His people from their sins (v. 21). The name Jesus means “the Lord will save.” Given his saving mission, it is suitable. Matthew is careful to qualify that Jesus will save his people from their sins, not from the Romans or Gentiles in general. This is an important qualification, for many Jews entertained a militant messianism in which the destruction of Rome and the liberation of Israel were anticipated. The Matthean evangelist, at the time of writing his Gospel, knows perfectly well that the Jewish
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