Key Verse: Matt. 1:21
Reading Assignment: Matt. 1:1-25
Main Idea: Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, and God.
Overview of the Reading:
1. Jesus is the Messiah
a. This is seen in His genealogy. Jesus really comes from the family of the Messiah.
2. Jesus is the Savior
a. The angel of the Lord declared this.
b. Jesus saves His people from their sins.
c. To be saved from sins is to be forgiven and to be freed from our bondage to sin.
3. Jesus is God
a. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah will be called “God with us.”
b. Jesus is God who came to earth to be God with us.
c. Jesus is with all those who truly trust in Him.
Prayer Suggestions:
1. Jesus, I believe You are the Savior. Save me from my sins. Forgive me and free me from my sins.
2. Jesus, I believe You are God. Please be with me and help me to honor God as I should.
Transcript
We'll get started. Let me pray for us and we'll dig right into God's word.
Our God, this morning we look to you and we're so grateful. You are God. You made us. You know us. You're the God who created the very air that we breathe. We thank you that because of Jesus, we can approach you. And we just want to learn more about Jesus. And by learning about Him that we might know more about you, and that our lives would be more and more full of worship and obedience to you, because in our hearts, we really want to live a life that is honorable in your eyes. Thank you, that Jesus has come, Your Son, the one who saves His people from their sins. And I pray that You would bless everyone here and that You would give to everyone a joyful experience of daily connecting with Christ through Your word. And so we seek for Your blessing during this time. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Well, let me give you a little bit of guidance as to what we're going to be doing. We're going to be reading through the Gospel of Matthew but given that we only have 15 minutes. Every time we meet this way, I'm going to read one verse, a key verse out of the passage that you will read on your own. The first passage you will read is Matthew chapter one, and the key verse is found in verse 21, which says, “She [that is, Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The main idea of this chapter is that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Savior. And He is God. Jesus is the Messiah, Savior, and God. When you read the chapter, you'll see this immediately from the very beginning. In verse one Jesus is introduced to us as the Messiah. Right afterward, you’ll see a long list of names. This is Jesus’ genealogy which shows us that Jesus really comes from the family of the Messiah. Now, you might wonder what is the Messiah? Messiah is someone that God promised would come to be the Savior of the world, who is also God. Matthew shows us from the very beginning of his book that Jesus is really that Messiah that God promised. I encourage you to actually try to read the long list of names. I want you to see the fact that Jesus is a real person in history, who comes from a real family. In the same way that all of us have a genealogy, so does Jesus. But of course, Jesus is not just a man. He is God who came to earth as the Savior.
This is the second part you will see in the chapter. Jesus is the Savior. That message comes through the angel of the Lord. The key verse I read for you earlier is exactly that, where the angel announces that the baby's name should be called Jesus. Why that name? Because the name “Jesus” in Hebrew means “the Lord saves.” The message about this child is that Jesus saves people. Now, you'll notice in verse 21 that Jesus saves His people from their sins. This is very important that Jesus came to save us from our sins. It's really important because all the problems that we have in life are rooted in sin. You know, there's a lot of people in the world who suffer from guilt, shame, sometimes just emptiness, meaninglessness or hopelessness, depression, broken relationships, addictive behaviors, disconnectedness from other people, and most of all, disconnectedness from God. These are all symptoms of the deeper disease of sin, and Jesus came to deal with that root issue of sin. So, when the passage talks about how Jesus came to save us from our sin, it means that He came to save us from the root problem of every evil and suffering we experience in life. Jesus saves people from their sins is not only talking about how Jesus died to forgive us of our sins, but the fact that Jesus also draws us out of our bondage to sin so that we would no longer live in sin. Because when a human being continues to sin against God, his soul is broken and the joy that should be inside our hearts is gone. The Savior has come not only to pay for the penalty of our sins, but also to deliver us from our bondage to sin. This is really good news. Someone has come to address our true root problem. Jesus came to save us from our sins.
Now, as Matthew goes on, he tells us another aspect of Jesus, which is that he is God. He's not just a man who comes from the family of the Messiah, He is actually God. So as Matthew goes on in the chapter, He talks about how there is a prophecy in the Old Testament from the prophet Isaiah. This prophecy said that a virgin will conceive and will bring forth a son, and that this child will be called Immanuel. Immanuel is Hebrew for “God with us.” And this is exactly who Jesus is. He is God from heaven who took on human flesh, and he is God who is with us. That last part “with us” is really important, because Jesus didn’t just come to show that God is someone really majestic and glorious, and no more. No, He came to be God with us. For everyone who truly believes in Christ, God's presence is with us through His spirit.
