Turning, if you will, to Matthew's
gospel, Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1, the old, old
story concerning the birth of Christ. What the angel tells
Joseph was prophesied exactly as it occurred 700 years before
by the prophet Isaiah. Let's begin reading at verse
18 of Matthew chapter 1. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise. Previously, he had spoken about
the genealogy of Christ. Kings were in there, and just
briefly makes mention of them and their names, but when he
comes to Christ, he says, now the birth of Jesus Christ, it's
different. It's not like any of the previous
ones he's mentioned. It was like this. When his mother
Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she
was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband
being a just man and not willing to put her away, to make her
a public example rather, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her
is of the Holy Ghost. and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus for this reason, for he
shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet
Isaiah, is who he's referring to, from Isaiah chapter 7. Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Immanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. So Joseph, being
raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden
him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not till she had
brought forth her firstborn son and he called his name Jesus. In Matthew's gospel, or rather
in Luke's gospel, chapter 1, the angel Gabriel, and I suppose
it doesn't say in Matthew 1 that we just read, but I suppose it
was Gabriel that appeared afterwards to Joseph. But he appeared to
Mary, first of all, with these words. In Luke chapter 1, he
says to her, beginning at verse 26, and in the sixth month, the
angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee named
Nazareth, to a virgin and spouse to a man whose name was Joseph,
who of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And
the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that are highly
favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed
art thou among women. and when she saw him she was
troubled at his saying and cast in her mind what manner of salutation
this should be. And the angel said unto her,
fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign." Notice
all the shells in here. God's shells are so much better
than man's Perhaps, verse 33, and he shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. The angel said, call his name
Jesus, Mary. He shall be great. Shall be. And we might ask the
question, why does he express it that way? He shall be great.
Was he not already great? Was he not already The great
God, yes, as God, as the very God, He was great. But what the
angel tells Mary is now He shall be great as the God-man. As He
enters this world as Emmanuel, God with us, He shall be great. As made like unto His brethren,
He shall be great. As the substitute for sinners,
He shall be great. as being all that God Almighty
requires, He shall be great. He shall save His people from
their sins. Is that not great? Is that not
great? Can you think of anything greater
than that? Someone once said that God could
not suffer and man could not satisfy. But the God-man, Jesus
Christ the God-man, can do both and He does. Look again, if you
will, at verse 21 in Matthew chapter 1. We're told the very
nature and essence of His greatness wherein it lies. The mission
of the Son of Man is recorded here. as he would repeat afterwards
himself. But the angel says to Gabriel,
or rather the angel says to Joseph, call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. The name Jesus was not an uncommon
name. There were other people called
by that name when our Lord was upon earth and before. In the
Old Testament, Joshua is the same name as Jesus. And of course
you have Joshua that was with Moses and then there was another
Joshua. It's the Hebrew name for Jesus. And in Paul's epistle to the
Galatians, he mentions a fellow worker with him. A fellow worker
in the gospel of Christ whose name was also Jesus. In Galatians
chapter 4 you have that recorded. Jesus, which is also called Justice. Oh, but it's not uncommon anymore,
is it? or rather it is now, since Jesus
Himself took that name as none other. Now it bears a uniqueness
that's only subject to Him, since given to Christ because only
He can do what the name means. You're well aware of the meaning
of the word Jesus. It means Jehovah. saves. It means Savior. It means the
salvation of the Lord. And since Jesus took that name
upon Himself, He bears it as none other. Because He did exactly
what the name implies. To Him alone that bears this
glorious name has God decreed. God has decreed that at this
name, At this name, at the name of Jesus, his son, that one that
the angel told Joseph should save his people from their sins,
he said, at this name, Jesus. All our very best hymns are written
about that name, are they not? Jesus. Oh, there's something
about that name. Saints have died, have breathed
out their last, with their last breath, whispering that name. Jesus. Jesus. Oh, what did He say to that thief?
Today. Today. Is this not the glory
of glory? The heaven of heaven? Oh, the
greatest promise in the Word of God concerning His people,
they shall see His glory. face, that one who 2,000 years
ago was himself God, became flesh of our flesh and bone of our
bones, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. He
was made like unto his brethren. Jesus, God says, to him every
knee shall bow and every tongue confess. There's no question
about that. There's no question about that.
