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Jesus has come to save from what?

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“In the same way [that is, with similar mockery] the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.’”
(Matthew 27:41-42)

What do we mean today by the verb to save? Ask someone at random on the streets what the verb “to save” means, and what will be the response? Someone who is worried about his financial portfolio may reply, “‘Save’ is what you’d better do if you want money set aside for a comfortable retirement.” Ask a sports fan what the verb means, and he may reply, “‘Save’ is what a fine goalie does; he stops the ball from going into the net, and thus saves the point.” Ask computer techies what the verb means, and they will surely tell you that you jolly well better save your data by backing it up frequently, for otherwise when your computer crashes you may lose everything.

The mockers in verses 41 and 42 do not mean any of these things, of course. They are saying that apparently Jesus “saved” many other people—he healed the sick, he exorcised demons, he fed the hungry; occasionally he even raised the dead—but now he could not “save” himself from execution. He could not be much of a savior after all. Thus even their formal affirmation that Jesus “saved” others is uttered with irony in a context that undermines his ability. This would-be savior is a disappointment and a failure, and the mockers enjoy their witty sneering.

But once again, the mockers speak better than they know. Matthew knows, and the readers know, and God knows, that in one profound sense if Jesus is to save others, he really cannot save himself.

We must begin with the way Matthew himself introduces the verb to save. It first shows up in Matthew’s first chapter. God tells Joseph that the baby in his fiancée’s womb has been engendered by the Holy Spirit. God further instructs him, “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” (1:21). “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua,” which, roughly, means “yhwh saves.” With this meaning so placarded at the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew gives his readers insight into Jesus the Messiah’s mission by reporting why God himself assigned this name: Jesus has come to save his people from their sins.

(from the book Scandalous, by D.A. Carson. Available in the BLB Bookstore.)

Comments

  4. I will ask this question to those I come in contact with today. I anticipate it will be an excellent way to discuss with them their own salvation. And, for those who make the claim of being saved, it will be interesting to hear what they believe they have been saved from. I believe that those who truly understand salvation (the redeemed) have a certain purity to their praise. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

    • I am so thankful that Jesus Christ came and blessed me in turning me from all my iniquities. That i could be found in him without spot blemish or blame or wrinkle. I am so blessed that he came and died for my sins and that he could send the comforter his spirit that he make me born of him that i could take on his image that his seed would remain in me that i am free and cannot sin because his seed remains in me. For the wages of sin are death and the soul that sins shall surely die. Thanks and praise be to the Living God Jesus Christ the Lamb that was slain. What a great life I have now as a new creature in Christ.

  5. I for one was very much like the rest of the population,Rushimg through life trying to get ahead worrying of bills and life in general. Seeking approval from my boss my wife my family working 80 hrs a week for The American Dream ! And I was dying a slow hard death. I look back and shudder at that man and wonder how did I get so lost? Well That is a long story but the beauty is I was found and I was SAVED and I thank God and or Saviour Jesus Christ every day for that amazing blessing for I was snatched out of the very jaws of death and no longer have to hold my head in shame nor deal with the daily pain and of regret for my past >> And that is AMAZING TO WALK IN PEACE BECAUSE OF THE SPIRIT AND THE BLESSINGS OF EVERYDAY LIFE IT HAS GIVEN ME A FAITH IN ALL OF GODS PROMISES AND PRAY FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO DONT HAVE THIS PEACE AND THE SPIRIT FOR IT IS SAD THAT ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS ASK AND DONT ! I SAY PRAY THOSE LOST SOULS THAT THEY FIND THEMS SELVES SLOW DOWN AND JUST ASK WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SAVED ? GOD BLESS

  6. How can I say thanks for all that Christ has done to save me and the entire universe amazing love
    how can it be?
    Being save is surrendering all by believing, accepting and depending on Christ for everything.. in joy or in adversity we praise God for being in control.
    Thanks for asking a great question which I will adopt

  7. Thank you for this important message and consideration. I was just thinking of the word “safe” as used on American Idol–“YOU ARE SAFE!” it means; you remain, you do not lose, you still have hope, you stay where you want to be, you can still win. I was also thinking of the word safe in the context of baseball; it means you are not out, you still have a chance to win (or you won, if winning run at home). You are where you want to be.

