Let's turn this morning to Matthew
chapter 1. The gospel of Matthew chapter
1. A very, very familiar text of
scripture. Matthew chapter 1 in verse 21.
No doubt most of you here can quote this text from memory,
but I want us to do something this morning that perhaps you
have never done. I want us to look at more than
just the words of this text and seek by God's spirit who calls
these words to be written to find the message contained in
these words. I have one question this morning
that I want to answer. One simple, simple question.
I hope that every one of you, before you leave here in the
next little bit, will be able to understand and to know clearly
and exactly the answer to this question. And I pray that you
will know Him of whom I now speak. Now here's the question. Why do they call Him Jesus? Why? Matthew chapter one, verse
21. and she shall bring forth the
Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus." Now circle and underscore
and put a star beside this next word, for, for. You can't possibly understand
why they call him Jesus until you understand this next clause. For, he shall say. He shall save his people from
their sins. Everywhere in this little town
this morning, and all around the world today, men and women
and boys and girls are gathered in church buildings just like
this one. And they are talking about Jesus, giving out little
skits and silly plays about Jesus, and they sing about Jesus, and
they may even hear sermons about Jesus. But very, very few in
your family or mine, in the churches of this town, across the country,
and around the world, very few know who Jesus Christ is. Very few know who he is or even
have a foggy, faint notion of why he came into this world or
what he accomplished while he was here. Very few there are
who know, love, trust, and worship Jesus Christ, the Son of God
of whom this text of Scripture speaks. What a pity. Thousands, of unsuspecting eternity bound
sinners will die this day with the name Jesus on their lips
and a song about Jesus in their hearts and go to hell without
knowing him because they've listened to preachers who told them what
they were hired to tell them rather than faithfully proclaiming
the word of God. Oh, Holy Spirit of God, come
on this band here. Cause the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ to shine forth from the pages of Holy
Scripture into our hearts and give us the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I want you to
know him. I want you to know him. Oh my
God, I want you to know him for the glory of God. My mind is
lost in wonder and admiration. When I think upon the fact of
Christ coming into this world, consider these things. Is it
not astonishing to you that he who is the son of God should
condescend to come here as the son of man? That he who is the
creator of all things should himself condescend to become
a man, the woman seed. Is it not astonishing to you
that he who is by virtue of his Godhead, Lord of all, Lord over
all, Lord ruling all, should willingly condescend to come
here in this world as a servant? a man, willingly humbling himself
as the servant of Jehovah, to become himself despised and rejected
of men, that he might, by his humiliation, suffer at the appointed
time, in the fullness of time, all the horrid wrath of God,
dying the shameful, painful, ignominious, cursed death of
the cross, having all our sins heaped upon him, as our substitute,
that he might die under the wrath of God to satisfy the justice
of God that was due to us. No wonder the Holy Spirit inspired
Paul to write these words. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. The greatest standing miracle
in this world is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. I mean, really. I know all religious folks who
call themselves Christians claim to believe that, but I'm telling
you, if you ever get hold of this fact, God Almighty came
into this world in human flesh, and God lived in this world in
human flesh, and died in this world in human flesh, and now
sits on the throne of God again in human flesh. You ever get
a hold of that? Merle, it'll be easy to believe
anything written in this book. Anything. That's the most astounding
thing in the world. I don't know what to say concerning
it, except thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. And
yet my mind asks a question. Indeed, my very heart and soul
cries out, why? Why did God assume our nature? Why did Jesus Christ who is rich
in glory for his great love for us become poor that we through
his poverty might be made rich? Why did he assume our nature? Why did he stoop so low? The answer is given in this text
of scripture in plain, clear, unmistakable, one- and two-syllable
words. I mean, when God wants you to
understand something, Rex, He puts it so plain, you have to
shut your eyes and stop your ears to miss it. This is what
he says. This is what the angel said to Joseph, in anticipation
of the birth of Jesus Christ by his espoused virgin wife,
Mary, thou shalt call his name Jesus. For this reason, he shall
save his people from their sins. The incarnate God is called Jesus
simply because he saves his people. That's why they call him Jesus.
He saves his people from their sins. The purpose of our Savior's
incarnation, the mission upon which he came, the errand upon
which he was sent into this world, the work he came here to perform
as Jehovah's righteous servant was the saving of his people.
