The Birth of Jesus the Messiah - Part 2

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This past year, I had the opportunity to read a fascinating book called Ghost Soldiers, written by Hampton Sides, documenting a very poorly known and understood rescue of American soldiers during World War II.  It was in April of 1942, that 76,000 Filipino and American soldiers, who had fought to defend the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, 76,000 surrendered to the Japanese.  They were then forced to march 66 brutal miles in sweltering heat through a mosquito-infested jungle with little to no food and water.  As you are aware, that became known as the “Bataan Death March.”  Japanese soldiers had been taught by their superiors that true soldiers never surrender, so they viewed these prisoners who had surrendered as despicable, worthless human beings, and frankly, they treated them as such.  Captives were beaten, bayoneted, shot, and in many cases, beheaded.

The March began with 76,000.  Over the next 10 days, 20,000 would die in that 66-mile March.  Three years later, as the war in the Pacific was coming to an end, only 500 of the original 13,000 American soldiers captured at Bataan, only 500 survived.  The U.S. Army was afraid that the Japanese would execute those captives as liberation came closer, and so they sent an elite ranger battalion of 124 men to rescue those prisoners.  The Rangers, it's a remarkable story, the Rangers made their way some 30 miles behind enemy lines, and then with the help of Filipino resistance fighters, they liberated the 513 American prisoners who had survived the Bataan Death March, and they took them back to safety.  It's one of the greatest rescue missions in American history.

But this morning, it is our privilege to examine the greatest rescue mission in human history.  Here's how Paul describes it in 1 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 15, “…Christ Jesus (the Messiah Jesus) came into the world to save (rescue) sinners…”  We're studying Matthew's account of the birth of Christ, which tells Joseph's side of the story.  Just to remind you, as we've begun our study of this wonderful Gospel, Matthew wrote this Gospel to prove that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures; He is the divine Savior and King.  To prove that, Matthew first had to show that Jesus was in the lineage of Israel's kings, that He descended from David, and so He begins with Jesus' ancestry in the first 17 verses of this Gospel. 

But after the genealogy, Matthew records the events surrounding Jesus' birth, and they too were unique.  In fact, those events provide us with remarkable insight into who Jesus really was.  Let's read it again together, Matthew, chapter 1, beginning in verse 18.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ (The Messiah) was as follows:  when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.  But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, 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.”  Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means “GOD WITH US.”  And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.

In this birth account, Matthew highlights for us five unique characteristics seen in the birth of Jesus that prove, in fact, He is the promised Messiah.  Now, last week, we considered only the first of those five unique characteristics that prove He's the Messiah, and that is “His Virgin Conception,” His virgin conception.  Look again with me at verses 18 to 20, and let me just briefly remind you of what we learned.

Verse 18: 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ (The Messiah) was as follows:  when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph (That is, during that one-year kiddushin, the first part of a first-century Jewish wedding, the betrothal, more serious than our engagement.) before they came together (That is, sexually.), she was found to be with child by (Or literally, “out of.”) the Holy Spirit,” (That is, by a miraculous creative act of the Holy Spirit.)  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man (That is, a true Old Testament believer, serious about his faith, serious about his obedience to his God.) and not wanting to disgrace her (That is, to subject her to a public trial for her adultery.), planned to send her away secretly (To privately divorce her before two witnesses, as was allowed in the first century.).  But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord (Likely Gabriel, the one who announced the birth to Mary three months before.) appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. (That's the second part of a first-century Jewish wedding.  It is the actually becoming man and wife. And the angel says, that's what you need to do) , for the child who has been conceived in her is (out) of the Holy Spirit” (The source of that child is the miraculous creative power of the Holy Spirit.).

Now, the point of these verses, obviously, is to stress that Jesus was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.  But why is the virgin birth so essential?  Last week, I gave you one reason. The first primary reason for the virgin conception was this.  It was “the only way that the Second Person of the Trinity could add a human nature without becoming two persons.”  When a man and a woman conceive, what results?  A person.  But the eternal Son of God was already a person.  If He had been conceived in the way you and I are, He would have now been two persons, an impossibility!  So, as a person already existing in His divine nature, the virgin birth allowed Him to be and remain one person, but now with two natures, instead of two people. This is the primary reason for the virgin conception.