    It is very important to know that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He is very capable of fulfilling his purpose.

  8. jesus is so awesome he came to earth to died for us sinners because no one could do it for us not even our parents or our best friend

  10. taste and see that god is good.i have a peace that i never had before.money cant buy it.trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.thankyou jesus for all youve done.you are the best lord! praise his holy name. glenn.

  11. This indeed is a blessed thought and I am thankful to the folks at Blue Letter Bible for posting this rich ministry, especially the Attributes of God.

    Now, I do not want to take away from anything that has been said here, as I said it is a precious thought. However, I would strongly caution everyone (not that I am any super brain in the scriptures, for I am not) to remember that Mary was already considered Joseph’s wife and not fiance. Think of the historical and cultural context of the time. This is extremely important when considering the matter of marriage and divorce.

  12. Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

    Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

    We as christians must be an over comer and endure to the end of the world, or our life!

  13. Rev 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. [JESUS Words].

    So many people to day [Christians] have been taught the once you except JESUS as Their Lord And saviour, that they will be saved,no matter what they do….this is a Gross error that what will their anwser be at the Judgement they did not endure in their Faith?

    • Billy,
      There is truth to what you say, but let’s remember that we have to take the whole Bible in it’s proper context (historical, cultural, grammatical and so on).
      The Bible teaches us over and over again, in both the Old and New Testaments, that salvation from sin is indeed by grace. It is a gift of God unmerited by anyone. We all deserve (or have earned) our place in the lake of fire and never earn or keep our place in heaven.
      With that said, Christians are definitely not off the hook. There is a work we must do, not to keep our salvation, but to prove it is real to others. Our primary focus is to love God with our all, everything, heart, mind, soul, and strength. James says something to the effect, ‘ Oh, you have faith? well then show it to me.’ In other words he is speaking to, or writing to, those who profess to be saved, but were not living as if they were. They said they believed in God, but so do the demons, James comments, ‘so what’s the difference?’ (I am taking a little licence here, but this is the gist of it).

      The verses that you have quoted are not for today, but for a coming day after the Church is caught up to be with him and the times of Jacobs trouble is here and the thousand Year Reign of Christ. There will be those who have never heard the gospel before that will gat saved. They are the ones that will have to endure. Not us. But as I said, and would reemphasize, you are correct, the Christian life is not a free ride. We will be held very accountable for the things we do and the things we don’t do at the bema (Judgement Seat of Christ not the Great White Throne of Judgement).
      The Lord bless.
      Peter

  14. Thank You King Jesus for knocking and waiting at the door until I opened my hearts door to You. You chiseled away bit by bit until You broke my pride, leaving only You to turn to. Thank You Father for sending Your Son to save me.

  15. Thank you LORD Jesus for your saving grace! Father GOD help me to endure and overcome. i rely on your strength and have my eternal faith placed in your perfcet son Jesus, and am looking foward to the time to bow down and worship you, face to face for all eternity! please fill me with your Spirit to overflowing to be the man, husband, son and friend you have created me to be. please forgive me for all the time i have wasted on my foolish and selfish desires. as your beautiful Word says, create in me new heart! i stand on that verse and the verse that says you have begun and good work in me and You are faithful to complete it. thank you Father GOD, Jesus and Holy Spirit! i love you and thank you!

  16. I believe that when Mary was instructed to give Jesus His Name it was not yet revealed that Jesus would be the Saviour to the whole world. It is written He shall save His people from their sins in the Gospel of Matthew. Thank God that Jesus not only came to save those that were the descendants of Abraham but also that He revealed to Peter that the Gospel was for the Gentiles and He also sent Paul to teach and preach the Gospel to Gentiles. I also believe that Jesus is not only able and willing to save me from my sins as a Gentile but from anything and everything that hinders His calling and His purposes and plans for my life, even if it means calling upon Him and the Heavenly Father through Him day and night.

    σῴζω transliteration sōzō (verb)

    1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction
    a) one (from injury or peril)
    1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health
    1) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue
    b) to save in the technical biblical sense
    1) negatively
    a) to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
    b) to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance

  17. To God this is a big deal! Perhaps one of God’s most tremendous acts! WHY? Why was saving us so important to God that He would send His only begotten Son to save us?