He did not come here simply to make it possible for his people
to be saved. The text does not say he shall
make it possible for his people to be saved. He did not come
here simply to provide salvation as an option for you. The text
did not say He came to offer salvation. It does not say here
that the Lord Jesus Christ simply came here to give you an opportunity
to be saved. Oh, no. The text says He shall
save His people from their sins. He is Jesus the Christ who came
here on purpose to save somebody from their sins and save them
he shall. Now this is the errand which
he was sent by his father to obey He says this is the commandment
my father gave me John chapter 10 verse 16. This is the covenant
engagement He came here to fulfill as our covenant surety. He came
here to save his people from their sins This is the will of
God according to Hebrews chapter 10, which he came voluntarily
to fulfill For he said lo I come to do thy will. Oh my God by
the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all Now that which Christ Jesus the
Son of God undertakes to perform Shall most assuredly be accomplished
turn back to Isaiah chapter 42 Here is a prophecy one of many
given in Isaiah's prophecy concerning the coming of Christ his incarnation
and his birth and The Lord Jehovah speaks by his prophet, and he
says in verse 2, Behold my servant. Now here the Lord Jesus is identified
then as Jehovah's servant. Behold my servant, mine elect,
servant that God himself chose. Thou hast laid help upon one
that is mighty, David said. Thou hast exalted one chosen
out of the people, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. He's
God's servant who completely pleases God in everything. In
perfect righteous obedience as the servant of Jehovah. I put
my spirit upon him. God poured out his spirit without
measure upon him. Unlike any other man, the spirit
of God came on him without measure. Now then, he shall bring forth
judgment to the Gentiles. This was God's purpose from eternity.
Folks, the Jews always had this notion. Many still do. Many today
in religious circles think the Jews are somehow God's special
chosen people. His people are His elect, His
Israel, Jew and Gentile everywhere. The purpose of God was not that
His Son come here and sit on a throne over in Palestine. No,
no. His purpose was that His Son bring judgment to the Gentiles. That is, that He bring righteousness
and justice satisfied to the saving of His elect in the Gentile
world. He came here, Bob Pontius, to
save you, to bring justice and judgment and salvation and righteousness
to you. All right, read on. Not only
is he Jehovah's servant, Jehovah's servant who brings God's salvation,
but he is Jehovah's solitary servant. He is that one who by
the solitariness of his work saves his people from their sins.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street. He's not here being taken captive because he
doesn't want to be by somebody else's will. He's not here brought
to the cursed tree because Pilate has power over him. He's not
put to death because he can't call his father and calls 12
legions of angels to come down and deliver him. Oh, no. He came
here and does not cry nor lift up his voice to be heard in the
street, but as a lamb, he's led to the slaughter. And as a sheep
before her shearers is dumb, he opens not his mouth, because
he in the solitariness of his holy being is that one who comes
to save us by the sacrifice of himself. All right, read on.
Here's his sympathy. A bruised reed shall he not break. A smoking flax shall he not quench. Here's a perfect description
of us sinners. David Coleman, there's nothing
on this earth more worthless than a bruised reed. A bruised
reed, you can't even use it for a straw to suck a soda through.
It'll collapse on you. You can't lean on it. You can't
do anything. A bruised reed is worthless.
Oh, but if there's any worthless bruised reed here, listen to
what he says. A bruised reed shall he not break.
He'll not destroy you. Oh, if he's bruised you by the
convicting power of his spirit, brought you to nothing, he will
not break you. A smoking flax, can't get any
fire out of it, all it does is stink. Can't get anything out
of it, it's useless. That's a good description of
us. Oh, if God makes you to see yourself as nothing but a stench
in his nostrils, he'll not quench you. He's done something for
you. But he shall bring forth judgment
to truth. When He bruises you, when He
causes you to see your nothingness and He makes you to be as a smoking
flax, a stench in the nostrils of God Himself. I promise you,
I promise you, He's just about to make you understand His truth. He's going to bring justice,
judgment, and righteousness to truth. You'll see it. He'll reveal
it to you. You'll see it. You'll see and
understand clearly. Now, through this substitute,
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, God in His holiness, can both
punish my sin and forgive my sin in perfect, complete compliance
with all his holy character. He's just and the justifier of
the ungodly. Read on. He shall not fail. This one who's
Jehovah's servant, whatever he undertakes to do, he's gonna
succeed. What did He come here to do?
He shall save His people from their sins. It shall be done. It shall be done. We pace the
floor and we walk to and fro and we wonder what's the Lord
going to do? Is the church going to be all
right? Is he going to save us? Man, quit talking that nonsense. Quit
talking that nonsense. No need to worry and fret about
this thing. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has a people in this
world given to him by his Father before the world began. And save
them he will. I don't care who's in the White
House or who's in the outhouse. He's going to save them. He's
going to save them. Now here are three things in
this text of scripture, Matthew 121. I want you to see it clearly. The Holy Spirit here records
these words to teach us three things to inscribe upon us, upon
our hearts, three distinct lessons. The first and primary lesson
is about his person. The second, his people. And the
third, his performance. As I said, the primary thing
is his person. Get that right, you got the rest
right. His person. Who is this one called Jesus? That might seem to you to be
a trite, insignificant, or strange question. You've heard about
him all your life. You might think, well, Pastor,
everybody knows who Jesus is. The sad fact is, not many folks
do. Not many folks do. As a matter of fact, I was thinking
about this this morning, most people think of Jesus Christ as being
somehow a little bit less than what they think Santa Claus is.
