Matthew 1:21 - Jesus Saves Us From Sin; Past, Present And Future.
Mat.1:21: Jesus Saves Us From Sin; Past, Present And Future.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Mat 1:21 (KJV) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt
call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Mat 1:21 (EAV) She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name
Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for
He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from
failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God].
Jesus: "The Lord Shall Save." [Nelson SB]
is the Greek form of which means [NIV SB]
"Jesus" is the Greek form of "Joshua." The name means "the Lord
saves." Jesus' name identified him as the one who would bring God's
promised salvation. The baby Jesus would be born to save His people from
their sins. (Life Application Commentary)
The name "Jesus" (1:21), a Greek form of the Hebrew name
"Joshua," means "Salvation is of God." His name revealed the redemptive
nature of his ministry. [New Bible Companion]
Jesus, His name, like Joshua, its Hebrew equivalent, meant
"Yahweh (the LORD) saves.'' [Disciple SB]
Jesus In Hebrew, "Yeshua," meaning "Yahweh [the distinctive name
of the God of Israel] is my salvation." [Cambridge Annotated SB]
His People: The words "his people" form a mystery to be unfolded
in the pages of Matthew's Gospel. Who were "his people," and how
would Jesus save them from their sins? The answers to these questions
will be found in the unfolding story of Jesus' life, death, and
resurrection. (Life Application Commentary)
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
Jesus' genealogy established His descent from Abraham and David
(1:1-17). His virgin birth fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy (vv. 18-25). Other
events (2:1-23) prove that Jesus is indeed the Messiah predicted by the
Old Testament prophets. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
SECTION HEADINGS
Conception and Birth of Jesus
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
The Virgin Birth of Jesus (1:18-25)
An angel appears to Joseph (1:18-25)
Joseph adopts Jesus as his son (1:18-25)
The birth of Jesus is the first of Matthew's five opening
stories based on Old Testament themes or quotations: [Cambridge
Annotated SB]
The conception and birth of Jesus Christ are supernatural events
beyond human logic or reasoning. Because of this, God sent angels to
help certain people understand the significance of what was happening
(see Matthew 2:13, 19; Luke 1:11, 26; Luke 2:9). [Life Application
SB]
The angel declared to Joseph that Mary's child was conceived by
the Holy Spirit and would be a son. This reveals an important truth
about Jesus--he is both God and human. The infinite, unlimited God took
on the limitations of humanity so he could live and die for the
salvation of all who would believe in him. [Life Application SB]
To make atonement for the sin of man, Jesus had to be human. To
have the authority to forgive sin and the ability to live sinlessly,
He had to be God. The virgin conception is the way through which
God accomplished this combination in one Person -- Jesus Christ.
[Believer's SB]
That God used women and men to accomplish His purpose of
redemption is nowhere clearer than in the story of the virgin birth. Three
times in this section (vv 18,20,25) Mary is described as having had no
"union'' with Joseph. We cannot explain the virgin birth. It is another
instance of miracle being exception to the natural order of things. In
faith we accept the simple truth of the Holy Spirit's action and
praise God for keeping His promises and sending our Savior. Against the
backdrop of Jesus' ministry and the miracle of the resurrection, it is
not so difficult to believe in the virgin birth... The virgin birth
was God's chosen way to become incarnate: the invisible, spiritual
God became human. [Disciple SB]
The Hebrew term 'almah means "young woman," and while it is
typically used of young unmarried women, it lacks the technical force of
"virgin." However, there is no question about the Greek word Matthew chose
here: parthenos. This is a young woman who has never had sexual
relations with a man... The message, that Mary was pregnant by the Holy
Spirit, was accepted by Joseph, as it has been by Christians throughout
history. The name, "Immanuel," explains the implications. The Child
conceived by the Holy Spirit is Himself God: God, come to be "with us,"
not simply as a presence, but as one of us. Why the name "Jesus"?
