For He (Jesus) Shall Save Them From Their Sins!

Matthew 1:21-23 "And she shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call His name JESUS for He shalls ave His people from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled by the prophet saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a Son and they shall call His name Emmanuel which being interpreted is, God with us."

It's sickening to think how the pagan aspect of Christmas has kicked on in more than the message that should be delivered. I have nothing against celebrating Christmas or having Christmas dinner, what is my problem is when the world kicks Christ out of Christmas. It's shameful that people get excited for Christmas and they become more inconsiderate. Why is that? It's because they kick Christ out of Christmas but not only on Christmas, but every day of their lives they kick Him out so they have XMas! The "mas" here means "feast day" but listen, Christ is not only for this season but for all seasons.

Let us try to think the message of Christmas. The passage says that the Son shall be called Jesus which is Greek for Joshua or Yeshua. In Hebrew, Jesus would be called Joshua or Yeshua of Nazareth. The name means "Jehovah is my salvation". The virgin birth was prophesied by Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14. This time, December 25 will be a day for us to drive out the Devil. Drive out the paganism of Saturnalia by honoring Christ on Christmas. Not according to the traditions of man but by preaching about His birth and doubling your devotion to Christ than usual.

We must look at Genesis 49:8-12 which Jacob says of Judah, "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey my son thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his life until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine and his ass' colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk." The Messiah was already long said to come from Judah and Jesus is the Lion of Judah.

What was important about Judah? We know he got involved in sexual immorality with his daughter-in-law Tamar. Tamar had twins and from one of the twins, Phares became the next to head the Messianic line. They were illegitimate so until the tenth generation, they cannot enter the congregation. But it happened... and we have more people coming in. We have Rahab the Canaanite who married to Salmon. Rahab became the mother of Boaz. Then we have Ruth the Moabite. Ruth married Boaz and after Naomi, Rahab became Ruth's second mother-in-law. Out from Ruth came Obed and out from Obed came Jesse. Out from Jesse came David, the seed of David. And out from David came Nathan and Solomon born to Bathsheba. Although Satan nearly destroyed David with Bathsheba, God turned the tables as Bathsheba went from bad mother to good mother. From Solomon came Joseph and from Nathan came Mary.

Let us take a look at the phrase, "He shall save His people from their sins." Now this people does not just mean the Jews. He came to seek and save the lost not just among the Jews but among the Gentiles. Now one may take at Luke 1:46-47 when Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the LORD, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." Mary knew Jesus would be her Savior too. She knew she was a sinner. She offered two turtle doves right after the delivery. It wasn't an easy thing for Mary a true servant of God to have to go to Jerusalem, a rocky journey, Satan must have wanted her to miscarry. She made it by divine provision. She was indeed chosen for that task to fulfill prophecy. Seed of David and seed of a woman.. she was from David's line and so was Joseph. It was also a night that no one would be hospitable to them, it became a picture of the Messiah's rejection.

So what does it mean that He shall save His people from their sins? Jesus did not come to save people in their sins but from their sins. Sin is utterly evil and vile before God. Humanity in its own effort cannot save itself from the sins that so attach to them. When Adam and Eve sinned, sin spread through humanity. Adam brought death into the world, Christ was about to undo what Adam did by dying for sin and saving people from their sins. Jesus became man so He can keep the whole Law, live a sinless life and become that substitute sacrifice for our sins. The only way man can pay for even just one sin is to burn in Hell for eternity. James 2:10 is clear that it only takes one sin to fall short out of God's glory.

Why was the virgin birth important? Some Catholic apologists try to argue that if Mary was a sinner, then Jesus would be tainted. But they ignore this fact, it was Adam not Eve who brought death into the world (Romans 5:12). Remember it was only after Adam ate the fruit that sin came into the world because he was in charge of creation. Sin nature is passed from the father to child, not from mother to child. Mary was a sinner but God can do the impossible. Mary would have had needed sinless lines to avoid being conceived in sin. Remember the list of begats in Matthew 1? Joseph is the foster father of Jesus. Mary is the mother of Jesus. Jesus was conceived by God the Father through the Holy Ghost. This miraculous conception would spare Jesus from any sin that Mary had. Mary was a sinner but God can do the impossible by giving her a sinless Son in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We later read in Luke 2:23-24 we read that Mary offered a sin offering. This was because she was a sinner and she knew her need. She kept the Law that was required of her (Leviticus 12:2-6). In Luke 2:34-35 we read Simeon say, "Behold this child is set for the fall and riasing agian of many in Israel for a sign which shall be spoke against. Yea a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed." Jesus Christ was born to die for the sins of man. That's why there's not only Christmas but also Holy Week. Jesus was scheduled to die during the Passover when he would be 33 years old. The Passover dates varied and happened during a full moon, usually around March to April. I even dare believe that the blood on the doorposts could have formed the prophetic sign of the cross. So in honoring Christ, both His birth and His death are remembered.

So why was the birth important? It can be looked this way. Jesus had to be born a man like among us. Emmanuel means "God with us". Jesus is God becoming man. Colossians 2:9 says that Jesus is the fullness of the Trinity in bodily form. He would grow to be a man, He would learn. He knew the Law because before His incarnation, He wrote the Law. Before He became man, He already had appeared in the Old Testament. He appeared as the "Angel of the LORD" who did what only God can do, He appeared as the Captain of God's Army to Joshua, He appeared to Abraham in Mamre, He may have been Melchizedek the Priest of God... the human birth was needed so He can be that man to fulfill that Law. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He became man to keep the whole Law for man, die like man, taste death for every man so He can save people from their sins. His death showed us how to live. Hebrews 4:15 says He was tempted yet without sin to provide victory over temptation.

I remembered how Spurgeon had quoted about the conquest of the soul. He said, "Another proof of the conquest of a soul for Christ will be found in a REAL CHANGE OF LIFE. If a man does not live DIFFERENTLY from what he did before, both at home and abroad, his repentance needs to be repented of and his conversion is a FICTION. Not only action and language but spirit and temper MUST BE CHANGED... Abiding under the POWER OF ANY KNOWN SIN is a mark of our being servants of sin for his "servants ye are to whom ye obey." Idle are the boasts of a man who harbors with himself the LOVE OF ANY TRANSGRESSION. He may feel what he likes and believe what he likes, he is still in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity while a single sin rules his heart and life. True regeneration implants a HATRED OF ALL EVIL and where one sin is delighted in, the evidence is fatal to a sound hope... There must be harmony between THE LIFE AND THE PROFESSION. A Christian professes to renounce sin; and if he does not do so, his very name is an imposture."

The Bible is clear in 1 Corinthians 6:11 that says, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Previous two verses showed the fallen state of man. We have had the problem that unrighteous people CANNOT inherit the Kingdom of God. Neither fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, homosexuals, abusers of themselves, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners... that was the lifestyle BEFORE salvation. Romans 3:10-19 reveals the fact no one is righteous and that all are GUILTY before God. I was once like that. I had no power over sin until Jesus saved me. I cannot have power over sin apart from Christ. I have power over sin only because of Jesus and His grace. Apart from God's grace I am just a wretched man.

The message of Christmas is this. Not about presents, not about parties... it's the good news that Jesus Christ became man for us. He is not born every Christmas nor die every Holy Week, no these occasions are meant to honor what has happened, not a repetition of such events. Sad to say, the true message of Christmas is scorned by the world with the revivals of Saturnalia with their drunken revelries and being inconsiderate. Remember Christ is already knocking at your door... will you let Him into your life or will you be like those inn keepers who slammed the door?