Matthew 1:21
“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
An angel speaks to Joseph in a dream, reassuring him about Mary's conception and instructing him to name the child. This naming follows the angelic pattern of announcing a child's destiny through his name.
What Does Matthew 1:21 Mean?
The name Jesus means "the LORD saves," and this verse explains exactly why: He came to rescue His people from their sins. When the angel directs Joseph to name the child, the name is not chosen for sentiment or family custom -- it is a declaration of the child's whole mission, spoken before He draws His first breath. The name announces the work in advance.
Notice what the verse says He saves people from: not merely from Roman occupation, poverty, or political trouble, but "from their sins." Many in that day longed for a deliverer who would break foreign rule, yet the angel names a deeper bondage. Sin is the captivity that no army can overthrow, and this child is sent precisely to that need. The phrase "his people" gathers a community to Himself, and the salvation offered is personal and moral at its root. From the opening pages of the Gospel, then, Matthew sets the agenda: the One whose name means salvation will accomplish salvation, addressing the human heart's deepest wound. Everything that follows -- His teaching, His suffering, His triumph -- flows from this single sentence spoken to a troubled carpenter in the dark.
In the Original Language
The name "JESUS" renders the Greek Iesous, itself from the Hebrew Yeshua, meaning "the LORD is salvation." The verb translated "save" is sozo, to rescue or make whole.
Cross References
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
- Luke 19:10
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
- Acts 4:12
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
- 1 Timothy 1:15
Application
Bring your deepest failures to the One whose very name is a promise that He came to save people exactly like you from exactly that.