Christian Living

He Will Save His People

by Thomas Kirkpatrick
12/23/21
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“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

Joseph was all set to marry the woman of his dreams. But unknown to Him, God had found favor with Mary and sent the angel Gabriel to give her the good news of a child that she would give birth to. And the Arch Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:31-33)

What humble Jewish girl would not be honored by such a revelation from God above? But there was a problem: she was engaged to Joseph, who was a righteous man. When Joseph heard this great news that Mary shared with him, he doubted the story. Because he loved Mary, he did not want to bring shame to her and planned to send her away secretly. Still, it was abrupt news that Mary was with child, and the woman of his dreams had not been faithful. I imagine that the nights for Joseph were sleepless as he lay awake wondering what he should do.

Either exhausted or by the work of God, Joseph fell into a sleep, and an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and spoke saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of 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) After hearing the angel’s words, Joseph believed and did as he was told. Joseph kept Mary and took her as his wife.

The angel told Joseph four things in the dream. The Angel told him that his name will be Jesus and that he will save, that the people He will save are His people, and He will save them from their sins.

It is interesting that the name Jesus is not the first time we have seen it in Scriptures. After Moses died Joshua lead the Israelites into the Promised Land and conquered it. Joshua and Jesus are the same name in the Hebrew language. In Hebrew Joshua’s name is Yehoshua and so is the name Jesus. The meaning of the name Yehoshua is “the LORD is salvation.” The name Jesus is the same as Savior.

We see this name again in Acts. “And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David.” (Acts 7:45) But in King James, the word Joshua is replaced with Jesus. “Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David.”

The names that people had in the Jewish culture had meaning. Abraham’s name meant “father of many.” Moses’ name meant “to pull out/draw out.” A name given to him by Pharaoh’s daughter, as she drew him out of the water. The name given to Mary’s child was Jesus, which is fitting to the mission that He had here on earth. Jesus, “the LORD is salvation.” He will save them by dying on the cross to redeem the people. He was the perfect sacrifice to redeem the people as John the Baptist testified, “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus also saves by giving the power of the Holy Spirit to empower the people to live a Christ-like life. “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:7-8). In the power of the Holy Spirit, the people can overcome in their spiritual battles, the Holy Spirit defends them from dangers, guides them along the path of their duty, sustains them in trials and death, and in the last day, the Holy Spirit will raise them up and exalt them to a world of righteousness and love.

He will save His people, the people that the Father gives Him. The Jews are God’s people because God chose them for Himself. God regarded them as His special and beloved people. They were to be a priesthood so that the people of the world would see the glory of God through them. Therefore, they were separate from all the other people on the earth.

Christians, the followers of Jesus, are called the people of Christ by the purpose of the Father to give them to Him. “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.” (Isaiah 53:11) Those that the Father gives Him will seek Jesus out, and He will not cast them aside. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” (John 6:37)

Jesus gave Himself for His people that they may be redeemed from the sin they had committed and make them pure that they can do the good work of His Kingdom. “Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:14) They were given to Him by the foreknowledge of the Father, who knew those who would respond to the truth of His Son and obey His commands. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.” (1 Peter 1:1-2)

He saved His people from their sins, not those who are in their sins. It was the design of Jesus to save them from the blemish of sin that He could present them to the Father perfect without spot or wrinkle. “So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:26-27)

Let there be no mistake that if you live in sin, you are not one of Jesus’ people. If you continue to live in sin, you are of the devil unequipped to overcome the devil’s power without the Holy Spirit. God hates sin and cannot be in the presence of sin. The people of Christ must also hate sin and not remain in the presence of sin. David was a man who sought the heart of God sincerely and still stumbled into sin with Bathsheba. David confessed and repented and asked the Lord, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

If there is a question in your heart, if you do not know that you know you know your standing with Jesus, then confess and repent today. Jesus came to save that which was lost, and He came to destroy the devil’s works. “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:7-8)

Thomas N Kirkpatrick

First Baptist Church of Durant, December 16, 2016