We'll talk about a second reason next week. But this is why evangelical theologians and scholars have always agreed that the virgin birth, including the virgin conception, is essential to our faith.  But let's just acknowledge that many in our world struggle with the idea of a virgin birth.  It seems outlandish to them; but once you understand there is a God who created all things, who spoke all things into existence by His Word, then you understand this is not a problem for Him.   It was nearly a thousand years ago that Anselm, who served at the Canterbury Cathedral, pointed out that God has actually made humans in five different ways.  Think about it.  The first way He's made a human is by a man and a woman; that's the normal, natural way–all of us were conceived in this way.   Secondly, Anselm said, “God has made a human without either a man or a woman; – that's Adam.”  Thirdly, he points out that “God has made a human through a man without a woman,–that's Eve.”  Number four, He has miraculously enabled a man and a woman past childbearing age to have a child, Abraham and Sarah, Zacharias and Elizabeth.  And then finally, number five, He has brought a human into existence by a woman without a man, and that's Jesus.  This is not a challenge for our God.  Jesus' virgin conception is part of the proof that He is the Messiah.

Now today, we come to a second defining characteristic of Jesus' birth in our text that proves He's the Messiah.  Gabriel goes on to tell Joseph that God had sent Mary's child into the world for an amazing reason.  So, let's consider, secondly, “His Saving Mission,” His saving mission.  This is verse 21, and let me just warn you, this is as far as we get today. Verse 21 begins, “She will bear a Son.”  The angel told Joseph that Mary was going to have a boy. Now, for us in the 21st century, this isn't that remarkable, but remember, in the ancient world, there was no way to discover the sex of the child with any certainty until the day of the birth.  But before the conception of Jesus, Gabriel told Mary that she would have a Son, Luke, chapter 1.  Three months later, here in our text, Gabriel tells Joseph that the child is a boy. 

This, of course, is consistent with Old Testament prophecy.  The very first prophecy in Genesis 3:15 of a Messiah who would come, says that He would be a unique human male, and He would eventually deal with sin.  Throughout the Old Testament, it's clear that Messiah would be male.  So, “She will bear a Son.”  Gabriel continues in verse 21, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus.”  Joseph couldn’t choose to name this Child whatever he wanted; he had to name Him ‘Jesus.’  Three months before this, at the “Annunciation to Mary,” Gabriel had given Mary the very same instructions.  This is Luke 1:31, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”  And, of course, that's what happened. Luke, chapter 2, verse 21 says, “And when eight days had passed (after Jesus' birth), before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus,” listen to this, “the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.”  The angel told Joseph, in our text, that naming this boy ‘Jesus’ was absolutely crucial. Why?  Because Jesus' name reveals both the one who sent Him and why.  Let's look at it together. 

First of all, the name ‘Jesus’ reveals “The author of the Mission,” the author of the mission on which He came, and the author is the “One True and Living God.”  Look again at verse 21, “You shall call His name Jesus.”  Now, for many of you, this is a review, but let me just remind you that ‘Jesus’ is the Greek form of the Hebrew name ‘Joshua,’ or in Hebrew, the long form is ‘Yehoshua,’ and that means ‘Yahweh is salvation.’  The short form is ‘Yeshua,’ which means ‘Yahweh saves.’  This boy's name describes the true God.  First and foremost, it describes “God's Identity.”  Who is the one true and living God?  It's ‘Yahweh.’  That's in His name.  The Old Testament declares everywhere that there is only one true God, but, of course, it's put very succinctly and powerfully in “The Shema,” Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 4, “Hear, O Israel!  The LORD (Yahweh) is our God, the LORD (Yahweh) is one!”  “The Shema” there, that the faithful Jewish people today declare, is that there is only one God, and Yahweh is His name.  This is the message of the Old Testament as well as the New.

Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verse 39, “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that The LORD (Yahweh), He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.”  Isaiah 45:5, “I am the LORD (Yahweh), and there is no other; Besides me, there is no God.”  Listen, the gods of the nations are idols, not only the invention of the hands of men, but ultimately, according to Deuteronomy and 1 Corinthians, empowered by demons.  Idolatry is demon worship in its end. There's only one true God. So, Jesus' name tells us that there is only one God, and that Yahweh is His name.  ‘Yahweh saves,’ name the Boy that.  If you're a follower of Jesus Christ, you worship that one God; He is your God.  There is only one God, and Yahweh is His name, who our Lord taught us to refer to as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

Yahweh, as again you know, is the most common name for God in the Old Testament. It occurs over 6,000 times in the Old Testament.  Every time you see the word LORD in all caps, or even the word GOD sometimes in all caps, the translators are telling you, “This is Yahweh,” this is the name, the personal name of God. It's a form of the Hebrew verb, ‘to be.’  You remember back in Exodus 3, when God announced His name to Moses, He used the first person.  He said, tell them, “I AM” has sent you.  But Yahweh is the third person form of the verb.  So, God calls Himself, “I AM,” but we refer to Him as Yahweh, which means ‘He is.’ So, when God says His name, it's “I AM,” when we say His name, it's “He is.”

What does that mean?  He simply is the one who is.  If you want to get the fullness of that, I did a series from Exodus 34, “God's Sermon on His Name.”  Go back and listen.  That's one of the richest studies for my own soul that I've ever had, and I encourage you to do that.  But this name of God, at its heart, speaks of God's self-existence.  He depends on nothing and no one for His existence.  Think about that.  You depend on God for everything; He depends on nothing and no one.  To say it positively, “God is solely responsible for all existence, including His own.”

But Jesus' name tells us more about “The Author of the Mission.”  Not only does it identify Him as who He is, He's Yahweh, but it also explains “God's character-Yahweh saves” is what Jesus means.  In both Hebrew and Greek, Jesus means ‘Yahweh saves,’ or ‘Yahweh is salvation.’  You see, the point of Jesus' name is that Yahweh is, by nature, a saving God.  You ought to get really excited about that because if that weren't true, there would be no hope for you or me.  But He is, by nature, a God who delights to rescue.  He's a Savior, by nature.  He's the only Savior. Isaiah 43:11, “I, even I, am the LORD (Yahweh), And there is no savior besides Me.” Isaiah 45:21 and 22, God says, “Declare and set forth your case;  Indeed, let them consult together.  Who has announced this from of old?  Who has long since declared it?”  He's saying, “Listen, I'm telling you what's going to happen in the future.  Who does that?”  And He says, “Is it not I, LORD (Yahweh), And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.”  And therefore, He extends this universal invitation, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.”  There's only one God, and there's only one saving God.  So, the point of Jesus' name is this, there's one true and living God; His name is Yahweh; He's the God of the Hebrew Scriptures.  So, Jesus' name builds in this continuity between the Old and New Testaments.  And that God is, by nature, a Savior.  And because of His saving character, He, and we can say based on other texts very specifically, “The Father has authored the eternal plan of redemption; because of His nature, He put together the plan to save.”  So, Jesus' name, then, reveals “The Author of Jesus' Mission.”

Secondly, it also reveals “The Agent of the Mission;” the agent is “The Incarnate Son of God.”  Jesus' name reveals that He's the one who will execute or accomplish this rescue mission. And He's able to do that because of who He is.  His name reveals the nature of His person.  Look again at verse 21, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save…”  Now, from the time of Joshua, ‘Yehoshua,’ or ‘Yeshua’ in the Old Testament, Jewish parents named their young sons by that name. It was a way to remember that God saves His people.  But this child is to be named ‘Jesus’ for an entirely different reason, because “He will save.”  The Greek text emphasizes this, literally, here's how the Greek reads, “He Himself will save.”  Or we could even say, “He and not another will save.”  Now, I wish you'd never heard this before, I wish you were hearing it for the first time because I want you to think about how staggering that statement is.  The angel says, “You know that three-month-old child in the womb of your betrothed Virgin Mary?  That child, name that boy ‘Jesus,’ ‘Yahweh saves’ because this boy Himself will save.” This child has divine rights; He has divine authority.  He will save; He will do what only God can do.  Jesus is the only one qualified to be the Savior, because He is Yahweh. 

