“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
These are the words the angel told Joseph. He was in a quandary. Mary, the girl he was betrothed to, was pregnant. It wasn’t his baby. In those days, the penalty for such a thing was death by stoning. Joseph was thinking of quietly putting her away, in other words, not marrying her. In those days to be betrothed was just as binding as being married. When she said yes, that whole year before the wedding was preparation. He was to prepare a home for them. She was to make her wedding dress.
The angel’s words in his dream changed Joseph’s mind. He marries her and becomes the earthly father to the Lord Jesus. The last verse in that chapter reveals his obedience. “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called His name JESUS.” (Matthew 1:25)
The last phrase of Matthew 1:21 is interesting. It doesn’t say He shall save His people from the penalty of sin or from the wrath for sin. It says “for He shall save His people from their sins.” That is a profound statement. We needed to be saved from our sins.
Sin has an enslaving hold on those who are not in Jesus. It is something that cannot be shaken off. And it is something only the Cross can deliver us from and only the Blood of Jesus can cleanse. When we think of Jesus on the Cross, we think of the forgiveness He obtained for us. But it was so much more in the spiritual and in the physical.
Jesus saves us from the bondage of sin. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15) Jesus was flesh and blood to deliver us from the bondage of sin and death. Romans 6:1-11 tells us exactly what has happened. It is long, but let’s explore it. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:1-11) In other words, when we come to Jesus we are accepted and become participants of the death of that sin that kept us in bondage. WOW! Can you see it? That sin was put to death at the cross, but it still had a hold on us until we repented (turned from it) and accepted God merciful gift of salvation through Jesus who took that sin and death for us. No longer does it have a hold on us. This Scripture talks about baptism. This baptism is the ritual of demonstrating what Jesus has done in our lives. Our sinful person was put to death in Jesus and raised a new creation, born of God, free of sin’s bondage, a child of God, co-inheritor with Jesus.
Many don’t turn to Jesus because their “beloved” life will change. Yes! Thank God
it will change. They cling to the miseries this world has to offer. But the love of God, His life and light living in us and His peace and joy do not compare to any happiness we get from this world. I love this illustration because it shows the reality of our love of the world.
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4) We may feel that James is being a little harsh calling us adulterers and adulteresses, but idolatry is spiritual adultery. We love the world more that we love God. That’s a lot to chew. Meditate on this. May the Lord deliver us from idolatry.
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