HE
MATTHEW 1:18-23
Key verse: v. 21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
Introduction:
The whole value of the statement in verse 21 is found by placing the emphasis upon the “HE.” The name that the angels commanded Joseph to give to Mary’s Child was one that was common at that time. It had a glorious history. Hoshea or Joshua (Jesus in the Greek form) was Moses successor. The name meant “Salvation” with some of the letters of the Divine name “Jehovah,” so that its full meaning is “the Salvation of Jehovah.”
Thus the name of Jesus is equivalent the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
I. HE DEALS WITH SIN.
A. He shall redeem His people, Psalm 130:7, “Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8-And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
B. You shall be clean, Ezekiel 36:25, “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26-A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27-And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
1. A new heart, Deuteronomy 30:6, “And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.”
a. A changed heart, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
b. A clean heart, Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
2. A new spirit.
a. My Spirit, Ezekiel 37:14, “And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.”
b. A right spirit (attitude), Psalm 51:10.
II. “HE” FORGIVES SIN AND DOES AWAY WITH ITS PENALTY.
A. All have sinned, Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
1. All under sin, Roman 3:9, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;”
2. We are all guilty and therefore subject to judgment, Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
B. The penalty of sin is death, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1. Because of our sin we are under God’s condemnation, John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
2. Because of God’s GRACE we can be free from that condemnation, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Hebrews 2:9, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
C. The gift of God, John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
III. “HE” CLEANSES MAN FROM SIN’S POLUTION.
A. A New man, Ephesians 4:24, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
B. Newness of life, Romans 6:4, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
IV. “HE” DESTROYS SIN’S POWER.
A. Free from the law of sin and death, Romans 8:2-3, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3-For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
B. What man was unable to do, Christ did for him.
1. The deeds of the law, man was not justified, Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
2. Christ, the Righteous of God, destroyed the power of sin over man, Romans 3:21-22, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22-Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:”
CONCLUSION
“HE,” that is, Jesus, accomplished in the giving of Himself as our sacrifice for sin, what man could never do for himself – save his soul from death and hell, and much more.