Matt.1:20,21 – But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
I love to think about Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Many people today try to stay away from the word ‘sin’ as far as they possibly can. The problem with that thinking is this, you have to recognize and acknowledge your sinfulness in order to be set free from sin. That is the whole point of the virgin birth, the sinlessness of Christ, and His name being called Jesus. Sin had damaged all of us from the time of Eve up until the time of Mary’s conception in her womb by the Holy Spirit. This sinless birth paved the way for our redemption. Jesus was born without sin to be a perfect sacrifice for all of us. The angel acknowledged all of this by telling Joseph to call His name Jesus. What was the significance of that name? Jesus means Savior, He came to save us from our sin. Here is how Matthew Henry describes all of this.
“In the reason for that name: For he shall save his people from their sins. Those whom Christ saves he saves from their sins, from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, from the controlling power of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from his wrath and the curse and from all misery here and in the future. Those who leave their sins and give themselves to Christ as his people enjoy the privilege of a relationship with the Savior and the great salvation that he has brought.”
So Joseph was filled with courage after the angelic visitation. The angel had answered Joseph’s questions about Mary’s fidelity, the virgin birth settled all of that. The angel also told Joseph that the prophesy about Immanuel was connected to the name of Jesus. He was not only the Savior but He was the fulfillment of the promise that “God would be with us”. Now Joseph could take Mary as his wife and raise their son to be the Savior of the world.