Now, I realize everyone doesn't do it now. Oh, but they shall. Every knee shall bow to Him,
and every tongue confess God declares that He is God, that
He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This name Jesus comprehends
within it all that the gospel is, all that makes the gospel
good news, salvation for needy sinners. Salvation for helpless
sinners. The best robe for naked sinners. Or does anyone have a need? Look under the Lamb of God. He
makes the gospel good news because it's about Him. The Gospel's
all about Him. It's a message about the Lord
Jesus Christ. Take Him out, John. Take Christ
out, and you don't have anything left. Take Him out of the book,
and you don't have anything left. Take Christ out, and there's
nothing to preach. Nothing to preach. There would
be no reason to gather here except for that name which is above
all others. The angel's message calmed Joseph's
troubled mind. He tossed and turned upon his
bed, what shall I do? What shall I do? My bride-to-be,
my wife to whom he was engaged, that one was found to be with
child and Joseph knew it wasn't his. He had three choices. He could make a public example
of her. which could require stoning under
the law. Or he could put her away privately.
Or in front of witnesses, he could give her a bill of divorcement. He decided to put her away privately. And that's why the angel came
to him. Joseph quit fretting. Don't worry. Fear not. It's not like you suspect. It's
not like you think. And thank God it wasn't. Because
He told him that one that is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost. Call His name Jesus. He shall save His people from
their sins. What glorious news! That was
spoken 2,000 years ago. but concerning the magnitude
of His mission, concerning the work that lay before Him at this
hour, concerning the reason that He came into this world in the
first place, what God commissioned Him alone to do is not lost any
freshness, has it? Oh no, it's not been too long
that it should lessen in its enormity, in its magnificence. I mean, consider this. He came
into this world to do what? To do what? He's going to take
upon Himself this great work? This is a greater work for angels
to perform. They couldn't do it. Man couldn't
do it. All but to God, man can. He can. That's why He's given this name. He is what His name means, the
salvation of His people. This work is beyond the ability
of mere men or angels. Was ever there an announcement
like this concerning anyone else? Could anyone else accomplish
such a work as this? Could anyone else succeed at
such a work as this, taking away all the sins of all of His people? And remember, He didn't come
and find His people willing. Oh, no. His people. They were
His people before He came into this world. God gave Him these
people before the world began. But they were yet sinners. By
nature, they're no different than anybody else. By nature,
they're dead in trespasses and sins. And that's why the great
Savior must go to where they're at. He must do everything necessary
to save His people from their sins, and blessed be His name."
He did so. He did so, and He yet does so
in Revelation chapter 5, that passage of Scripture where the
question is asked, who's worthy? Who's worthy in Revelation chapter
5 verse 2? John said, I saw a strong angel,
a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who's worthy? Who's worthy to open the book
and to loose the seals thereof? Who's worthy to bring to pass
God's purposes and decrees? The salvation of His people.
Who's worthy to do that? And no man hears the answer.
