JESUS
– Salvation from Enemies and from Sins
While reading the Bible we sometimes come to passages
that offer differing perspectives on a topic or subject or person that perhaps
we hadn’t fully appreciated. As Christians we tend to focus on the familiar aspects
of Scripture, neglecting the relatively unfamiliar. In a recent study, I reviewed
two passages that demonstrated that point with a focus on our Lord Jesus
Christ.
The first passage concerned the Lord Jesus indirectly, prior
to His birth. Luke Chapter One records events prior to the birth of His
soon-to-be cousin John the Baptist. John’s father Zacharias, a priest in
Israel’s Temple, was cited as making the following statements regarding the
pending birth of Jesus: “67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost,
and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And
hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which
have been since the world began: 71 That we should be
saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;” (Luke 1: 67-71)
The second passage also concerned our Lord Jesus indirectly, prior
to His birth. Matthew Chapter One records these events which also took place
prior to His birth.: 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they
came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph
her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example,
was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto
thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he
shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all
this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1: 18-23)
When we check with our Strong’s Expanded Concordance for the name
“JESUS”, we find listings in both the Hebrew section (#3091); and the Greek
section (# 02424). The Hebrew translation (used 218 times) means “Jehovah –
saved”. The Greek translation (used 972 times) simply means “the name of our
Lord”. However, because both translations relate to the Lord’s role in
“saving”, we need to look further into how they might be distinguished from
each other with a focus on being “saved” from “enemies”, or “sins”.
In the Old Testament, we remember Israel’s
history from the beginning when the LORD made a Covenant with Abram (the Abrahamic
Covenant) saying: “Now the Lord had
said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And
I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall
all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12: 1-3)
That Covenant led to Abram
(later Abraham) becoming the father of Isaac and Ishmael, the
grandfather of Esau and Jacob, and Jacob becoming the father of the 12 sons who
would become the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel. (https://www.gotquestions.org/God-of-Abraham-Isaac-Jacob.html) Further
review of the Scripture documents the genealogy of our Lord Jesus traces its
roots back through Israel to Abraham. (Matthew 1: 1-16) Christians know that the reference made above that “in thee
(Abram / Abraham) shall all families of the earth be blessed” was a direct
reference to the future coming of our Lord Jesus…who would bring
salvation to Israel and the Gentile world.
Now the question to be
answered is where the Scripture addresses the subject in the title above and differentiates
between the “Salvation from Enemies and from Sins.”
I raised the point above
about the descendants of Abraham because as with many families, some of the
most heated and anger-provoking relationships take place between people who are
genetically related. The Middle East Conflict that exists today between Israel and
its neighbors is the continuation of hostilities that began with Noah’s sons
Shem and Ham (Genesis 9: 18-27), and later between Isaac and his
descendants and Ishmael and his descendants. (Genesis 16: 1-12; 17:
18-21; 21: 9-13; Galatians 4: 21-31) Because I addressed that conflict in two
previous posts to this blog, (under the following headings: “The LORD’s Covenant with
Abraham for Isaac vs Blessings for Ishmael”, and “Why the Arab-Israeli
Conflict is So Important to Christians”), I will not explore them again at this
time.
However, I will point out
that the vast majority of the approximately 40 Bible references to God’s “saving
from enemies” relate to Israel’s seeking that protection from its neighbor enemies
in the Old Testament / Tanakh. (https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God-Saving-From-Enemies ) Those
neighbors were / are also descendants of Noah’s son Shem, or of his son Ham.
(Psalms 78:51; 105: 23, 27; 106: 22)
But, on the contrary, the
references to seeking God’s “saving from sin” is only found in the New
Testament, and is related to the influence of our Lord Jesus . Now even as I say that, many will remind me of
the coming annual observance of Yom Kippur, Israel’s Holy Day of
Atonement, whereby Israelites were “cleansed of their sins” (Leviticus 23:
26-32); (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/177886/jewish/What-Is-Yom-Kippur.htm ) What may
not be clearly understood by many is that this annual observance was
only a temporary covering for the sins of the people of Israel. Their eternal “saving” / salvation could only
be achieved (as with all mankind) after our Lord Jesus had paid the dear price of
death, through the shedding of His holy, precious blood to pay for our sins.
(Hebrews Chapter Nine) Consider also that the Jewish Law / Torah required
animal sacrifices in Israel’s Temple which was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD, and has yet to
be rebuilt. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-temple-its-destruction
)
The New Testament contains numerous scriptural references
which either directly or indirectly point to the role of our Lord Jesus as
Savior, in saving man from the penalty for his sins. (https://www.openbible.info/topics/jesus_saves_us_from_sin
) Of the most recognizable passages that
reinforce our understanding of the Son of God as our Savior are the following
two. The first is part of the passage noted above in the third paragraph:
Matthew 1: 21 - 23
21 And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus:
for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now
all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us.”
The second highly recognizable passage from our Bible contains
the memorable words of John the Baptist, as he was baptizing repentant Israelites
in the Jordan River:
John 1: 29
“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him,
and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sin of the world.”
Please take note that the Apostle John used the singular word
“sin”, rather than the plural form “sins”. I believe that singular term yet applies
to the entire category and body of sin / sins committed by mankind since the first man Adam. (Genesis Chapter
Three; Romans 5: 12-21)
That conclusion brings
us back to the title of this post, and the identification of mankind’s true,
most significant enemy, who took the form of the Serpent and promoted /
encouraged the original sin. (Genesis Chapter Three)
Dr. W.A. (Bill) Robinson
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