The name means "deliverer" or "saviour," and expresses the purpose
of His coming. God became one of us in order to "save His people
from their sins." Some who claim to be Christians do deny the Virgin
Birth. Yet if Jesus was not both God and man, united through a miracle
in Mary's womb, He was merely a man. And no mere man, doomed to
struggle with his own sins, would be free to save us from ours. Without
the Virgin Birth there is no biblical Christianity. With it, our
destiny is secure. For with it, the Jesus on whom we rely is God, and as
God He guarantees the salvation He won for us on Calvary. [The
365-Day Devotional Commentary]
Despite what people may assume, Matthew wasn't interested in
having us meet "Baby Jesus." We know, because over and over this Gospel
writer quoted from the Old Testament. And the passages he selected and
applied directly to Christ are passages that insist we see not an Infant
but a King; not a Babe, but the Master of the universe.
Who is Jesus to Matthew? Matthew 1:23 identifies Him with a
virgin-born Child predicted by Isaiah. What did Isaiah say about Him? He is
"Immanuel," a name that in Hebrew means "With Us Is GOD!" Look at the Babe
in the manger, not with mild affection, but in awe. For in this
Child all the glory of God shines through.
Matthew also quoted from Micah 5, which predicted the birth in
Bethlehem of a Ruler who would be the Shepherd of God's people Israel.
Looking in Micah, we discover that "He will stand and shepherd His flock
in the strength of the LORD." In fact, "in the majesty of the name
of the LORD His God." His people will be secure, for His greatness
will "reach to the ends of the earth." Why not, when His strength is
the strength of God, and His majesty the name of the LORD, which He
bears! [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
"Napoleon was right when he said, 'I know men, and I tell you,
Jesus is more than a man. Comparison is impossible between Him and any
other human being who ever lived, because He was the Son of God.'
Emerson was right when he replied to those who asked him why he did not
include Jesus among his Representative Men, 'Jesus was not just a man.'
Arnold Toynbee was right when he said, 'As we stand and gaze with our
eyes fixed upon the farther shore a simple figure rises from the
flood and straightway fills the whole horizon of history. There is the
Savior.'" Billy Graham [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Isaiah 12:2 (KJV) Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust,
and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song;
he also is become my salvation.
Isaiah 45:22 (KJV) Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Ezekiel 36:25-29 (KJV) Then will I sprinkle clean water upon
you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all
your idols, will I cleanse you. [26] A new heart also will I give
you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the
stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. [28] And ye shall
dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my
people, and I will be your God. [29] I will also save you from all your
uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no
famine upon you.
Luke 1:35 (KJV) And the angel answered and said unto her, The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.
John 1:29 (KJV) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,
and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.
Acts 4:12 (KJV) Neither is there salvation in any other: for
there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must
be saved.
Ephes. 5:25-27 (KJV) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church, and gave himself for it; [26] That he might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] That
he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish.
Col. 1:20-23 (KJV) And, having made peace through the blood of
his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I
say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. [21] And
you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled: [22] In the body of his flesh
through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in
his sight: [23] If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled,
and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have
heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;
whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Titus 2:14 (KJV) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
Hebrews 7:25 (KJV) Wherefore he is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to
make intercession for them.
1 John 1:7 (KJV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1 John 2:1-2 (KJV) My little children, these things write I
unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: [2] And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of
the whole world.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
Jesus died, not to save man IN his sins, but FROM his sins. Man
is to leave the error of his ways, to follow the example of Christ,
to take up his cross and follow Him, denying self, and obeying God
at any cost. [4T250]
Sin had bound men (Rom. 6:16; 2 Peter 2:19) in its prison house
(Isa. 42:7). Christ came that He might loose the bonds, open the
prison doors, and deliver the captives from the sentence of death (Isa.
