Advent 2: His name shall be Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 (ESV)
When the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds the night that Jesus was born, he had a message of hope for all people:
Luke 2:9–10 (NLT): 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”
Jesus had a mission in being born in Bethlehem - he came to save his people from their sins. This mission culminated in his death on the cross and his resurrection.
He was born to die.
And the salvation he would bring, as the angel told the shepherds, would be good news for all people everywhere. We see in the book of Revelation those gathered around Jesus to worship him saying:
“for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” Revelation 5:9 (ESV)
We saw in last week’s post that the prophet Isaiah had announced the coming of Immanuel 700 years before Jesus’ birth. Not only did Isaiah tell us about Jesus’ coming, but he also told us about the saving work that Immanuel would do on behalf of those he was coming to save:
Isaiah 53:1–12 (NLT): 1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
“And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.”
That is what disciples of Jesus celebrate at Christmas - that his coming and dying and rising from the dead made possible our being counted righteous and being healed from all our sins!
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