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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Matthew 1:21
“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.”
What a wonderful note on which to start the New Testament. What we need to remember, however, is that while it is New, it is not inconsistent with the Old. As the old couplet said, “The New is in the Old concealed, the Old is in the New revealed.”
As we shall see, Matthew goes to great lengths to show the outworking of Old Testament prophecy in the life and times of Jesus. He begins with his genealogy of Jesus, tracing the ‘family’ line all the way from Abraham.
Why Abraham? Because he is the 'father of the faithful’ and the one from whom all Jews trace their heritage and Matthew was writing predominantly to a Jewish readership.
Time and space do not permit us the joy of looking at the list of ‘heroes’ mentioned in the genealogy but I do recommend a thorough examination and that you especially look at all the women that are mentioned. You need to stop and consider who those people were because, above all else, it reveals the extraordinary grace and ‘inclusiveness’ of God.
Both Matthew and Luke take great trouble in emphasising that Mary was a virgin. John reveals the eternal character of Jesus in that He existed before He became a baby. “In the beginning was the Word” “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (John 1:1 & 14).
Mary had to be a virgin. It was through the human father that the ‘original sin’ was passed on – hence the expression, ‘Like father, like son.’ If Jesus was to remain spotless, He had to be born of a virgin (with no earthly birth father involved). (Nor could Jesus have Mary’s blood – a baby doesn’t have its mother’s blood – see also Leviticus 17:11.) And He had to remain sinless - the spotless Lamb of God - so He could pay the price for our sins by becoming the supreme Sacrifice for our sin in order to satisfy the demands of a Holy and Righteous God.
Our verse was part of the message the angel gave Joseph. “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (v 20).
What an amazing statement. I wonder how Joseph felt. Overwhelmed and bewildered, I expect. But think about it for a moment. What an incredible act of grace towards Joseph. He would be entrusted with bringing up not just a child, not just a son but none other than the One and Only Son of the Living God. Isaiah had prophesied a Son – “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given” (Isaiah 9:6).
I would suggest both Joseph and Mary were quite amazing people. They would have known the Scriptures, and like everyone else would have been waiting for the Messiah to come. I believe they were exceptionally meek. No, not weak, meek. They would have had to be so in order to cope with all the events that were to follow. Yes, I know it was by the grace of God – but nevertheless this couple proved very special.
God gave the Child His Name. Jesus (Joshua/Yeshua) Saviour. Every time His Name was said, it reminded those who said it, those who heard it and Jesus too what His destiny on earth would be.
That’s why I love His Name. He is my Saviour. He has saved me from my sins. That causes me to rejoice. What about you?
Let me quote from a couple of old hymns –
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear,
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds
And drives away his fear.
Oh, how I love the Saviour’s Name,
Oh, how I love the Saviour’s Name,
Oh, how I love the Saviour’s Name,
The sweetest Name on earth.
See if you can find these hymns, and read all their verses – they are well worth reading.
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