Matthew 1:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

NIV: She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

NASB: She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.'

CSB: She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

NLT: And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'

KJV: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

NKJV: And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

God is revealing to Joseph His plan to bring the promised Savior into the world. Joseph already knows that his betrothed wife is pregnant. As anyone would, he assumes this has happened as a result of her having sex with another man, breaking the terms of their betrothal. He had planned to divorce her, quietly, which would have been a relatively compassionate response (Matthew 1:19).

Before he ends the relationship, however, an angel from God appears to Joseph in a dream. The angel tells Joseph not to fear going through with the marriage. Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit, not by sexual sin, and not from another man.

The angel continues in this verse with more details. The baby is a boy. You will call His name Jesus, the angel says, because He will save His people from their sins. The Greek name Jesus is derived from the same Hebrew name from which we get the name "Joshua". This name means "Yahweh saves." The angel's revelation to Joseph is specific: not that Jesus will free His people, the Jews, in some general sense. The angel does not say Jesus will end Israel's captivity under Rome. The prediction is that Christ will save His people from their sins.

Matthew's Gospel will make clear that salvation from sin was needed far more than salvation from Rome.

Matthew 1:18–25 tells the story of the birth of Christ from the perspective of Joseph. This man is betrothed to be married to Mary, but finds out she is pregnant. He does not realize, yet, that this child is Christ, and that she is pregnant by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. God interrupts Joseph's honorable plans to divorce Mary, and tells him through an angel in a dream not to fear taking her as a wife and that the child is from God. Jesus will fulfill Isaiah's prophecy that Immanuel, ''God with us,'' will be born to a virgin. Joseph obeys, demonstrating his faith in God.

The apostle Matthew begins his telling of Jesus' life with a genealogy. This is meant to show that Jesus is directly descended from both Abraham and King David, making Him a legal heir to the throne of Israel. He then tells the story of Jesus' birth from the perspective of Joseph, Mary's husband. Joseph had planned to divorce the woman he was betrothed to marry, once he found out she was carrying a child that wasn't his. God interrupts this plan. An angel tells Joseph in a dream that the child is from the Holy Spirit and commands Joseph to name Him Jesus, since He will save His people from their sins. Joseph obeys.

One of the original twelve disciples, Matthew begins his telling of Jesus' life with a genealogy and Jesus' birth. The listing of Jesus' ancestors shows how Jesus is directly descended from both Abraham and King David, but it also includes then-unlikely inclusions, such as women, blatant sinners, and evil kings. Instead of divorcing Mary, Joseph obeys God and takes her home. Isaiah's prophecy of the virgin birth of Immanuel, a term meaning ''God with us,'' is fulfilled. This sets the stage for pivotal events in Jesus' infancy, such as the arrival of wise men and the family's escape into Egypt.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.