He's a good old man, but powerful, omnipotent, effectual. Absolute
God? Oh, no, that's going too far.
Oh, I hadn't gone far enough yet. Oh, no, Jesus Christ is
himself, that one of whom scripture speaks, God the Son, the second
person of the Holy Trinity. Our Lord Jesus warns us plainly,
there shall arise false Christ and false prophets. and shall
show great signs and wonders insomuch that if it were possible
they shall deceive the very elect. Then if any man shall say to
you, lo, here is Christ, or there, believe him not." Now those words,
Bobby, make this question important. Who is this Jesus? Who is he? There are many false Christs
going out into the world. Who is this Christ? Will the
real Jesus please stand up? I'll tell you what, Gary, if
you'll open this book right here and honestly look in this book,
he'll stand up straight and tall. Straight and tall. Who is this
Jesus spoken of in the scriptures? I must know this Jesus as he
is revealed in this book by God the Holy Spirit, if I would be
saved. You cannot know God except as
you know him in Jesus Christ revealed in this book. If I trust
a false Christ, it doesn't matter how sincere I am. It doesn't
matter how devoted I am. It doesn't matter how upright
I am. If I trust a false Christ, I'm going to hell just as sure
as if I trusted a stump. You understand what I'm saying?
You must know the Christ, the Son of the living God. You must
know Him of whom the scriptures speak. And there are four things
about Him I want you to see. First, I want you to understand
that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son. He is God the Eternal Son. He is the Son of God and He is
God the Son. When the Bible speaks of Jesus
Christ as the Son of God, it is declaring that He is Himself
God. When the Word of God declares
that He is the Son of God, it is asserting that He is in every
way equal with the Father and the Spirit in His glorious everlasting
divinity. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these
three are one. We who believe are the sons of
God by adoption. He's the son of God by nature.
Well, what does that mean, he's the son of God? You'll have Russellites
and Mormons knock on your door and liberals and they'll say,
well, now, you know, Jesus, he's a good man. He's a great creature
of God. He is one like God. But you can't really say he's
God. How can you say that? Because
the book says he is. Because the book says he is.
That's it. God incarnate. God manifest in the flesh. To say that Jesus Christ is the
son of God is to declare in the words of inspiration he is overall
God. Blessed forever. Now that's not
a religious theory. That's not a doctrinal creed.
That's not something I got out of a theology book. That's the
very word of inspiration. Romans chapter 9 and verse 5.
God was manifest in the flesh. Turn to John chapter 1. John
the first chapter. In the beginning. Isn't it amazing
how God condescends to our puny peanut brains? In the beginning. In the beginning was the word. Now, what do you mean in the
beginning? Oh, there was a beginning! No, we just can't think any other
way. That's all. In the beginning
was the word. Doesn't say the word began. It
says in the beginning was the word. Whenever you get back to
the beginning, there's the one who calls the beginning. He's
the word. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with
God, with God. In the beginning was the revelation,
the word by whom God makes himself known. And the word was face
to face with God, face to face with. I've used this illustration
so many times, but I don't know a better one. Shelby and I go
shopping and I'm with her. but I'm a step or two behind,
sometimes a lot of steps behind. I'm with her, but not really,
not really. I'm trying my best to figure
out some way to get somewhere and sit down and have a cup of
coffee. I'm there, but I'm not with her, face to face with her.
She is with me, but she's a step or two ahead. Now both, in the
Greek text, both words are used in different places, with. Sometimes
the word with means a step or two behind, sometimes it means
a step or two ahead. The word that's used here, This is the
kind of word that's used when you've got Siamese twins joined
face to face. I'm with, with her. I'm with him. Husband and wife
are with one another for life, with them. Jesus Christ is himself
the Word who is face to face with, equal with God in all things,
one with the Father and one with the Spirit. Read on. And the
Word was God. And the Word was God. Languages couldn't be any plainer.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made
by him and without him was not anything made that was made.
All the attributes of divinity are his. He is the creator, sustainer,
ruler, and disposer of all things. He is himself God revealed, God
manifest. Jesus Christ is the embodiment
of God. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Those who speak otherwise speak
blasphemy. If he's anything less than the
mighty, infinite, eternal God, then we have no savior. And we're
yet in our sins. None but God could satisfy God's
justice. None but God could satisfy his
wrath. None but God could make atonement
for sin. None but God could put away our
sin. That man who was born at Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, who
died upon the cross, who rose again the third day, who is now
seated upon the throne of glory is himself God. God in a human
body. God in flesh. touched with the
feeling of our infirmities. He is that one who was the child
born of Mary's virgin womb, and he is that one who is God the
Son who was given to save his people from their sins. Jesus
Christ, then, is the eternal Son, but more than that, he's
the everlasting substitute. He is that one who is appointed
of God to be the sinner's substitute. Now, if you want the key to understanding
this book, You got to understand substitution. Substitution. You say, well,
preacher, that's hard doctrine to understand. Shoot. What's
hard about understanding substitution? A little bit ago, Merle Hart was
standing right here. He's standing in my place. No room for me. If I'm standing here, no room
for you. That's substitution. Get a substitute teacher at school?
