Born to Save

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" Matthew 1:18-23 (Underlined for emphasis.)

 Meditate. Consider prophecy fulfilled.

 

God is with us. He will save his people from their sins. Who are “his people”? Since Jesus was a Jew, will He only save the Jewish people? What does it mean to “save his people from their sins?”

Jesus came to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles as described by Luke writing about Paul’s experience on his first Missionary Journey.

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, "It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us this command when he said, 'I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.'" (Isaiah 49:6) Acts 13:46-47

Additionally, Paul wrote about the Jews’ and Gentiles’ relationship to God through the law and through faith. He was adamant that we live by faith. I find it interesting that there are some Christians—Gentile believers—who argue that we don’t have to follow the Ten Commandments—the Law. Yet, it is the very basis that God gave mankind on teaching how we are to live. I appreciate Paul’s boldness that our God is for the Jews and the Gentiles. There is only one God—that is the foundation of the Judeo-Christian religion.

Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn't he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law. Romans 3:27-31

“Saving people from their sins” is exactly what Jesus was sent here to do. As a baby? Yes. He must have brought some joy to Mary and Joseph. Think about how babies bring us joy. Salvation didn’t become a focus and opportunity for Jesus until He was about 30 years old. When He began His mission, it seemed to be to teach people how to live…and even at the beginning of His ministry, He told people to “Repent.” That brought them to salvation.

From then on Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." Matthew 4:17

That is still what we need to do—to repent of our sins or the errors of our ways. That action brings people to humble themselves before Jesus and have a relationship with Him. He has already died for our sins—and He was resurrected from death. Now, He is the advocate before the Almighty God in Heaven for us. As we serve Him, we will continue to honor Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That is what He came to do…and He did it. It is finished. Just as He declared when He died on the cross. He lives on in the very lives of Jews and Gentiles He came to save. He was born to save.

 

Prayer – Lord Jesus, Thank You for saving the Gentiles…of which I am one…as well as the Jews. It will be an honor to serve You in Heaven, as on earth now. I praise You—and celebrate Your birth!

 

Verse of Salvation ~ Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name. Psalm 79:9

 

© 2025 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

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