Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-38; Matthew 2:1-21
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. She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20-21
I am struck by that last clause: for He will save His people from their sins. We should note that the angel does not announce that Jesus would save His people from the Romans — or from Hamas, for that matter. Jesus’ life on earth is not to be that of an earthly military “conquering hero”. I think we can all recognize that, even if it takes a while for Jesus’ eventual disciples to arrive at that understanding. What, then, does it mean to save His people from their sins?
I expect our most immediate response to that question is that Jesus works things out so that His people avoid the eternal fires of hell and instead get to go to heavenly bliss when they die. And, yes, as we’ll see as we go through the New Testament, that is certainly one aspect of what is meant here. But doesn’t that sound more like He will save his people from the consequences of their sins? It seems to me that being saved from sins is much more than avoiding penalties, as nice as that might be.
Here’s an example to illustrate what I mean. Consider an alcoholic who gets himself drunk but drives anyway and gets pulled over on a DUI charge. He comes before the judge who takes a liking to the alcoholic and decides to dismiss the charge. “You’re free to go,” he says. No fine. No jail time. No loss of driver’s license. “Great! Thanks!” says the alcoholic, “That calls for a celebration! Let me buy you a drink.” The alcoholic here is penalty-free, but he is certainly not “saved” from alcoholism. That requires something much, much deeper.
So, what does it mean for Jesus to save His people from their sins? Further, what does it mean for you personally in the here and now, day to day? I think it’s worth giving that some serious consideration over the coming weeks. Let’s see what the New Testament might have to say.
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