He shall save his people from their sins

First, a further word on that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

"Proceed therefore no further, neither require anything more than what has been said; neither say thou, But how was it that the Spirit wrought this of a virgin? For if, when nature is at work, it is impossible to explain the manner of the formation; how, when the Spirit is working miracles, shall we be able to express these? And lest you should weary the evangelist, or disturb him by continually asking these things, he has said who it was that wrought the miracle, and so withdrawn himself. For I know, says he, nothing more, but that what was done was the work of the Holy Ghost.

For neither Gabriel nor Matthew was able to say anything more, but only that it was of the Spirit; but how, of the Spirit, or in what manner, neither of them has explained; for neither was it possible.

Nor think that you have learned all, by hearing of the Spirit; nay, for we are ignorant of many things, even when we have learned this; as, for instance, how the Infinite is in a womb, how He that contains all things is carried, as unborn, by a woman; how the Virgin bears, and continues a virgin. How, I pray you, did the Spirit frame that Temple? For that He did come forth of the Virgin's flesh, He has declared by speaking of that which was conceived in her; and Paul, by saying, made of a woman. How then was He of the root of Jesse? How Son of man? How was Mary His mother? How was He of David's seed? How did he take the form of a servant? how was the Word made flesh? and how says Paul to the Romans, Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is God over all? Therefore that He was of us, and of our substance, and of the Virgin's womb, is manifest from these things, and from others beside; but how, is not also manifest. Do not either thou then inquire; but receive what is revealed, and be not curious about what is kept secret."  ~Chrysostom

And now back to our originally scheduled program . . .

He shall save his people from their sins - This shall be his great business in the world: the great errand on which he is come, viz. to make an atonement for, and to destroy, sin: deliverance from all the power, guilt, and pollution of sin, is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. Less than this is not spoken of in the Gospel; and less than this would be unbecoming the Gospel. The perfection of the Gospel system is not that it makes allowances for sin, but that it makes an atonement for it: not that it tolerates sin, but that it destroys it. ~Adam Clarke

For He shall save His people from their sins - Here again the thing is signified to be beyond all expectation. For not from visible wars, neither from barbarians, but what was far greater than these, from sins, he declares the glad tidings of deliverance; a work which had never been possible to any one before. ~Chrysostom

For he shall save his people from their sins; not the nation of the Jews only, but all who were given him by the Father's choice, and all who had given themselves to him by their own. He is a king who protects his subjects, and, as the judges of Israel of old, works salvation for them. Note, those whom Christ saves he saves from their sins; from the guilt of sin by the merit of his death, from the dominion of sin by the Spirit of his grace. In saving them from sin, he saves them from wrath and the curse, and all misery here and hereafter. Christ came to save his people, not in their sins, but from their sins; to purchase for them, not a liberty to sin, but a liberty from sins, to redeem them from all iniquity (Tit 2:14).  ~Matthew Henry


The salvation here ascribed to him, and for which he is every way fit, being God as well as man, and which he is the sole author of, is to be understood, not of a temporal, but of a spiritual and everlasting salvation; which old Jacob had in his view, when he said, "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord" (Gen 49:18), which by the Jewish Targumist is paraphrased thus:

Jacob said, when he saw Gideon the son of Joash, and Samson the son of Manoah, that they would rise up to be saviours, 'Not for the salvation of Gideon do I wait, nor for the salvation of Samson do I look, for their salvation is "a temporary salvation"; but for thy salvation, O Lord, do I wait and look, for thy salvation is "an everlasting salvation." '  ~John Gill


And to these words I add my testimony, True to his word he has saved me from my sins. Whenever I have fallen into sin, he has rescued me, delivered me, saved me. Thank you, thank you, Jesus!!


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Adam Clarke – English Methodist theologian and biblical scholar; 1760-1832
John Gill - English Baptist pastor, biblical scholar, and theologian; 1697-1771
John Chrysostom - Archbishop of Constantinople; 349–407
Matthew Henry – Nonconformist minister & author, born in Wales, lived in England (1662–1714)
The targumim (singular: "targum"‎) were spoken paraphrases, explanations and expansions of the Jewish scriptures that a rabbi would give in the common language of the listeners