A Perfect Savior

Good afternoon and Merry Christmas!

It is a joy to be with you tonight on Christmas Eve.

Welcome, Guests!

My name is Stefan Wilson, and I’m the pastor of preaching here at Harvest.

This month, we have been doing an advent sermon series called “Manger to Majesty.”

And the purpose of this series has been simple: to celebrate the birth of Jesus not as a sentimental moment, but as the embodiment of God’s saving work.

And we have been viewing God’s saving work in Jesus Christ through the lens of what theologians refer to as the humiliation and exaltation of Christ

His humiliation means that the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ, humbled himself and entered our world.

His exaltation means that He is now risen and reigning as Lord of all.

And in humbling himself and being exalted over all, Jesus meets our deepest needs perfectly

And tonight, because Jesus meets our deepest needs perfectly, we are going to see why it is that he is a Perfect Savior.

We are going to be in two passages this evening

First, we will be in Matt. 1, so please turn there in your Bibles

If you did not bring a Bible…

As you turn there, I want you to consider for a moment how we choose names for our kids…

We often choose names because we like how they sound… Or because they’re unique… Or because they remind us of someone we love.

Regardless of the reason we choose the name, we seem to also feel the need to pick the most complicated way to spell it

When it came to ancient world though, their names were a pronouncement about their lives

In the Bible, your name says something about who you are and what you will do

Your name is essentially your mission in life.

And what we will see in Matt. 1 is that the naming of Jesus at his birth was a statement about why Jesus was born in the first place

His name is his mission

And here is why this matters for us - If we miss the meaning of Jesus’ name, we will miss the point of Christmas

Because Christmas is not simply a time when we remember the birth of a baby

Christmas is the time in which we remember the mission of God that was embodied in that baby

[Set up context - Angel comes to Joseph to tell of the coming birth]

What I want to focus on in particular tonight is what the angel told Joseph about the name of Jesus

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

The name “Jesus” means, “The Lord saves.” so his mission is to save

He notice what he saves us from: sin.

Sin is not a small problem.

It isn’t something that we see from time to time…

Sin is the natural rebellion against God that is present in every human heart.

it is something that all of us deal with

And it is the reason everything in the world is broken.

If sin is not dealt with, nothing can truly be made right.

For things to truly be right, for them to be truly how God intended them to be for us, the problem of sin must be dealt with.

And the mission of Jesus, in being born in human flesh 2000 years ago, was to deal with that problem of sin and to save us from it.

So the question we must ask is this:

How will Jesus save His people from their sins?

If Matthew 1:21 tells us what Jesus will do, we need to go somewhere that will help us to see how he will do it

And for that, we need to turn to Hebrews 10:11-14

This passage explains:

how Jesus does what the angel promised He would do. how the baby named “Jesus” becomes the perfect Savior.

So let’s give these words our full attention

Hebrews 10:11–14 “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

These are God’s words for us - May we have ears to hear them and hearts to obey them

Big idea: Through His life on earth, Jesus reconciles us to God in heaven. [7:00]

The reality of sin causes every person to be at odds with God

We live in conflict with God as we try to build our own kingdoms in this world

But Jesus Christ was born in humanity, and through his life reconciles us to God in heaven

[Bridge] So how is it that Jesus saves us from sin and reconciles us to God?

As the Perfect Savior…

1. Jesus fulfills God’s requirement for sin (11) [8:00]

Hebrews 10:11 “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”

If Jesus is going to save His people from their sins, then sin can’t be ignored… it has to be dealt with honestly.

v. 11 reminds us of a hard truth: sin requires payment.

And the payment required is death

And the provision in the Old Testament was that you could sacrifice an animal in your place.

But v. 11 is showing us that an animal is an insufficient substitute to truly take the penalty of sin away.

Why?

Because animals can’t truly represent people.

And sinful people can’t stand in for sinful people.

Here is the point: What you and I can bring, can’t fix out problem of sin

To truly fulfill God’s requirement for sin, someone who is sinless would have to stand in our place.

And that is why the manger was necessary

Jesus did not come merely to live with sinners.

He came to stand in their place, to bring what they couldn’t bring

A sinless life.

And v. 12 tells us that Jesus provided exactly that

Hebrews 10:12 “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,”

In the Old Testament, the work of the priests was never finished

Look back at v. 11 - “Every priest stands daily at his service”

The work of the priest was never finished because there was more sin and more sacrifices that were required for that sin

And those sacrifices were never sufficient to totally remove sin

But Jesus Christ, in his perfect life and death, was a sufficient sacrifice, once for all time…

And so he does not stand daily making sacrifices, he sat down, v. 12 tells us, because the work was done.

It was enough.

And Christmas is the reminder that because Jesus came as the perfect savior, through his life and death, we can be reconciled to God.

When you receive him by faith, his life and death fulfills God’s requirement for sin.

So that you and I can be right with God.

Second, As the perfect savior…

2. Jesus reigns with authority over sin (13) [12:00]

If Jesus has fulfilled God’s requirement for sin, the next question is this: What happens to sin now?

Is it just past sin that is forgiven?

Or is the reality of sin changed for those who receive Jesus as the perfect savior?

