How does Matthew 1:21 connect with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah?

Matthew 1:21: “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.”

The Name and the Mission

– “Jesus” (Greek Iēsous) renders the Hebrew Yehoshua/Yeshua, “Yahweh saves.”

– The angel links the name directly to His work: saving His people from their sins.

Old Testament Foundations for the Saving Name

– Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will call Him Immanuel.” God Himself comes to dwell with and rescue His people, fulfilled in the child named “Yahweh saves.”

– Isaiah 9:6-7: “For unto us a child is born … and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The promised child brings peace by dealing with sin.

– Zechariah 9:9: “See, your King comes to you … righteous and having salvation.” Messiah’s kingship is inseparable from His saving work.

– Zechariah 3:8-9: “I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.” A precise promise that the Branch (Messiah) would deal decisively with sin.

– Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks are decreed … to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for iniquity.” Matthew presents Jesus as the One who accomplishes this timetable.

Deliverance From Sin Foretold

– Isaiah 53:5-6: “He was pierced for our transgressions … the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Salvation is specifically from sin, not merely political oppression.

– Jeremiah 31:31-34: the New Covenant brings full forgiveness—“I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.” Jesus inaugurates this covenant (cf. Matthew 26:28).

– Jeremiah 23:5-6: “A Righteous Branch … will be called, ‘The LORD Our Righteousness.’” His very identity supplies the righteousness sinners lack.

The Messiah’s People

– Psalm 130:7-8: “He will redeem Israel from all iniquity.” “His people” originally points to Israel yet telescopes out to the nations (Isaiah 49:6).

– Hosea 2:23: “I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people.’” Matthew later highlights Gentile worship (2:1-12), showing the widening circle of “His people.”

Parallels With Joshua

– Numbers 13:16; Deuteronomy 31:7-8: Joshua (Yehoshua) led Israel into rest. Jesus, the greater Joshua, leads His people into eternal rest by conquering sin (Hebrews 4:8-10).

Prophetic Timing and Birthplace

– Micah 5:2: the Ruler comes from Bethlehem; Matthew 2:1-6 reports the fulfillment.

– Genesis 49:10 and 2 Samuel 7:12-13 promise a royal descendant of Judah and David; Matthew’s genealogy (1:1-17) confirms Jesus’ legal right to that throne.

Key Takeaways

– Matthew 1:21 explicitly ties Jesus’ name to the core messianic promise of salvation from sin, weaving together Isaiah’s child prophecies, Jeremiah’s New Covenant, Daniel’s atonement timetable, and the sin-bearing Servant of Isaiah 53.

– Every major Old Testament strand—royal Son, suffering Servant, righteous Branch, new-covenant Mediator—converges on the angel’s announcement.

– The verse therefore serves as Matthew’s thesis statement: Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah whose primary mission, foretold throughout Scripture, is to rescue His people from their sins.