Here's the answer. The question is asked. Silence. Silence. No answer. No man in
heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth was able to open
the book, nor to look thereon. None was worthy. And John in
verse 4 says, I wept much, because no man was found worthy. No man
had enough merit, enough worth. There was no man that could meet
God's demands. There was no man that measured
up to the requirements of God's holy law. None was righteous
enough. None was righteous enough. And
John says, I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open
and to read the book, neither to look thereon. We read in history
of so-called great men, the Caesars, Alexander the Great, and so many
others. But who are they? And what are
their accomplishments compared to this? Bring them individually. Or bring them all together. Bring
them all together. And all that they ever done,
all the kingdoms that they ever ruled, all the discoveries that
they ever made, and bring them next to this, He shall save His
people from their sins and they fade away in the insignificance,
do they not? Because they're not a work. There's
not an accomplishment that comes even close to being compared
to what Jesus shall do in saving His people from their sins. And look, are you still in Revelation
5 verse 5? And one of the elders said unto
me, Weep not. Weep not. Now God's people in
this world are not immune from sorrow and heartache. No, not
at all. Not at all. They're subject to
that which afflicts all mankind. And then that greatest battle
in the world. While they're in this world,
the flesh against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But there's one
reason they need not weep. Those that know Christ need not
weep over this. They need not weep concerning
their salvation. They need not fret about their
eternal salvation, because Jesus Christ Himself has accomplished
that on Mount Calvary. When He cried, It is finished,
it was. Verse 5, And one of the elders
said unto me, Weep not, John, weep not. Oh, John, I've got
good news for you. I've got good news for you. Behold. Behold, John. Look at this. Wipe away your tears. And John,
behold this. I'm about to show you a sight
like none other. Behold, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed. He has prevailed. Why wouldn't he prevail? As Isaiah also prophesied, Emmanuel,
He's God with us. He'll be the mighty God, the
Prince of Peace, the Everlasting Father. Why should He prevail? Let me ask you this, put it to
you in another way, who's going to stop Him? Who's going to stop
Him from prevailing? Who's going to stop Him from
having His way? If He's God, He'll have His way. And He is God, and He does have
His way. The Lion of the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, He has prevailed. Oh, bless His name. to open the
book, and to loose the seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo,
in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the
midst of the elders stood a lamb, a lamb, as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came, he came."
That's what the angel told Joseph, didn't he? He's coming. He's came into this world or
soon will. He's entered in by the power
of God's Holy Spirit into the womb of a virgin. And he'll enter
this world. He'll be born, Joseph. And that baby, look at him. My soul, no wonder
Paul said, Timothy, Great is the mystery of godliness. Without
controversy, God was manifest in the flesh. That little dark-skinned
Jewish baby boy, in the arms of its mother, in that stable
in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, house of bread. Oh,
entered the bread of life. That's Him. That's God. Oh my soul, what a mystery. What
a mystery. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law. And He came and took the book,
the purposes, the decrees of God Almighty, out of the hand
of Him that sat upon the throne. Oh, and he accomplished eternal
redemption for his people. Only he could proclaim. The Hebrew
writers said, in sacrifices and burnt offerings and offerings
for sin, God, you had no pleasure. It's not possible that the blood
of bullocks and goats should ever take away sin. They never
were intended to. They were just pictures and types
and shadows. Oh, but when he cometh, when
he cometh into the world. The Lamb of God, Jesus the Savior,
He said, in sacrifices and burnt offerings for sin that had no
pleasure, but oh, I come, O God, I come, O my God, to do Thy will. And He did it all, did He not?
This is what we rejoice to remember when we observe the Lord's table,
as we'll do here shortly. We were not redeemed with corruptible
things like silver and gold, but we were redeemed. the price
of our redemption, why it's accepted before the Holy God that our
atonement was the precious blood of Jesus Christ. And it's effectual
to satisfy God. It's sufficient to cover all
the sins of all of His people. It's enough to bring us into
the presence of God without any trace of sin whatsoever all the
precious blood of this one called Jesus. Jesus, what a Savior. What a Savior. You'll find the
outline of my message in the article in our bulletin this
morning from this verse in Matthew 1 and verse 21. Four absolute
things the angel mentions here in his message to Joseph. Four
absolute certainties. First, there's a certain Savior.