Hebrews answers that question in verse 13:

Hebrews 10:13 “waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.”

That language is kingly language.

This verse tells us that Jesus did not merely die and disappear.

He rose, ascended, and now reigns.

And that reign matters deeply for how we understand how it is that Jesus saves us from sin.

Because for many of us, we hold the idea that forgiveness is weak.

As if Jesus saved us from sin’s penalty, but not from sin’s power.

v. 13 corrects that thinking.

Jesus is seated at the right hand of God—not waiting to see what happens—but reigning until every enemy is placed under His feet.

That includes:

Sin

Death

And every evil power that seeks to oppress humanity

Jesus is not still fighting against sin.

By coming to earth as a man, he conquered it, so now he is exalted and he rules over it.

And this matters because when we struggle with sin, we often assume it is stronger than God’s grace.

We say things like:

“This will never change.”

“This has too much control over me.”

“I’ve tried everything.”

And when we talk like this, it is because we have forgotten that Jesus saves us from sin and reigns over it in our lives.

That does not mean sin disappears instantly.

But it does mean sin no longer has ultimate authority.

There is a massive difference between sin being present and sin being dominant.

And when you belong to Christ, he has saved you from your sins, not just its penalty, but its power as well.

[Gospel Call]

But listen: If you are here this afternoon and you have never embraced Jesus as the perfect savior from your sin, sin does rule over you still

Oh, you can certainly try to change your habits and your actions, but your heart remains unchanged… and all of the sin that rules over it

But when you embrace Jesus as the perfect savior who once for all paid for sin and presently reigns over all, then your sin is not only forgiven, but its power over you is broken as well.

For all who presently belong to Jesus…

Before Christ, we were slaves to sin

After Christ, we are set free from sin and submit to his reign

And through Christ, we are reconciled to God in heaven, and we are given a new heart, a new mission, a new life

And a new identity

No longer is your identity found in your sin

You’ve been set free from it and your identity is hidden with Christ in God.

All because Jesus came to save us from our sin.

And this is where Christmas should press us.

If Jesus reigns from his throne with authority…

There is no such thing as a Christmas that sees Jesus as only sentimental and not sovereign.

Because he reigns, truly celebrating Christmas will mean submitting to his reign

If Jesus reigns, then allegiance to him is the right response to Christmas.

So this Christmas, may we all look to his throne and submit to him as king, knowing that he will save us from our sin.

Third, as a perfect savior…

3. Jesus preserves us ultimately from sin (14) [18:00]

Now… If Jesus has fulfilled God’s requirement for sin,

and if Jesus now reigns with authority over sin,

then the final question is this:

What does that mean for us today and into the future?

Because salvation is not just about a moment in the past.

It is also about our present and our future

We can be confident, because Jesus is the perfect savior, that he will perfectly preserve us throughout this life

Hebrews 10:14 “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

In this single verse, we have the ultimate security of Jesus as the perfect savior

Let’s look carefully at the language.

“He has perfected for all time…”

That is a past perfect verb

It is an event in the past that has ongoing effects.

By a single sacrifice, Jesus paid for all of your sin, so when you stand before the throne of God, he no longer holds any of it against you.

He took on your sin and was identified with it on the cross - As a result, he gives you his righteousness so that you can be identified with it before the throne.

But that’s not all - It is not as if he did that once for past sins

“He has perfected for all time those who are currently being sanctified.”

Sanctification is a word that means, “being made more holy” or “Being made more like Jesus”

It is a word of being in-process.

Not only is your salvation secure, God is going to transform your life between now and the day that you see him face to face.

God’s loves you enough to meet you where he found you

But he also loves you enough to not leave you there.

When you and I receive Jesus Christ by faith, turn from our own ways, and embrace him…

He not only perfects us in our standing before God, he also continues to transform us as God’s people

Some people think salvation means they should already be perfect, so when they sin, they think they have failed and they despair

Others think salvation means effort no longer matters, and they grow complacent.

This verse shows us

Jesus, as the perfect savior, saved us from the penalty and power of sin and transforms us so that we can grow look more and more like him in how we live.

This means that the Jesus who came to save you is the same Jesus who reigns and preserves you.

Christmas reminds us that the baby in the manger wasn’t something temporary…

It was a part of securing something eternal:

Your salvation and your preservation from sin

And the reconciliation to God that we desperately need.

[Conclusion] [22:00]

As we close, I fear that we lose sight of the magnificence of Christmas because we lose sight of the glorious reality that made Christmas possible.

At the heart of Christmas is not a mere baby

That baby born in the manger 2000 years ago has eternally existed as God

The God who, with a word, spoke all creation into existence

And the God who, because of our sin, with a word could destroy all of creation

But rather than destroying all the earth because of our sin, that God chose to humble himself, and leave heavens glory, becoming human, God with us…

So that, rather than destroying us for our sin, he might reconcile us to himself by saving us from our sin.

He knew every sin you and I would ever commit… He chose to come anyway and he chose the cross

… because his name is Jesus, who would save us from our sin.

This Christmas, may we not lose sight of this glorious reality.

This Christmas, may we rejoice in our perfect savior.

Jesus, who has saved us from our sin.

Amen.

[25:00]