Jesus as Savior
Jesus = Savior
“But while he (Joseph) thought on these things, the 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 He who is 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.” Mat 1:20-21
Jesus is Greek for Joshua; Joshua is Hebrew. Both mean “Savior”.
We cannot have a clearer verse of scripture to tell us the purpose for Jesus coming to earth. Notice I did not say “the purpose for His being born;” that is too weak, it does not include the fact that Jesus existed prior to his body being conceived in Mary’s womb. Jesus is “I AM”; he is “The Ever Existing One”; he is God. He is the one sent by the Father, from heaven to earth to save his people from their sin.
41 times in the gospel of John alone, Jesus is referred to, or refers to himself as “the sent one”.
Why was he sent? He was sent “to save his people from their sins”; to save, hence the name Jesus: Savior. There was a plan, a purpose, a design. God the Father is the “Sender”, Jesus, God the Son, is the “Sent One”. A coordinated, agreed upon plan; and since it is of God, guaranteed to succeed.
1) “Save”: Why do they need to be saved, because they are lost. Have you ever thought of yourself as lost, without direction, of society as lost, without direction; without moorings, aimlessly wandering? The reason: sin. Sin is a cancer, a “genetic” disease/condition, inherited from Adam, and it is fatal. We sin because we are spiritually dead, and those sins eat away at us like gangrene, killing us. The reason everything is all messed up, is because we are all messed up. We are dead men dying! Jesus saves from sin; he can save you from your sin.
2) “His people”: Jesus did not come to save every single individual person who has ever been or who ever will be born. He clearly did not come for Cain or Judas. Cain was said to be “of the wicked one” 1Jn 3:12. Regarding Judas, in Jhn 17:12, Jesus called him “the son of perdition” (Jhn 17:12). Perdition (from Merriam Webster) means: eternal destruction, hell; the Greek word is “apoleia”: to ruin or lose; NOTE that one of Satan’s names is “Apolluon” (Rev 9:12). The destroyer, the one who ruins! Judas, as the son of the destroyer, was ordained to perdition, ordained to be destroyed, ordained to hell. Jesus did not come to save him.
On the other hand, in the same prayer, when praying for his people, Jesus said “none of them is lost”; i.e. all are saved.
Here is what Jhn 17:12 says, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. And none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”
3) “Sin”: Jesus came to save us from sin, from our sins: from the effects of sin in our personal lives, from its power, from its stain, from its burden, and from future punishment.
Jesus was not sent to save people from poverty (many Christians are poor; Jesus was poor), or from political oppression (many Christians live under oppressive political regimens; Jesus lived under political oppression), or from sickness (many Christians are sick and die “prematurely” from sickness); he came to save his people from their sins.
Sin is a far more deadly; sin is the most deadly malady there is! Sickness only kills the body; sin kills the soul. Jesus saves us from sin. In Jhn 8:34 Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” And then in Jhn 8:36 he said, “Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” Are you a slave of sin? Run to Jesus to be saved!
The devil plays upon our evil heart, our corrupt nature, our deadness that we inherited from Adam, and he tempts us to sin; to commit specific sins, individual acts of sin. These are stains, weights, burdens, and debts that we can never get rid of. Only Jesus can; that is what he does when he saves us and frees us from sin.
Richard Baxter, who lived in the 1600’s said, “All sin is to please the flesh; the world is the material; the devil the mover”.
Do you know the pull of sin in the love of sensual pleasure? Or worldly wealth? Or desire for the honor and esteem of the world?
The wrath due for our sins (the specific individual thoughts and actions), was poured out upon Jesus upon the cross. His blood blots them out of the ledger book (Rev20:12), and washes, cleans our hearts/consciousness (Heb 9:14).
May the Holy Spirit give you life, enabling you to believe this and be saved.