Any of you kids ever had a substitute teacher? I'm in the littlest
ones here. Kindergarten kids got substitute teachers. Know
what a substitute teacher is? That's one who stands in place
of the teacher. No room for the teacher. Substitute's there.
Jesus Christ is the substitute for his people. He stood in our
place before God in the covenant of grace as the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. He walked on this earth as our
federal head and representative before God, obeying righteousness. No room for us. We could not
obey, but he brought in an everlasting righteousness. He went yonder
to Calvary and stood before God as our substitute and bore the
wrath of God as our substitute to put away our sins. And he
sits today in heaven as our advocate and substitute, pleading our
cause before God. And at the day of judgment, Christ
himself, We'll stand before the bar of God as our substitute,
spread forth his wounded hands, and declare the grounds upon
which we must be saved. He's our substitute. The Lord
Jesus Christ is our effectual savior too. Of him are you in
Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. He is a competent, able Savior,
able to save unto the uttermost all them that come unto God by
Him. And that's what salvation is.
It's coming to God. It's coming to God. Not coming
down here in front of the church, not going to a confessional booth,
not going to an altar, not going to a mourner's bench. All that
silly stuff, that's inventions of man. How is man saved? How do you come to Him? By faith.
You don't say anything, you don't do anything. You believe Him.
You believe Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
enthroned sovereign. There, like a man, the Savior
sits, the God. How bright He shines. This one
who has fulfilled all things as Jehovah's righteous servant
as he's going out of this world declares Thou hast given him
power over all flesh for this reason That he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him Jesus Christ the Son
of God rules over heaven's vast domain. He rules in earth and
He rules over hell. He has dominion over all flesh
and everybody's will. He accomplishes His purpose for
the saving of His people and gives life here and there to
whomsoever He will according to the purpose of His Father
in covenant mercy. All right, our text then speaks
of Jesus Christ as the son of God, the sinner's substitute,
the savior of his people and the sovereign monarch of the
universe. Look next here just briefly at his people. The text
says he shall save his people, his people, his people. Well, I believe Jesus
came to save everybody. Most people do. Most folks do. You've got the majority on your
side. And the majority can't ever be wrong. I got news for
you. The majority is always wrong. The majority is always wrong. When it comes to truth, spirituality,
and the things of God, the majority is always wrong. You folks, y'all. Y'all are outside the mainstream.
On purpose. On purpose. Don't want anything
to do with the mainstream. We're out here outside the camp
with the Savior. He came to save His people from
their sins. Now, there are a couple of things
that ought to be as obvious, as plain as the nose on your face.
Number one is this. Whoever His people are, they
were His people before He got here. The text doesn't say he shall
save those who shall be his people from their sins. It says he shall
save his people from their sins. They were his people by God's
election, by God's predestination, by God's decree, given to him
as a covenant surety to save before the war began. His people. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
here particularly and distinctly to save his people. So I believe
Christ loves everybody, Christ died for everybody. Think about
that for a second, will you? Just think about it for a second.
If Christ loves everybody, where is the love of God? Is the love
of God some mutable, changeable, fickle thing like ours? He loves
everybody now, gonna send them to hell later? If Christ died
for everybody, where's the justice of God? Justice once satisfied
can't demand more payment for sin. Oh no, Jesus Christ came
here to save his people from their sins. And save them he
shall. Now here is his performance. He shall save. Oh yeah. He gonna save them every
one. But what if? Well, what if? But man, they're over there.
He knows where they are. He's the one who put them there.
He knows when he's going to save them. He knows how to save them.
He knows how to fetch them home. He knows how to get on to him
and do it he will, one way or the other. Say, well, I for not
much hope. Oh yeah, he's gonna save his
people from their sins. He's gonna do it. But you reckon
he'll save me? Oh, you trust him. His salvation
is yours. Any grounds on which I might
confidently say he has saved me and I'm his people? Sure is. I believe the son of God. Well, what about election? I
know your election, James Jordan, because you've got faith in Christ.
That faith's the fruit of his election, the gift of his redemption,
the work of his spirit. Knowing your election of God,
brethren, beloved, because our gospel came to you not in word
only, but in power and in much assurance and in demonstration
of the Holy Ghost. Amen.