61:1; Rom. 7:24, 25). He came to save us from our sins, not in our
sins. He came, not only to save us from sins actually committed, but
from our potential tendencies that lead to sin (Rom. 7:23-5; 1 John
1:7, 9). He came to redeem us from "all iniquity" (Titus 2:14),... He
did not come to "restore again the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6),
but to restore the dominion of God in the hearts of men (Luke 17:20,
21). Christ did not come primarily to save men from poverty and
social injustice (Luke 12:13-15), as many apostles of the social gospel
claim today, but from sin, the fundamental cause of poverty and
injustice. [SDA Commentary]
If we would know what Christ wants to be to us, we must first of
all know Him as our Saviour from sin. When the angel came down from
heaven to proclaim that He was to be born into the world, you remember
he gave His name, "He shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins." HAVE WE BEEN DELIVERED FROM SIN? He did not
come to save us in our sins, but from our sins... I have little
sympathy with the idea that God comes down to save us, and then leaves us
in prison, the slaves of our besetting sins. No; He has come to
deliver us, and to give us victory over our evil tempers, our passions,
and our lusts. Are you a professed Christian, but one who is a
slave to some besetting sin? If you want to get victory over that
temper or that lust, go on to know Christ more intimately. He brings
deliverance for the past, the present, and the future. D. L. Moody; [Time
with God SB]
Our daily expression of holiness is a reflection of our faith in
Christ. If we have no desire to be holy, we should seriously question
the genuineness of our faith in the Lord Jesus.
Christ not only died to save us from the punishment for our
sins, but also from slavery to sin in this worldly culture. To
continue to live in sin as a Christian is contradictory to the most basic
meaning of Christianity. Christ died to save us from our sins, not to
let us remain in our sins (Mat.1:21; 1Jo.1:6,7). What kind of
person would want to follow Christ and not desire to live a holy
life?...
Holiness, then, is not an option for the believer. Paul wrote
to Titus, "For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of
all men, training us to renounce irreligious and worldly passions,
and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world"
(Tit.2:11,12). Though holiness is not a condition for salvation, it is the
natural consequence of salvation. We do not become holy in order to be
saved, but because we are saved. We do not do good works to get to
heaven, but because heaven has already come into our hearts.
To trust Christ for salvation is to trust him for holiness. If
there is no desire for holiness within, then it is doubtful that the
Holy Spirit has come to dwell within. The Holy Spirit does not save
us without giving us the desire to live a holy life. Floyd McClung;
[Time With God SB]
Christ invites all to come to Him, but when they come, they are
to lay aside their sins. All their vices and follies, all their
pride and worldliness, are to be laid at [the foot of] His cross. This
He requires because He loves them, and desires to save them; not in
their sins but from their sins. [UL169]
Christ has given us no assurance that to attain perfection of
character is an easy matter. A noble, all-round character is not
inherited. It does not come to us by accident. A noble character is earned
by individual effort through the merits and grace of Christ. God
gives the talents, the powers of the mind; we form the character. It
is formed by hard, stern battles with self. Conflict after conflict
must be waged against hereditary tendencies. We shall have to
criticize ourselves closely, and allow not one unfavorable trait to remain
uncorrected. Let no one say, I cannot remedy my defects of character. If you
come to this decision, you will certainly fail of obtaining
everlasting life. The impossibility lies in your own will. If you will not,
then you can not overcome. The real difficulty arises from the
corruption of an unsanctified heart, and an unwillingness to submit to the
control of God. COL331
'Jesus' means "the LORD saves." Jesus came to earth to save us
because we can't save ourselves from sin and its consequences. No matter
how good we are, we can't eliminate the sinful nature present in all
of us. Only Jesus can do that. Jesus didn't come to help people
save themselves; he came to be their Savior from the power and
penalty of sin. Thank Christ for his death on the cross for your sin,
and then ask him to take control of your life. Your new life begins
at that moment. [Life Application SB]
"He shall save his people from their sins." -- Matthew 1:21
Many persons, if they are asked what they understand by
salvation, will reply, "Being saved from hell and taken to heaven." This is
one result of salvation, but it is not one tithe of what is
contained in that boon. It is true our Lord Jesus Christ does redeem all
his people from the wrath to come; he saves them from the fearful
condemnation which their sins had brought upon them; but his triumph is far
more complete than this. He saves his people "from their sins." Oh!
