Saving His People From Their Sins

Rocky Whitely

Oldham Lane church of Christ

October 19, 2003

Introduction
    1. The names for our Lord from Matthew 1
      1. "Immanuel"—"God with us" (v. 23; cf. Isaiah 7:14)
      2. "Christ"—"Anointed [with oil]" (vv. 1, 16, 17, 18; see tonight's lesson)
      3. "Jesus"—"Jehovah is salvation"
        1. From the Hebrew, Joshua (cf. Hebrews 4:8)
        2. It is a fitting name for God coming in the flesh (see John 1:1, 14). The angel of the Lord said to Joseph concerning his wife Mary, "And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins" (verse 21).
    2. The two genealogies of Jesus
      1. Luke traces Jesus’ ancestry by Mary all the way to God through Adam (Luke 3:23-38)
      2. Matthew records the legal heritage of Jesus from Abraham through Joseph (Matthew 1:1-17).
    1. The statement of the angel: "It is He who will save His people from their sins," takes on new significance when we realize the sins of Jesus’ ancestors.

I. Jesus' people/Jesus lineage
    1. Their sins
      1. Abraham lied to Pharaoh of Egypt by having his wife Sarai tell Pharaoh that she was Abraham’s sister (Genesis 12:10-20). Later, Abraham lied to Abimelech king of Gerar by saying of Sarah, "She is my sister" (20:1-18).
      2. Isaac followed the example of his father by saying of his wife Rebekah to the men of Gerar, "She is my sister" (26:1-11).
      3. Judah with eight of his brothers plotted to murder Joseph, but later sold him into slavery (37:18-28). He then lied to his father Jacob by telling him that a wild beast had devoured Joseph (verses 29-36). Judah also committed incest with his daughter-in-law Tamar (38:1-30). One of the two sons born, Perez, is an ancestor of Jesus.
      4. David committed adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:1-5). When he failed in his attempts to cover-up her pregnancy, he ordered her husband Uriah’s murder (verses 6-27).
      5. When Solomon married women of other nations (and religions), they turned his heart to worship their pagan gods (1 Kings 11:1-13).
      6. Rehoboam’s foolish judgment resulted in the dividing of the kingdom of Israel (1 Kings 12:1-24). Later in his reign over the southern kingdom of Judah, he "forsook the law of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 12:1).
      7. Abijah (Abijam) "walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, like the heart of his father David" (1 Kings 15:3).
      8. Although Asa brought about many reforms in Judah, he later trusted in human military power instead of in God (2 Chronicles 16:7). "And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians" (verse 12).
      9. Although Jehoshaphat was a good king, Jehu the seer rebuked him for making an alliance with wicked Ahab king of Israel by saying, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD and so bring wrath on yourself from the LORD?" (19:2) After he made another alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, the Bible says Jehoshaphat "acted wickedly in so doing" (20:35).
      10. Joram (Jehoram) secured his rule by murdering all rivals to his throne. "He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (for Ahab’s daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of the LORD" (21:4,6). Of Joram’s death it is written, "He departed with no one’s regret" (verse 20).
      11. Pride was the undoing of good king Uzziah (Azariah). It caused him to enter "the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense" (26:16).
      12. Ahaz "did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree" (2 Kings 16:2-4).
      13. Even as good a king as Hezekiah was, he succumbed to pride by giving "no return for the benefit [of healing] he received" (2 Chronicles 32:25).
      14. Manasseh worshiped pagan gods, offered his sons as burnt sacrifices, and engaged in witchcraft. "Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel" (33:9).
      15. Amon "did evil in the sight of the LORD as Manasseh his father had done, and Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father had made, and he served them. Moreover, he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done, but Amon multiplied guilt" (verses 22-23).
      16. Jeconiah (Coniah, Jehoachin) "did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done" (2 Kings 24:9).
      17. Of the remainder of the people in Jesus’ lineage, there is no biblical record of their sins. However, these who are listed are sufficient for us to see in its context the significance of the statement, "It is He who will save His people from their sins."
    1. Repentance needed: The promise is not that all of these ancestors of Jesus would be saved in their sins. Rather, it is that any of them would be saved from their sins, if they repented. And some of them did.

II. The application for today is found in Titus 2:11-14
    1. Notice the parallels of Paul’s statement with that of the angel: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."
    2. What are our sins?
      1. In the news: the Cubs' fan ruining their World Series hopes; the death sentence for Terri Schiavo (her husband and the judge), terrorist bombings
      2. Adultery, sexual impurity, lust, homosexuality, cross-dressing, pornography
      3. Lying, half-truths, cheating
      4. Murder, hatred, abortions
      5. Stealing, fraud, greed, gambling, lottery
      6. Drunkenness, alcohol & drug abuse
    1. How do we become His people?
      1. Matthew 7:21 (NIV)—"Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!' "
      2. Matthew 12:46 (NIV)—"While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. 47 Someone told Him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You."
        48 He replied to him, "Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?" 49 Pointing to His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
      3. Matthew 28:18 (NIV)—"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Conclusion
    1. Whatever sins you have committed, Jesus will live up to His name by saving you from them all. God "sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways" (Acts 3:26).