Jesus Came to Bear Our Sin
Advent 2025 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Sometimes a person’s greatest honor is not who he or she is but to whom they are related. In a small town in Armenia, there was a woman whom everyone called “Palasan’s Wife.” She had her own name, of course, but townspeople called her by her husband’s name to show her great honor.
When the devastating 1988 earthquake struck Armenia on December 7, it was nearly noon, and Palasan was at work. He rushed to the elementary school where his son was a student.
The facade was already crumbling, but he entered the building and began pushing children outside to safety. After Palasan had managed to help twenty-eight children out, an aftershock hit that completely collapsed the school building and killed him.
So the people of that town honor his memory and his young widow by calling her “Palasan’s wife.” Sometimes a person’s greatest honor is not who he or she is but to whom they are related.
The highest honor of any believer is to bear the title: “Christian”, because it recalls the One who laid down his life for us.
This morning, let us focus on the uniqueness of Jesus’ name and His birth. And, why bearing that name ought to be a source of great peace and joy in our lives. First of all, we discover that…
The birth of Jesus was far from ordinary.
The birth of Jesus was far from ordinary.
Notice that Matthew 1:18
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.
By looking at the genealogy of Jesus in verses 1-17, we see that He was a descendant of David, which is one of the qualifiers to being the promised king, the Messiah.
One detail about this lineage is that it is legal in nature, not biological. Frankly, Joseph had very little to do with Jesus conception.
Unlike natural pregnancies, Jesus’ was a supernatural conception. In almost an answering fashion, verse 18 states: “This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about….” With these words, Matthew is getting more specific than the opening line of his gospel. Here, he is speaking of something miraculous.
In the new year, we will be looking at apologetics, the defense of the faith. Rev. Roger Wambold will be presenting on miracles on January 11.
It occurs to me how easily we can forget about the miraculous events surrounding Jesus’ birth.
The fact that Mary was pregnant and was probably beginning to “show” should have bothered Joseph. He was betrothed to Mary. He was considered to be “her husband (verse 19).” And yet, there was only one thing he could assume: Mary had been unfaithful. Jewish betrothal was something serious.
The only way a betrothal could be broken was divorce. To proceed with the marriage, would have made Joseph implicit in immorality.
To divorce Mary openly would have subjected her to shame, ridicule, and in the most extreme cases, possible death by stoning. But Joseph was just and merciful. He sought to do the most inconspicuous of things. The Scripture says in Matthew 1:19
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
The birth of Jesus tells us that at the heart of Christianity is a belief in the miraculous, that God can do the impossible. It is truly supernatural that one could be born not from two parents, but by the power of God.
Every person, apart from Adam and Eve, must undergo conception by one man and one woman. Jesus’ birth only appeared to be natural. In reality, it was supernatural. H.L. Ellison writes:
“Here let us note that apart from the divine activity in conception, Christ’s birth was completely normal. He was not conceived until Mary was married; Joseph was His father in every way except procreation.” (H.L. Ellison, A New Testament Commentary, 142).
But here, we see the author of creation intercepting the natural order to perform something that is truly supernatural. How did this happen? It is unexplainable, as other miracles are.
And yet, it was something that was foretold nearly 700 years before Jesus came. The prophet Isaiah foretold of a virgin that would be pregnant. His name was to be Immanuel.
It took the angel to relate this to the skittish Joseph, as he told of the special circumstances surrounding our Lord’s birth. Then he gave the reason in Matthew 1:22-23.
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).
What we have in verse 22 is a fulfillment formula that Matthew uses 12 times, to specifically state that the life of Christ fulfills what God promised hundreds of years before.
Therefore the Christian church has always believed in what we have come to call the virgin birth. But it is more than just a theological tenet. Rather it speaks of God who came to us as one of us.
I’ve heard it said that Jesus was the missionary “par excellence.” All missionaries leave their home country, travel to a distant land, learn the language and the customs of its citizens before they start to minister to the people and spread their message. Jesus set the standard of such activity, when He left throne in heaven and came to dwell among us.
Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
What is your response to such endeavor? For some, Jesus coming to earth inspires. To others, it humbles. To others, it invokes worship. Whatever it does, it should be life-changing.
The fact that God became one of us, to minister to us is the act of supreme love. Not only was Jesus’ birth miraculous, we also discover that…
The mission of Jesus was far from typical.
The mission of Jesus was far from typical.
His mission sets him apart from all the other religious leaders of history.
Notice how the angel instructed Joseph to name Mary’s son. Matthew 1:21
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
The meaning of Jesus’ name ties into His ultimate mission. The meaning of that term is Savior. (The New Geneva Study Bible, 1506).
Jesus’ name is a Greek equivalent to the Hebrew name: “Joshua.” Although many were called “Joshua,” which means “The Lord saves,” only Jesus was given the name with an Old Testament reference to Psalm 130:8:
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
There is deep significance in the name “Jesus.” Listen to what D.A. Carson says about the name of Jesus.
“It was no doubt divine grace that solicited Mary’s cooperation before the conception and Joseph’s cooperation only after it. Here Joseph is drawn into the mystery of the incarnation. Mary was told Jesus’ name (Luke 1:31); but Joseph was told both the name and reason for it.” (D.A. Carson, 75)
The reason for His name is given by the angel: “…for He will save His people from their sins.” The Greek term is σῴζω which means “...to preserve or rescue fr. natural dangers and afflictions, save, keep from harm, preserve, rescue” In this particular instance, it means: “to preserve from eternal death and judgment. (BAGD, 798c).
Jesus said the same thing when he visited Zacchaeus’ home in Luke 19:9-10
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
And 1 Timothy 1:15
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
When we read what the Bible says about being “saved” we are to understand as a comprehensive process based on Jesus’ miraculous mission.
It involves you as a person
recognizing the moral mistakes you have made have offended God,
recognizing that Jesus came in order that you might be forgiven of those offenses and turning from your sin
and placing your trust in Christ,
you are reconciled to God. This is what the Bible means by being saved.
But this would never take place if it were not for Jesus coming to bear your sin. 1 Peter 2:24 says:
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
This is God’s plan for your life.
The Barna Research group revealed the results of a survey several years ago that found that 46% of all men and 40% of all women are still hunting for life’s plan.
Could it be that you are searching, while God has made it plain to you through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ?
The highest honor of any believer is to bear the title: “Christian”, because it recalls the One who laid down his life for us. But it is not just a name. It is a name associated with a deed. It speaks of what Jesus did for you and me.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus’ birth was far from ordinary and His mission was far from typical. He accomplished more in 33 years than any other person that has ever lived.
Louis Pasteur, the pioneer of immunology, lived at a time when thousands of people died each year of rabies. Pasteur had worked for years on a vaccine.
Just as he was about to begin experimenting on himself, a nine-year-old, Joseph Meister, was bitten by a rabid dog.
The boy’s mother begged Pasteur to experiment on her son. Starting on July 6, 1885, Pasteur injected Joseph for ten days- and the boy lived.
Decades later, of all the things Pasteur could have had etched on his headstone, he asked for three words: JOSEPH MEISTER LIVED.
For Pasteur, it was just one physical life, who by the way, ended up dying of something else eventually. But through the death and resurrection of Jesus, millions will be able to live eternally through faith in Him.