It's what He Himself claimed. John, chapter 8, verse 58, “ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born,’” and guess what?  Jesus doesn't say, “He is.”  “Before Abraham was born, I am.”  He's, therefore, as God, by nature, like God, the Savior, because He is God.  Jesus was qualified to carry out this mission because of His nature as God the Son incarnate.  That's what John the Apostle says in John, chapter 1, verse 1; Right?  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  But verse 14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  You understand what we're, in this one verse, seeing, the great reality of our redemption played out in the stage of eternity?  The Father authored the plan of redemption.  He authored the rescue mission, and God the Son accomplished the rescue.  He is the Savior of the world. 

Thirdly, Jesus' name also reveals “The Application of the Mission.”  Who's it for?  Verse 21, “He will save His people.”  That's another shocking statement, “He will save His people.”  That three-month-old child, conceived three months before in the womb of the Virgin Mary, possesses, as His own, a unique group of people, and they are the point and focus of His saving mission.  Who are His people?  Well, “His people” doesn't mean all the Jews; that's clear in the rest of the New Testament.  It doesn't mean just the Jews.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus makes it clear who His people are.  They're surprising because, in chapter 1, we've already seen it in the genealogy, in chapter 1, verse 5, they include Rahab, a Canaanite, and former prostitute.  They include Ruth, a Moabitess, and a former idolater.  And in chapter 8, verse 11, Jesus says, “many will come from east and west,” in context, He means non-Jews, Gentiles, “and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”  Jesus says, “My people are, some of them are Jewish, and many of them are Gentiles.”  In chapter 16, verse 18, He refers to His people by the label, “My church,” My church.  And in chapter 28, verses 18 to 20, we learn that His people include people from all over the planet, every nation, and people of all times till the end of human history, “His people.”  

In John's Gospel, it becomes even clearer who His people are.  Listen to this shocking verse, this is John 6, verse 37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to me.”  That's an interesting way to describe ‘His people;’ “All that the Father gives Me.”  What's He talking about?  Turn over to John 17; John 17, the “High Priestly Prayer of Jesus,” He makes it very clear who these people, ‘His people,’ are.  Look at verse 2, John 17:2, He says, “Father…even as you gave Me authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Me, I may give eternal life.”  Listen to that, “To all whom You have given Me, Father, I'm going to give them eternal life.”  Go down to verse 6, “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave me out of the world; they were Yours.”  So, before they became Jesus’, they belonged to the Father. “They were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”  Go down to verse 9, “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.”  Now, so far, you might be tempted to think Jesus is just talking about the eleven, the eleven faithful disciples.  Judas, of course, is out of the picture at this point, but he's not.  Go down to verse 20, “I do not ask on behalf of these (The eleven alone.) but for those also who believe in Me through their word.”  Guess who that is.  If you have read the New Testament and come to believe in Jesus, that's you.  

Now, watch how he brings it all together in verse 24, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You have loved Me before the foundation of the world.”  Now, that verse is crucial to our understanding of ‘His people.’  Jesus has a people who belong to Him, and the Father gave those people to His Son as the eternal expression of His love.  And Jesus came on a mission to save the ones the Father had given Him.  Listen, if you're a Christian, if you've repented and believed in Christ, or if you're willing to repent and believe in Him, you are one of His people.  And Jesus came into the world to rescue you, not some nondescript body of people who may or may not believe; He came to save ‘His people’ from their sins.

