joseph would not have taken Mary as his wife if he suspected another man was the father of the child.

The shepherds believed. I’m sure you have watched Linus’s speech in Charlie Brown Christmas. “For unto you this day in the City of David is born a savior who is Christ the Lord. And that’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” I love that speech; it still gives me chills every time I watch it. The shepherds believed that the baby was Christ the Lord, and they left their flocks unguarded to go and see the newborn Messiah.

The Magi believed. They were astronomers who saw a sign in the night sky and followed it to Jerusalem. They traveled hundreds of miles from Persia and beyond to see the new king of the Jews. They knew the prophesy and brought gifts for God’s anointed one. On their way to Bethlehem, they paid a curtesy call to King Herod and told him of their quest. Herod believed. He believed enough to ask the Magi to identify the baby so that he could deal with the threat to his kingdom. When they left by another route and didn’t tell the king what they had found, he had every young male child in Bethlehem put to the sword. Herod believed.

In keeping with the Jewish law, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple to be circumcised when he was eight days old. On their way up the steps, they were stopped by an old man named Simeon to whom God had promised he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. We don’t know how long Simeon had been waiting. We do know the priests did a good business in circumcision, so Simeon must have seen hundreds of eight-day-old males pass by during his vigil. Simeon didn’t randomly choose Jesus; he recognized the Christ. As did Anna the prophetess who saw things differently than normal people. She also had been promised not to die without viewing the Anointed One with her own eyes. Anna and Simeon believed.

When Jesus had grown into adulthood, He gathered disciples to begin His ministry. They knew Jesus was someone special, but there is no indication they knew He was the Christ initially. The only record we have of a disciple recognizing Jesus for what He actually was is Peter. When Jesus Peter, “Who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the son of God.” Over the months Peter had witnessed the ministry of Jesus, he had come to the realization that Jesus was the Messiah. It was difficult to come to grips with even for one who walked with Him daily. Can it be any les difficult for us.?

Some leaders of the synagogue recognized Christ, and it scared them. He was a threat to their position and their power, and they tried to discredit him. Caiaphas believed enough to post guards on the tomb. When they reported back with word of the resurrection, he bribed them to lie about it. Gamaliel believed, “if it is of God, you may even be found fighting against God.”

The Disciples believed. All were punished and beaten because of their beliefs. John was tortured and spent his last years in prison. All of the others were executed rather than renounce their belief that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

We are all Christ’s disciples. We are not called to be martyred, but as Christ’s disciples we are called to spread the word, be living examples of His teachings, and to believe.

Pray with me. Lord we believe. We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. We believe there are no lies in scripture. We believe our Savior was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.

Song of Meditation