A salvation broader than we know (Matt 1:21)

Matthew’s Gospel focuses from the very beginning on Jesus’s mission to save from sin. But what does this expression mean? Obviously, atonement for sin and forgiveness are central to it. As an OT scholar, however, I cannot help seeing some additional dimensions to this. First, in Matthew, the angel’s message to Joseph about Jesus saving from sin (Matt 1:21) and the Immanuel prophecy about God with us (Matt 1:23) mirror each other: she will bear a son and you/they shall call his name… This invites us to see saving from sin and ‘God with us’ as two sides of the same coin, which is a well-established pattern in Scripture. When humanity sinned, they were exiled from God’s presence in the garden; when Israel sinned, they were exiled from the land where the Temple represented God’s presence in their midst. The consequence of sin is the absence of God in our lives. When Jesus deals with sin through his sacrificial death on the cross, He removes the obstacle in the way of God’s presence living with (and ultimately in) us. We are saved not only from something but for something.

Secondly, it is significant that Jesus took on flesh and lived from infancy to adulthood with the normal physical functions of a human being, died physically and was raised to life in a physical body. His mission did not bracket out our physicality. This is entirely in keeping with OT expectations that salvation encompasses both spiritual and physical aspects. The Hebrew word ‘to save’, in fact, is frequently used for deliverance in battle, from physical danger, illness or death (1 Sam 9:16, Jer 17:14; Ps 6:4; 22:21; 34:6) and Matthew likewise employs the Greek equivalent to speak of healing (Matt 9:21-22; Matt 14:36), rescue from life-threatening situations (Matt 8:25; Matt 14:30) as well as from saving from sin. When God announced the forgiveness of sins in Isa 40:1-2, it was a prelude to Israel’s return to the land from exile.[1] Conversely, the lack of full restoration after their return (i.e. the fact that they were still under foreign rule without a Davidic king) was recognised as being due to their ongoing sins (e.g. Neh 9:36-37). Jesus makes a similar connection when He calls to repentance as a pre-requisite to the coming of God’s kingdom. Further, the physical healing of the sick, of lepers and the driving out of demons is a sign that the process of restoration has begun. Physical and spiritual release are part of the same larger plan.

Being saved from sin when we trust in Christ does not automatically result in physical healing or the betterment of our material lives. The full restoration of all things still awaits the future. The prosperity gospel is a distortion of the truth precisely because it assumes an automatic connection, besides seeking material blessings first, rather than God. Nevertheless, many will testify to the transforming power of God that grows out of spiritual renewal and encompasses a broader reality. Thus, a friend’s mother who was an alcoholic had a dramatic conversion experience and was cured of alcoholism. A convicted criminal whose testimony I read served sentence for manslaughter and came to faith in prison. On his release, he found a church where he was trusted as a brother so that he was able to re-integrate into society: rare, I am told, among former convicts, who often reoffend due to society’s mistrust and lack of support. Surely, these events are part of that larger picture of being saved from sin. May we rejoice this Christmas in the salvation brought by Christ, which embraces the whole of our lives.

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[1] Isaiah 40-55 is recognised as a unit that encourages the disheartened exiles in Babylon that God will gather them from the four points of the compass (Isa 43:5-6), mentions Cyrus (Isa 44:28; 45:1), who will issue a decree (539 BC) allowing them to return home and also mentions the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls and the Temple (Isa 44:28). Isaiah 48:20 explicitly exhorts exiles to leave Babylon.