Fourthly, His name also reveals “The Aim of the Mission,” the aim of the mission.  Look again at verse 21, “Call his name Jesus, for (because) He will save His people from their sins.”  Now, the Greek preposition ‘from,’ combined there with sins, has the idea that He will save His people ‘away from,’ He will ‘separate them from their sins.’  Think Psalm 103:12, “He has removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west.” (Rearranged)  Now, in Scripture, the words ‘save,’ and ‘salvation’ are used to describe rescue or deliverance from a broad range of evils.  For example, these words are used of rescuing someone physically, from danger, from disease, even from death.  In the Old Testament, God often sent a human savior or deliverer to rescue people from their physical circumstances.  If you want to see that, just read the book of Judges, where again and again, God sent a deliverer, a rescuer, a savior, a human one to rescue them from their physical circumstances.  First century Jews expected this of the Messiah.  They expected the Messiah to save His people physically, politically, from the tyranny of Rome.  Sadly, that misconception of the purpose of the mission is still alive and well today. The ‘Prosperity Gospel’ is filled with offering people the wrong kind of savior.  Believe in Jesus and He'll save you from poverty.  Believe in Jesus and He'll save you from sickness.  Believe in Jesus and you fill in the blank.  The angel tells Joseph that the Messiah's mission is a “spiritual rescue.”  Verse 21, “call His name Jesus for He will save His people,” notice, “from their sins.” This is why Jesus came.  Gabriel told Joseph that God sent the child in Mary's womb to accomplish our redemption.  That's why in Luke, chapter 2, verse 11, on the day Jesus was born, the angel says to the shepherds who were outside of Bethlehem, “Today in the city of David there has been born for you (What?) a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

During His ministry, Jesus identified this as His mission.  In Luke, chapter 19, verse 10, he says “The Son of Man has come (Why?) to seek and to save that which was lost.”  How?  How is He going to carry out this rescue?  Jot it in your notes if you're taking notes. This is a key text, Matthew 20, verse 28.  Jesus says I came to give My “life as a ransom for many,” as the payment for your life. and He did it for the many, again ‘His people.’

Notice Gabriel says that Jesus the Messiah will “save His people from their sins,” plural.  You see, Jesus is a comprehensive Savior; He redeems us from all of our sins. Colossians 2, verse 13, “…having forgiven us all our transgressions.”  Listen Christian, if you have repented and believed in Jesus, God has forgiven you all of your sins judicially, as you stand before Him as judge; all the sins of the past, all the sins of the future, He's forgiven you all your sins. And if you're a true Christian that doesn't move you to go, “Well great, I can just do whatever I want.”  Romans 6 says, “How shall we who've died to sin still live in it?”  No, if you're really a Christian, the reality that He's forgiven all your sins makes you want to be faithful to Him and obey Him.  Jesus is the only Savior; He's a comprehensive Savior, He's the only Savior. 

You remember Acts, chapter 4, verse 12, Peter says, “there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts, chapter 5, verse 31, Peter again says, “He is the one (Jesus is the one.) whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.  Paul, in Acts, chapter 13, makes this very same point in verse 23.  He says, “From the descendants of this man (David), according to the promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.” 

Now when we read verse 21 and it says, “Jesus came to save His people from their sins,” what does scripture mean by that expression?  Let me just fill that out for you.  Here's what Scripture means when it says, “He came to save His people from their sins.”  Number one, “In His life, Jesus perfectly kept God's law for his people.”  Romans, chapter 5, verse 19, “Through the obedience of the One (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.”  He lived His perfect life in your place so that that perfect life could be credited to you.

Secondly, “In His death, Jesus fully paid the legal debt for the sin and guilt of His people and, therefore, fully satisfied the just wrath of God against our sins.”  Take just the first part, “He paid our legal debt,” Matthew 20, verse 28, “He came to give His life as a ransom (payment) for many (His people.)”  Matthew 26:28, He says, “My blood is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Paraphrase).  1 Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.”  Christian, do you realize that, on the cross, God credited every sin you have ever committed to Jesus?  He put it in Jesus' account.  Every sinful thought you've ever had, every sinful word you've ever spoken, every sinful act you've ever committed, and everything you failed to do that God commands you to do, it was credited to Jesus, and He bore our sins, your sins Christian, on the cross in His own body, and God treated Him as you deserved to be treated. 1 Peter 3:18, “Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for (or in the place of) the unjust,” our Substitute, and, therefore, He satisfied God's wrath.  Romans 3:25, Jesus was “displayed publicly (by God) as a propitiation,” the satisfaction of God's own wrath against our sins.  And because Jesus satisfied God's wrath, we will never face that wrath.  Romans 5:9 says, “We shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” 

Number three, “In His death and resurrection, Jesus ended the enslaving power of sin for His people.”  Romans, chapter 6, verse 6, says, “our old self was crucified with Christ.”  The moment you believe, it's as if the person you used to be died with Jesus, “in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”  The moment you were regenerated, the moment you experienced the new birth, the dominating enslaving power of sin in your life was shattered by Jesus Christ.  You don't have to keep obeying your old master.  If you weren't here, go back and listen to the series I preached on Romans 6 and then Romans 8, where we learn how to deal with that old master and how to live instead in righteousness. 

