Is Anything Impossible with God?
Matthew 1:18-25
Pastor Ryan
Part of The Questions of Christmas
December 8, 2024

Matthew 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
• Key Question: “How can

be?”
• It’s not surprise that many people read passages like this in the Bible a look at it with a certain degree of . The claim that Mary was “found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” is a radical claim. It’s not just a miracle. It’s the singular occurrence of this type of birth in the history of human conception.
• Joseph’s natural response is that Mary has been . But God’s revelation to Him is that something miraculous has happened. The point is this: With God, nothing is impossible.

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
• God’s

: Angel’s message to Joseph emphasizes divine intervention (“What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit”).
• While Matthew primarily records Joseph’s account, records Mary’s side of the story in Luke 1:26-38.
• In Luke’s account, the angel encounters Mary and tells her how Jesus will be conceived >> Luke 1:35 | And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
• This immaculate conception of Jesus is a necessity for Jesus to be born with our human body but not bound with our flesh.
• This should be an impossibility. This doesn’t happen. Babies aren’t born conceived by the Holy Spirit – unless God’s wants them to be in order to be holy and unbound from the constraints of sin for a purpose.
• Salvation Through the Impossible: Joseph is told that this baby that is conceived by the Holy Spirit is coming for a purpose. The name Jesus indicates the purpose >> “He will save His people from their sins”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
• This was not a last ditch, hail Mary effort on God’s part. This was the plan all along. He had be preparing this through the

.
• Hundreds of years before Joseph and Mary heard the news from the angel, Isaiah prophesied >> Isaiah 7:14 | Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
• We were separated, isolated, hopeless, and , but the plan was not for us to remain that way. God doesn’t want you to remain separated, isolated, and distant. He wants you near to Him. That’s why another name for Jesus is Immanuel. He is God with us.

** 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.**
• Joseph acted in

, believing what God had said, even though there was great difficulty in believing.

Chuck Swindoll >> [The Christmas story is a perfect example of the fact that] we are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

• Your

will be like Joseph – to be captivated with skepticism about the impossibility of it.
• But instead, focus on your response: head, heart, hands.

// Head: The

to believe
// Heart: The to display
// Hands: The to do