A certain Savior. Aren't you thankful that it's
so? There's only one. Only one that was sent by God. Only one that was anointed by
God. Only one that was given this
commission. Only to one did this great work
fall upon. Only one got commissioned to
do this. to save his people from their
sins. This work of redemption was given
to Jesus Christ alone. Turning, if you will, back to
John's Gospel, chapter 6. And he said this many times. He never was ambiguous about
why he came into this world. It wasn't to be an instructor,
a religious teacher, a moral reformer. No, that's not why
he came. He didn't come to reform his
people, he came to save his people. In John chapter 6, verse 38. John 6 and 38. not to do my own will, but the
will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will
which had sent me, that of all which he had given me, all, a
multitude, a multitude that John couldn't number, and of all those
which he had given me, I should lose nothing. Not one? Not one, no. I won't lose nothing,
but should raise Him up again at the last day. And this is
the will of Him that sent me, that everyone would seeeth the
Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life, and I
will raise Him up at the last day. This great work was given
to none other but the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why He came into
this world. The incarnation of Christ was
a means to atonement. He was made flesh. What a wonder
that is! John says, that eternal Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. What a wonder! But He was
made flesh in order that He might be made sin. Another wonder! that he who knew no sin was made
sin. How could that be? How could
that be? I don't know. I don't know, but
I know that it was, and I rejoice in it. Look, ye saints, the sight
is indeed glorious. He was made flesh, made under
the law, all that he might be made sin for his people. There could be no salvation for
anyone except in him. People have sometimes said to
me, accused me of being narrow-minded. because I believe there's only
one way. One way to God, and that's through
the Lord Jesus Christ. I've been told by loved ones,
well, isn't it better to believe that there are various ways? that there's good in all religions
and they all eventually lead to the same place, to heaven,
to glory, to God? No. No. No, it's not. Christ said, out of the way.
Not Buddha. Not Mohammed. There's not a Catholic
way and a Baptist way. There's only one way. Salvation's
not in a building. It's not in a creed. It's not
in a catechism. It's not in Baptist tradition,
there's only one way to God. There's only one way by which
a sinner can be redeemed. Only one way by which a sinner
can find peace, and that's to behold the Lamb of God. And once
you do, if you ever see Him, if you ever see Him, if God ever
opens your eyes to behold the Lamb of God, you'll never get
over it. You'll never be the same. You'll never be the same. Old
John Newton said, I'm not what I want to be. And he said, I
confess, I'm not what I ought to be. And he said, I'm not what
I'm going to be one day. But he said, bless God, I'm not
what I used to be. I'm not that old slave captain
of a ship. I'm not a Christ-hater and a
God-rejecter anymore. I've been made a new creature
in Christ Jesus. And if any man, if any man's
in Christ, not one out of two, not every other one, oh no. But when the work of grace comes
to a man, God makes him a new creature in Christ. He'll never
be the same. Old things are passed away. Behold,
everything becomes new. The apostles, when they went
out preached, they preached Him. They pointed men to Him as the
only way to God. Religion points men to things. Rules and creeds and traditions. Traditions. Points men to the
front of the church. Points them to a decision card. Points them to just tradition.
Oh, but the God of all grace says, look unto me. Look unto
me and be ye saved. Cause I am God and there is none
else. Look unto me. I'm a just God
and a Savior. Look unto me and be ye saved. You remember when John and Peter
We're going up to the temple. It's recorded in Acts chapter
3. And there was a crippled man there sitting at the gate. And
as John and Peter passed by, he said, can you help me? Can
you help a poor cripple? Could you give me an alms? And
Peter said, I don't have any silver. I don't have any gold. But in the name of Jesus, I'll
give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus, arise and
walk. And that man stood up and leaped,
went into the temple, leaping and walking and praising God.
And Peter and John are arrested. And the next day they're brought
before the Sanhedrin. These two, as they called them,
ignorant fishermen, are brought before the Sanhedrin and were
told in Acts 4 that Caiaphas was there and Alexander and the
kinsmen of the high priest. I mean, it was just a who's who.
