Jesus Saves Us From Sin & Fulfils Prophecy

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 (NIV)

What a wonderful and simple message. Light, Love and Compassion for the people in darkness.

The verse above is sandwiched in between two vital realities.

Reality #1. Joseph was on his way out - he was planning to break of the engagement.

This message came amidst the confusion and anxiety of Joseph, the "father-to-be" of Jesus. He was trying to work out all of this shocking news.

Joseph and Mary were engaged. The scriptures say that "Joseph, was a righteous man full of integrity and he didn’t want to disgrace her, but when he learned of her pregnancy he secretly planned to break the engagement." Matthew 1:19 TPT

This is when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, explaining what this all meant. He was told to name the child Jesus, "for he is destined to give his life to save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:19 TPT

Reality #2: The fulfilment of prophecy

From the very beginning of the life of Christ on earth, prophecy after prophecy was fulfilled - many in extraordinary ways.

Isaiah the prophet predicted the exact way Jesus would come into the world, and his mission on earth, to be God with us, Immanuel - to reveal salvation (Isaiah 7:14).

Some scholars believe that Jesus birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection fulfilled more than 300 prophecies. One current theologian and researcher identified 351 prophecies (David Webb, 17 may 2021 and an article in www.jesusfilm.org).

Why is this history so important? My simple answer is that God knows humans often lack faith, question God or just flatly reject God outright. So He provides solid proof, in this case, historical evidence, of His involvement with earth-people and with the Jewish nation in particular.

Apologetics & Evidences

This solid proof is what Christians and theologians call “apologetics” and “evidences” – evidence for our faith. Knowing apologetics and having “evidence demands a verdict”, as Josh McDowell coined it, builds our faith and gives us specific answers and arguments as we reach out to the person questioning, yet seeking God.

God is meticulous in His love, care and planning. He knows what He is doing and plans to do. He knows our weaknesses and factors this in when He intervenes on our planet.

While he [Joseph] was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.”

This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”). Matthew 1:20-23 MSG

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NIV)

Have a blessed Christmas,

Peter Guess on behalf of Stone Fire Community