These are the three confirmations of Jesus’s true identity. He's the Messiah. We know that from his family, from the genealogy that's listed for us in the beginning of the chapter. We also know He's the Savior because the angel declared it. And finally, we know He is God with us because the prophet Isaiah said it and Jesus fulfilled that prophecy.
So what should we do with all of this? I would encourage you, first of all, to read the chapter, read it with understanding. Do it today, some time during lunch break, maybe in the evening time, and then do it again tomorrow. You'll get at least two readings of the chapter. And think upon those three confirmations of who Jesus is. He's the Messiah, He's the Savior, and He is God. And with these truths in mind, pray to Jesus. Pray to Him. I am positive every one of us knows that we have sinned against Jesus in one way or another, whether it's recent or in the distant past. And the way we can truly connect with God is first of all to call out to Jesus and tell Him, “I have sinned.” And as I say that I also tell Him that I believe that He is the Savior, and that He alone can cleanse me from my sins, and that He alone can deliver me from my sins. I would say a prayer like this. Now, I am not suggesting that you just repeat the words. Prayer has to come from your own heart. There's no magic in the words, the words are meant to express that which is true in your heart. And if you really believe that Jesus is the one who came to save us from our sins, as the angel declared, then you pray to Jesus like this. You say, “Jesus, I believe You're my Savior. You came to save me. I am a sinner. I know that you know all the things that I've done that are wrong and evil in Your eyes. But You died on the cross to pay for my sins. Your word also tells me that You have the power to deliver me from my sins. So I ask you to help me and teach me to wise up, so that I would repent from my sins and become the kind of person that is right with God. I'm looking to You because Your word tells me you are the Savior and I believe it. So I ask you to save me from my sins.”
Also, we learned in the passage that Jesus is God. So pray to Him and tell Him that you believe He is God. Say something like this. “Jesus, You are God. I believe this because Your word tells me so. But not only are you God, you're God with us. You promise to be with your people, and I'm asking you to be with me. Teach me. Encourage me. Strengthen me. I really want to live a righteous life. One that is acceptable in the sight of God. And so I ask You to help me. I depend on You and I worship You as my God. There is no one above You. You are God and I believe it because Your word says it. Amen.”
Something as simple as that. And you just call out to Jesus in prayer like that. By the way, I was not acting a prayer. I was actually praying for myself. I've been a Christian for a long time, but the reality of Jesus being my Savior and my God, those truths never change and they never get old. And so whether you're a new believer or an old timer, the response to Jesus is always the same. He really is our Savior and he really is our God who has come to be with us. And so that's it. That's how you do devotions.
This is our first installment to start us off. Next time, we'll cover another portion of Scripture. I'll give you a brief explanation like this next time, and we'll work through the Gospel of Matthew in this fashion. And then once we're done with that, if there's continued interest and you still want guidance, then we'll keep doing this. The assignment for next time before we meet again is to read Matthew chapter one. And every time you read, respond to Jesus with prayer. And if you do this, God will open up your heart to Christ. And just like Jesus came to save his people from their sins, He will save you from your sins. And just in the same way, Jesus came to be God with us, He will be with you.
All right, let me pray for us. And we'll wrap it up for today.
God, thank you that Jesus has come. There is no Savior like him. Through Him we really can be cleansed of our sins, and we can be freed from our sins. You give us new life, a new spiritual life, through Christ, because Jesus really is the Savior. And I pray, Father, that you would bless everyone here so that they would begin to experience the joy of fellowship with you, the peace that we should have in our hearts, as we are properly relate to you, and all the other blessings that come from a righted relationship with you. Thank you that Christ has come as God in human flesh. God, we all know in our hearts that we need you. And thank you that Jesus has come to be with us and that His Spirit is with us. May His truth ever ring in our ears, and may we be renewed every day by His truth. Bless everyone here as each one reads Your word, and grant them understanding and assurance in their hearts of the truths that they read. Thank you for guiding us at this time. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
And that is all everybody. Thank you for joining. And I'll send you the notes from today as well as the recording. I'll post these online. All right. Lord bless you all. Bye.