Emmanuel is Born
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Key Verse: “She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Selected Scripture: |
IN THE VERSE PREVIOUS to our Key Verse we read, “When he [Joseph] had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.”—Matt. 1:20, New American Standard Bible
We recall from the account that the chiefest messenger remaining in the courts of the Heavenly Father—the angel Gabriel—visited her. He would come to tell her, “Blessed art thou among women.” (Luke 1:28) The fact that the Lord honored Mary above all other women, in that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus according to the flesh, would prove her nobility of character and her purity of heart.
The name Jesus, which is the Greek form for Joshua, signifies ‘savior,’ or ‘liberator’—‘For he shall save his people from their sins.’ The entire work of our Lord Jesus is summed up in the meaning of the name Jesus. Our Lord was publicly recognized as Savior as a babe; but it was only when he had fully completed his sacrifice at Calvary that he had the full right, and became owner, or Lord. This was proclaimed in the promise to Mary, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son.” (Luke 1:31) This expression reveals to us that Jesus was begotten not by Joseph, but by the Holy Spirit, therefore the life principle by which Jesus was conceived came directly from the Heavenly Father. “Unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?” (Heb. 1:5)
The promise was then fulfilled in the words, “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) He was born perfect and free from the Adamic curse of sin and death. He knew no sin, while all other men are sinners by nature. (II Cor. 5:21) Because of this, he could die on the cross as a perfect man, fulfilling God’s desire that through him, “shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 12:3) “As by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”—Rom. 5:18
These ‘families’ refer to the world of mankind under the new administration of the Millennial Kingdom. At that time, the kingdoms of this world will have passed away, and will have become the “kingdoms of our Lord.” (Rev. 11:15) They will be blessed with an opportunity to return to harmony with God, and be rewarded with everlasting life. The people shall say, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”—Isa. 2:3
All of God’s work is perfect, so we see that through the giving of his Son as the Savior of mankind from sin and death, Jesus would make it possible for all to have the opportunity to live at peace on a restored, perfect earth forever. To God be the glory!—Rev. 7:12