And here in come Peter and John. Can you imagine? What a contrast. There's the political elite,
the religious hierarchy, and there's Peter and John. And they
said, how dare you preach in this man's name? And you remember
what Peter said? Peter said, I'll tell you what. Him whom you crucified, God has
exalted and has given a name above every. And he said, there's
none other name. There's none other name given
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved all
in the name of the Lord Jesus. Oh, when you see him. When you
see him, that burden, that burden will roll away. Just like old
Bunyan, one of my favorite illustrations, I often use it, you've heard
it before, is when his pilgrim, pilgrim, going to the city of
refuge with that burden on his back and he can't shake it loose. That represents his sin. And Bunyan wrote, just as pilgrim
I almost know it by heart. I can identify with it. Because
I don't see Pilgrim. I see Larry. With that burden
on his back. And I couldn't get it off. And
I did the things people told me to do. Repeated prayers, went
to altars. All that. And Bunyan wrote, just
as Pilgrim went up to the cross, he said, the burden fell off
his back. The burden fell off his back
and rolled and just kept rolling until it came to the sepulcher
and it fell in. And he said, I saw it no more
forever, forever. Oh, glory to his name. When I think. that God, His Son
not sparing, sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in, that
on the cross my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to
take away by sin. He makes this proclamation fresh
and true today, does he not? What the angel told Joseph, he
shall save his people from their sins. He well deserves that name. Every time he comes to a sinner
and calls him by his grace, it's another evidence that he shall
save his people from their sin. And every time he takes one of
his redeemed ones to glory, it's another evidence that he shall
save his people from their sins. Secondly, here's a blessed fact. Not only is it a certain savior,
but a certain mission to save. To save. He didn't come to reform
a people. He didn't come to introduce another
religion. He came to save. And notice what
the angel said. He didn't come to assist them
in saving themselves. He didn't come with this message.
If you'll take the first step, Lazarus, I'll do something for
you. Oh no, He came to do all that
was necessary to save His people from their sins and He saves
them to the uttermost from the penalty of sin, from the dominion
of sin, from the presence of sin when He takes them to glory,
and in the resurrection from every consequence of their sin. The Son of Man came to seek and
to save that which is lost. Paul said, this is a faithful
saying. You can count on this. You can rest on this. You can
fall down on this. You can trust the salvation of
your immortal soul on this. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. And He does. Third, it mentions
a certain people. Call His name Jesus. He shall
save His people from their sins. He came here on purpose for that
express reason, to save His people. Imagine that. Imagine that. People are shocked to hear that
God does things on purpose. That God purposely sent His Son
for a Pacific people on a Pacific on a specific task to save His
people from their sins. They were His people before He
came into the world. He said, all that the Father
gave me shall come to me. Father of all those that you've
given me, I've lost none. Not everyone's His people. But
there's a multitude that God gave Him that He came into this
world to redeem. And He does. And as we said earlier,
all these people, without exception, were sinners. We're sinners. The question for a lost man is
not, am I a let? I've had people come to me and
ask me about that. How can I know I'm a let? You
can't. You can't know except by believing
on the Son of God. That's the only evidence. That's
the only way you can know. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. And then you'll know you were
elect. All of His people fell in Adam.
But God chose in Christ a people for His namesake. When He speaks
to them, they're quickened. When He says, come, they come. Do you want to be saved? Do you
want to experience God's grace? Look to Him. Look to the Lamb
of God. And then last of all, it speaks
of a certain outcome. Notice it says, He shall save
His people. He shall. The mission of the
Son of Man did not fail. He came to put away the sins
of his people. Did he succeed? Listen, listen. Was he successful? Well, what
did he say? He said it is finished. Did he
satisfy all the laws demands? Listen. It is finished. Did He bring in an everlasting
righteousness? Listen. This is final. He said it is finished. Was He
made sin that we might be made to bury righteousness of God
in Him? Listen. Listen. It is finished. Look at any sinner who truly
experiences the grace of God and you'll find out, yes, he
succeeded in saving his people from their sins. Ask blind Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus, is he able to save?
Ask that leper. Ask that thief on the cross.
Jesus is mighty to save. Look up to that multitude in
heaven, standing before the throne. Does He save His people from
their sins? Look at them without spot or
blemish. Look into their heart. No sin. Look into their minds. What a
den of iniquity. But look into their minds before
the throne, and know sin. Look at them. They're without
fault before the throne of God. Ask any redeemed sinner, does
he save from sin? And they'll say, yes he does.
Yes he does. Will you not bear witness to
it? Do you not bear witness to it? When He, by His grace, brought
you to Himself, broken and miserable and lost, and you fell before
Him and said, Lord, if You will, You can make me clean like the
publican father. God, have mercy on me, the sinner. What happened? He did. He did. He delights to show mercy. As
we observe the Lord's table, may we remember his words. This
is my blood which is shed for you. For you. Not the world. Not the world. It takes away the preciousness
of it. Oh, but this is my blood which
is shed for you. This do in remembrance of me. Amen.