he will save his people from their sins. By Charles Spurgeon. Matthew chapter one, verse 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. Here we stand on holy ground. This verse is the first explicit announcement of the mission and purpose of the incarnate Son. Before he speaks a word, works a miracle, or calls a disciple, heaven unveils his identity in one radiant sentence. He is Jesus, which means Savior. not counselor, not social reformer, not moral example, but savior. He does not come to assist men in saving themselves, but to save them altogether. He enters this fallen world, not to improve sinners, but to rescue them from their sins and damnation. The name Jesus reveals the very heart of God towards sinners. The Father ordains salvation, the Son accomplishes salvation, and the Spirit applies salvation.

Jesus is God coming down from heaven to earth to save His people from their sins. His very name announces His office. He will save. Not might save or try to save, but will save His people from their sins. His saving purpose cannot fail because it rests upon His divine nature and His sin-atoning death.

Sin is man's greatest plague. Sin alienates from the thrice-holy God, blinds the mind, hardens the heart, corrupts the will, and damns the soul forever. All misery in time and eternity flows from sin. Yet here is the good news. Jesus rescues His people from sin's penalty by His sacrifice, from sin's power by His Spirit, and from sin's presence when He returns. Being a divine work, this salvation is complete, eternal, and irrevocable.

How sweet this name is to sin-wearied hearts! His righteousness satisfies the law which we broke. His sin-atoning death pays the full punishment for our sins. His intercession secures the eternal glory of every soul He redeems. None for whom He died shall ever be lost.

Mark the objects of His salvation, His people. Jesus did not come to make salvation a possibility, but to save an actual people whom the Father gave Him before the foundation of the world. He purchased them, effectually calls them, sanctifies them, and will one day present them faultless before His glory with great joy. Their salvation does not depend upon their hold on Him, but upon His hold on them.

Here then is the essence of the gospel. Jesus will save his people from their sins. To utter his name with faith is to confess both our ruin and his remedy, both our sin and his salvation. His name is his promise. Jesus will save his people from their sins. Eternally blessed are all who trust in him.