Born to Save
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Introduction:
Over the next several weeks we are going to be looking at several Christmas passages as we reflect on what Jesus came to do. Today, we are going to see that Jesus was born to save us.
Purpose of Christmas
Jesus birth is an awesome story and it gives us a great reason to have a holiday to celebrate. I think for most people Christmas is probably one of the most enjoyed holidays that we have. It seems to start right after Thanksgiving and continue all month long, even spilling over into New Year’s. Some people have so much Christmas cheer that they leave their lights up half the year. But Jesus didn’t come just to give us a reason for a holiday.
Jesus came to save us!
When new babies are born, a lot of times parents will send out a birth announcement that has a picture of the new baby with the weight, length, time, and name of the new baby. For Jesus, His parents got the birth announcement, and boy was it and incredible one!
Let’s take a look at what happened.
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.
Pray
1. He was the Son of Promise (v. 22)
1. He was the Son of Promise (v. 22)
We wait all month long for a date to come. We are waiting for Christmas Day. Now, some people are waiting for Christmas Day to come so that they can get presents. But for Christians, we wait for the advent of Jesus.
We are waiting for the arrival of the Son of God. The people of Israel were waiting for Jesus also, but many of them had grown dull. The religious leaders were content with the power and wealth that they were getting. They had made a mockery of the religious symbols that were given through the sacrificial model and the temple system that was supposed to point to Jesus.
But the people knew things were not right. They were an invaded country. If you go and read Daniel 11, you will see where God shows Daniel what is going to happen right before Jesus is born. It describes the trampling of the land by these armies that are going back and forth and fighting each other.
The people of Israel were tired of being an invaded country and many of them realized that what God had promised them in a kingdom, they had failed to see come to fruition because of their sin. God had punished them by taking them into captivity under the hand of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. Then God brings them back to the land, but things were never the same as before.
The promise of the minor prophets was that God would establish his kingdom in the last days. God would set up His king on His holy mountain. That promise will come to pass when Messiah comes. First Jesus would come to save us from our sins, but He will come again to set up His physical kingdom on earth.
The people were skipping ahead to the political kingdom and were missing that Jesus would come as the Savior first.
2. He was Virgin Born (v.23)
2. He was Virgin Born (v.23)
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Jesus was free from original sin.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
In Adam all of us fell. Adam represented the whole human race. No one could save us who was under the same curse as us.
The virgin birth is not just some opinion we hold to, it is essential to our salvation.
Jesus birth is a miracle. Mary conceived supernaturally of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus could be both like us in sharing our humanity and in order to represent us before God, but different from us in regards to sin.
3. He was Born to Save Us (v. 21)
3. He was Born to Save Us (v. 21)
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The name Jesus is an interesting name. In the Old Testament it was the name given to Joshua. It is Yeshua. In fact in the Book of Hebrews this comes out in translations like the King James Version.
Joshua is changed to Jesus in the King James version in Hebrews 4.8
8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
Now, the clear person being referred to here in this passage is Joshua.
The point is simply that they share the same name and in a similar way, Joshua was a type of Christ. He led his people into the promised land, or rest. Even the Promised Land was a type of Heaven. It pictures the rest that we will enjoy one day.
The name Jesus, or Joshua, means “God saves.” And that is what our text actually tells us. It says that He would be called Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins.
4. He is Immanuel (V.22-23)
4. He is Immanuel (V.22-23)
Now, just like the name Jesus means something, the name Immanuel means something too. Again, we are told what it means.
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).
A little hint is that when you see the el at the end of a name in the Old Testament, a lot of times it is the name of God.
For example Bethel is really Beth El which means House (Beth) of God (el).
El is the name of God in the Old Testament and Immanuel means God with us.
Wow! Isn’t that a wonderful lesson in Hebrew? Well, that isn’t the purpose pointing this out.
What does it mean that God is with us?
Give examples
It is a picture of Heaven.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Conclusion
The reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas season is profound. Jesus is the fulfilled promise of God to save us from our sins. He promises to be with us every day of our lives.
He will not only be with you today to get through this life and enjoy His presence, but He promises to take you with Him to an even better place. A place of rest and a place of peace. A city that He has prepared for us and where He will dwell with us.