    1. Was sin THAT bad? To God – Yes!
    2. Love – For God so loved the world …
    3. Bottomline. We need to be saved from our sins.

    I am so inundated daily with sin, darkness, injustice, evil that it is just a part of what is . What is the big deal? This is one of those God perspective things. The fact that God would go to such great lengths to save us from our sins means that IT IS A BIG DEAL! – Whether I have the human capacity to fathom the concept or not.

    Faith. There is a place of just believing God that WE NEED TO BE SAVED FROM OUR SINS. If what we see is not enough to comprehend WHY such a gesture to save us, God knows WHY such a gesture.

    Thank You God for Jesus saving me from my sins.

    • Hi Vernita, I wonder if a lot of Christians realise that Jesus came to this earth to fulfil a bigger purpose than to save us from our sins; it was to reconcile us back to God frfom whom our sins seperated us. So now, according to Col 1:19-22, we are now friends of God because of Jesus’ death on the Cross and as a result, are now holy and blameless as we stand before Him without a single fault. Our role now is to let others know there’s room at the Cross for them too!!

      • Hi Catherine. Thank you for the note. Personally, I don’t think about what all of this means enough. I cannot imagine the richness of the truth of reconciliation and being faultless, but I believe it. I think that if I REALLY understood all of this I would be more effective as a believer, and more influential with the ministry of reconciliation to others. It is worth understanding to that extent. Thank you again… God bless you!

  18. colossians 1:22&23 in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy & unblameable and unreprovable in his sight (23) if you continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven wherefore I paul am made a minister

    1st corinthians 15:1&2 moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you which also you have received and wherein you stand (2) by which also you are saved if you keep in memory what I preached unto you unless you have believed in vain

    hebrews 10:36 for you have need of patience that after you have done the will of GOD you might receive the promise

    john 5:34 but I receive not testimony from man but these things I say that you might be saved

    loving the LORD

  19. I wonder if a lot of Christians realise that Jesus came to this earth to fulfil a bigger purpose than to save us from our sins; it was to reconcile us back to God frfom whom our sins seperated us. So now, according to Col 1:19-22, we are now friends of God because of Jesus’ death on the Cross and as a result, are now holy and blameless as we stand before Him without a single fault. Our role now is to let others know there’s room at the Cross for them too!!

  20. Praise God that I was saved from “my self”! Self pleasing, self-ish, self serving and self absorbed. I have been changed from a self lover to a God lover by being given a new life by an unconditional loving and living God! He has given me the spirit of life.
    “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” Romans 8:5,6
    “For who hath known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor. 2:16

  21. To save us from our sins is to save us in every other way. For example, when the lame man carried by his four friends is lowered in Jesus’ Presence, Jesus says, “Thy sins are forgiven.” Jesus Himself equates this to physical healing.
    All the things that the mockers implied in verses 41 and 42 are TRUE about the saving power of Christ. Jesus saves us through unmerited favor, but he also saves us from physical debility, oppressions, and every other thing HE has always saved individuals from who have faith.
    It is interesting to note all of the Mockings from the Gospels. Unknowingly, each scoffer is saying something somewhat true about Christ’s ability.

      • Chris, its a pleasure to visit and share on this site! Back in 2001 i discovered BLB during a time when i so longed to have a biblical and literal experience with the Holy Spirit. I was hungry and thirsty for righteousness……..In between classes in college i would sneak away to a PC to hop on BLB.
        The Word of God would fuel personal time of worship and seeking that opened the door for a mighty season of very real experiences. I discovered that the Holy Spirit was not an emotion or a tongue, but the person of God…a real person….God Himself. Jesus PROMISED in John 14 that He would not leave us comfortless, but WOULD come. Thats a promise. He’s here, and just waiting for someone to ask seek and knock in prayer and worship not only to know He’s here by faith in The Word, but to know experientially. We know we have Him by asking; by faith. But we seek for even more. And we “knock” (implying intensity) for a door; “a floodgate” to be opened.
        Its simple to ask and recieve. But seeking and banging on Heaven’s door will give us something greater.
        BLB was and is a God-given tool to the world to help the seeker know God’s Word, not only to know, but to KNOW. Thank God for this site.