“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name
Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
(Matthew
1:21 ESV)
As we
remember the account of the first Christmas, the truth contained in the above
verse is familiar. However, even though we know it well, it’s
one that many of us fail to comprehend rightly.
What I mean is that we believe Jesus to be the Savior. But we’re looking for him to save us from
something other than sin.
We fall into the same trap as the Jews in Jesus’
day. They expected the Savior to be a
political ruler. They expected him to
save them from their bondage to Rome.
So, when Jesus appeared on the scene, he was not what they expected. And, as a result, they failed to receive the
blessing he came to provide.
I remember taking a course in college, which focused on
Christianity in modern times. The
expectation was not that Jesus would save us from sin. The expectation was that Jesus would overturn
all of the evils of this present world.
We often think the same way. We look to Jesus, but not for salvation from
sin. We look to him to help us in times
of financial struggle. We look to him to
help us with health issues. We look to
him to help our loved ones as they approach the time of their death.
Please don’t misunderstand me. There’s nothing wrong with taking our present
needs to Jesus. In fact, he invites us
to do so. The problem comes when we look
to him only for salvation from our
present struggles, and not for the salvation he came to bring.
This is what so many of us do. We look to Jesus to help only with our
worldly needs. And, when he fails to do
so, or when he fails to answer our prayers in the way we expect, we get angry
with him. We deny his love. We deny his power. In some cases, we turn completely away from
him.
We must understand that Jesus came into this world to
save us from our sin. This, you see, is
our greatest need. Because of our sin,
we’re destined only for death and hell.
But, because of his coming into the world, because of his sacrifice, the
forgiveness of sin and eternal life have been made available to all who trust
in him.
At the end of this age, all of the evils of this life
will come to an end. They will be no
more because they are the consequence of sin.
Suffering and death are a part of the world in which we live because of
the fall of man in the beginning, and because of our ongoing sin.
However, when sin is no more, the consequences of sin
will be a thing of the past. When we are
made to be like Christ, no longer will we endure the suffering of this
age. We will live forever in a place
where there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
So as we remember Jesus’ birth, and as we remember his
salvation, let us remember from what he came to save us. His coming doesn’t mean that our life will be
perfect in the here and now. Our current
problems don’t reflect his failure to save us.
Jesus came into this world to save his people from their sins.
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