Matthew 1:21
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
American Standard Version (ASV)
And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And she will give birth to a son; and you will give him the name Jesus; for he will give his people salvation from their sins.
Webster's Revision
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
World English Bible
She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins."
English Revised Version (ERV)
And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins.
Definitions for Matthew 1:21
Clarke's Matthew 1:21 Bible Commentary
Jesus - The same as Joshua, יהושע Yehoshua, from ישע yasha, he saved, delivered, put in a state of safety. See on Exodus 13:9 (note); Numbers 13:16 (note), and in the preface to Joshua.
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. In Matthew 1:1, he is called Jesus Christ, on which Dr. Lightfoot properly remarks, "That the name of Jesus, so often added to the name of Christ in the New Testament, is not only that Christ might be thereby pointed out as the Savior, but also that Jesus might be pointed out as the true Christ or Messiah, against the unbelief of the Jews." This observation will be of great use in numberless places of the New Testament. See Acts 2:36; Acts 8:35; 1 Corinthians 16:22; 1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:15, etc.
Barnes's Matthew 1:21 Bible Commentary
His name Jesus - The name Jesus is the same as Saviour. It is derived from the verb signifying to save, In Hebrew it is the same as Joshua. In two places in the New Testament it is used where it means Joshua, the leader of the Jews into Canaan, and in our translation the name Joshua should have been retained, Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8. It was a very common name among the Jews.
He shall save - This expresses the same as the name, and on this account the name was given to him. He saves people by dying to redeem them; by giving the Holy Spirit to renew them John 16:7-8; by His power in enabling them to overcome their spiritual enemies, in defending them from danger, in guiding them in the path of duty, in sustaining them in trials and in death; and He will raise them up at the last day, and exalt them to a world of purity and love.
His people - Those whom the Father has given to him. The Jews were called the people of God because he had chosen them to himself, and regarded them as His special and beloved people, separate from all the nations of the earth. Christians are called the people of Christ because it was the purpose of the Father to give them to him Isaiah 53:11; John 6:37; and because in due time he came to redeem them to himself, Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 1:2.
From their sins - This was the great business of Jesus in coming and dying. It was not to save people in their sins, but from their sins. Sinners could not be happy in heaven. It would be a place of wretchedness to the guilty. The design of Jesus was, therefore, to save them from sin; and from this we may learn:
1. That Jesus had a design in coming into the world. He came to save his people; and that design will surely be accomplished. It is impossible that in any part of it he should fail.
2. We have no evidence that we are his people unless we are saved from the power and dominion of sin. A mere profession of being His people will not answer. Unless we give up our sins; unless we renounce the pride, pomp, and pleasure of the world, we have no evidence that we are the children of God. It is impossible that we should be Christians if we indulge in sin and live in the practice of any known iniquity. See 1 John 3:7-8.
3. That all professing Christians should feel that there is no salvation unless it is from sin, and that they can never be admitted to a holy heaven hereafter unless they are made pure, by the blood of Jesus, here.
Wesley's Matthew 1:21 Bible Commentary
1:21 Jesus - That is, a Saviour. It is the same name with Joshua (who was a type of him) which properly signifies, The Lord,Salvation. His people - Israel. And all the Israel of God.