sweet deliverance from our worst foes. Where Christ works a saving
work, he casts Satan from his throne, and will not let him be master
any longer. No man is a true Christian if sin reigns in his mortal
body. Sin will be in us--it will never be utterly expelled till the
spirit enters glory; but it will never have dominion. There will be a
striving for dominion--a lusting against the new law and the new spirit
which God has implanted--but sin will never get the upper hand so as to
be absolute monarch of our nature. Christ will be Master of the
heart, and sin must be mortified. The Lion of the tribe of Judah shall
prevail, and the dragon shall be cast out. Professor! is sin subdued in
you? If your life is unholy your heart is unchanged, and if your
heart is unchanged you are an unsaved person. If the Saviour has not
sanctified you, renewed you, given you a hatred of sin and a love of
holiness, he has done nothing in you of a saving character. The grace
which does not make a man better than others is a worthless
counterfeit. Christ saves his people, not in their sins, but from them.
"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." "Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity." If not saved from sin, how
shall we hope to be counted among his people. Lord, save me now from
all evil, and enable me to honour my Saviour. [Morning and Evening
by Charles H. Spurgeon]
"Thou shalt call his name Jesus." -- Matthew 1:21
When a person is dear, everything connected with him becomes
dear for his sake. Thus, so precious is the person of the Lord Jesus
in the estimation of all true believers, that everything about him
they consider to be inestimable beyond all price. "All thy garments
smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia," said David, as if the very
vestments of the Saviour were so sweetened by his person that he could not
but love them. Certain it is, that there is not a spot where that
hallowed foot hath trodden--there is not a word which those blessed lips
have uttered--nor a thought which his loving Word has revealed--which
is not to us precious beyond all price. And this is true of the
names of Christ--they are all sweet in the believer's ear. Whether he
be called the Husband of the Church, her Bridegroom, her Friend;
whether he be styled the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world--the
King, the Prophet, or the Priest--every title of our Master--Shiloh,
Emmanuel, Wonderful, the Mighty Counsellor--every name is like the
honeycomb dropping with honey, and luscious are the drops that distil from
it. But if there be one name sweeter than another in the believer's
ear, it is the name of Jesus. Jesus! it is the name which moves the
harps of heaven to melody. Jesus! the life of all our joys. If there
be one name more charming, more precious than another, it is this
name. It is woven into the very warp and woof of our psalmody. Many of
our hymns begin with it, and scarcely any, that are good for
anything, end without it. It is the sum total of all delights. It is the
music with which the bells of heaven ring; a song in a word; an ocean
for comprehension, although a drop for brevity; a matchless oratorio
in two syllables; a gathering up of the hallelujahs of eternity in
five letters.
"Jesus, I love thy charming name,
'Tis music to mine ear." [Morning and Evening by Charles H.
Spurgeon]
1. Jesus saves us from all past sin by His death on the cross.
1Jo.1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. Jesus saves us from present sin by the gift of the Holy
Spirit:
Gal.5:16 Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of
the flesh.
John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except
ye abide in me.
1Th.5:17 Pray without ceasing.
3. Jesus saves from future sin by glorification.
1Co.15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
written, Death is swallowed up in victory. [source unknown]
Jesus came to earth to save us because we can't save ourselves
from sin and its consequences. No matter how good we are, we can't
eliminate our alienation from God. Only Jesus can do that. Jesus didn't
come to help people save themselves; he, and he alone, came to be
their Savior from the power and penalty of sin. Thank Jesus for his
death on the cross for your sin, and then ask him to take control of
your life. Your new life begins at that moment. (Life Application
Commentary)
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