He Will Save His People
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
When Joseph discovered that his betrothed wife was pregnant, it seems the only logical conclusion was that she had cheated on him. He didn’t want to make her a public example, so he was planning to try to end their betrothal secretly.
But then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and told him that Mary was pregnant of the Holy Spirit! What an incredible concept to try to wrap your mind around! Then the angel continued with the statement in verse 21.
The New Testament recorded the name in Greek. Jesus is derived from the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “Yahweh is salvation” (New Bible Dictionary, “Jesus Christ, Titles of”). This was not an unusual name, but it had a special meaning in this case. Jesus would save His people from their sins by willingly taking their death penalty upon Himself. Not only that, but He would call on them to repent and lead them out of sin by the Holy Spirit.
For more about our Lord and Savior, see the section on “Who Is Jesus?”