Number four, “At our death or His return, Jesus will deliver His people eternally (I love this.) from even the capacity to sin.”  Not only, Christian, have you been saved from the penalty of sin, not only has the power of sin been shattered in your life and you're increasingly growing in likeness to Jesus Christ, but one day you will be saved from the possibility of sin.  1 John 3:2 says, “When He appears, we will be like Him.”  Can Jesus sin?   Of course He can't!  Will you be able to sin in eternity?  Of course not!  You'll be like Him!  If you've repented of your sins and you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, then those statements describe how Jesus has rescued you already and how He will rescue you from your sins. 

Numbers one and two describe our ‘justification.’  Number three describes our ‘regeneration’ and our ‘sanctification.’  And number four describes our ‘glorification.’ Christian, you need to meditate on those realities until you understand who Jesus, your Savior, really is and what He's done for your soul.  And if you've never repented and acknowledged Jesus as your Lord and master, then you need to look at that list and realize not one of those is true of you at this moment. You need to repent and believe the true Gospel. 

That Gospel consists of four essential truths. Number one, “There is one God who created all things and all people and, we, you exist for Him.” Number two, “We have all sinned against that God, and our sins deserve spiritual, physical, and eternal death.” Eternal death is what Jesus called, “spending eternity in hell.”  Number three, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners through His perfect life, substitutionary death, and glorious resurrection.”  God appointed him to be the substitute for His people and to suffer in His own body on the cross what their sins deserved.  And we know God accepted that sacrifice because three days later He raised Him from the dead.  But you can believe all of that and not be a Christian.  You can believe all that and die in your sins and go to hell.  There's one other essential truth to the Gospel and that is this, “God commands us in light of that to repent and believe the Gospel to be saved.”  You must repent of your sins, which simply means, you must turn from your sins to God, and you must place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  You must abandon all hope in yourself and your own efforts and your own goodness and your own works.  And you must put your total confidence and trust in Jesus alone as the only way that you will ever be right with God.  You must acknowledge that His perfect life, His substitutionary death, His resurrection are your only hope of spiritual rescue.  And you must ask God to forgive you of your sin and to let Jesus stand in your place as your substitute to suffer the justice that your sins deserve.  And if you'll come to God on those terms, His terms, He will save you from your sins.

Jesus the Messiah came into the world on a saving mission from the Father. Verse 21, “call His name Jesus for He (Himself and He alone) will save His people.”  Those the Father gave Him in eternity and who come to believe in Him in time, “He will save His people from their sins.”  What a Savior!

Let's pray together.  Father, we are overwhelmed by Your grace toward us in Jesus Christ.  We're overwhelmed, Father, that in eternity past, You authored this mission, and that You were willing to send Your only Son to accomplish it at such an incredible price to Yourself and to Him.  Lord Jesus, thank You that You came willingly, voluntarily, to take on full humanity to live the life we should have lived and to die the death we should have died to bring us to the Father.  Spirit, thank You, that in Your grace, there was a moment in many of our lives when You confronted us with our sin, when You showed us Christ, when You opened our eyes to believe, You gave us faith as a gift, You gave us repentance, and, at that moment, Jesus saved us who are His people from our sins.  We love You and thank You. 

Lord, I pray that You would cause our love for Christ to grow as we meditate on and think about what He has accomplished in His saving mission.  Lord, I pray for others who are here who don't know You.  Lord, help them to see the beauty of Christ, the beauty of the Gospel, that they can be right with You, not because of anything that they do, but because of what Jesus has done, and may they run to Him in faith and repentance even today. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.