Matthew 1:18-25 | Save His People From Their Sins

Matthew 1:18-25 English Standard Version (ESV)

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

Who is He?

Where did he come from?

• His origin is eternal, without beginning or end – from everlasting.

Micah 5:2 (KJV) – But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

• He was conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:18b – When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:20 – 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.

• He was born to a virgin

Matthew 1:23a – Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son

What is His name?

• His name is Jesus.

Matthew 1:21a – She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus

• Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua.
• Jesus was a common name.
• Both the Hebrew and Greek forms of His name means “Jehovah Saves,”.
• Jehovah is the name of God in Hebrew.

Who is he?

• He is Immanuel

Matthew 1:23 – “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”
(which means, God with us).

• Immanuel literally means “God is with us”
• He is God incarnate, living among us. (See John 1:1,14)

Why did he come?

• He came to save His people from their sin.

Matthew 1:21 – She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

• The word “save” literally means to preserve. That’s why John 3:16 says,

John 3:16 (KJV) – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

• We will either perish or we will be preserved/saved for eternal life.
• He came to save His people from both the natural consequences of sin, which is physical death, and the just punishment of sin which is eternal eternal death.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• The wages of sin is death. Death is what sin deserves.
• The word “sin” means to miss the mark.
• Have you sinned? Then you deserve death.
• Notice that the gift is different than the wage, we don’t earn it, nor do we deserve it – it’s a free gift.
• The wage of sin is eternal death, but God’s free gift is eternal life.
• Because of sin we are dead men walking.

Ephesians 2:1-7 – And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴ But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ⁶ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

• We are dead because of our sin, but made alive because of the mercy and grace of God.
• We are actually saved from the wrath of God by the grace of God.

Romans 5:9 – Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

• What we deserve is the wrath of God. The Wrath of God is coming upon the earth, but we are spared from the wrath of God through the blood of Jesus.
• In other words, when we receive Christ by faith, He sees us as pure and spotless because the blood that was poured out by Jesus on the cross has washed away our sin.

Why does this matter to me?

His name is Jesus, He is God with us, and he came to save us from our sin. Why should this matter to me? Why should this matter to you?

• Because everyone has sinned

Romans 3:23 –  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:9-12 – ⁹ What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, ¹⁰ as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
¹¹ no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
¹² All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”

James 2:10 – For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

• I’m am accountable for all breaking all of God’s laws.
• If I’m accountable for breaking God’s laws, I need a Savior.
• I need someone to save me from my sin and from the wrath of God.
• That’s why Christmas matters, because Jesus came to save!