Relearning Sin by Kalie Hargrove

Day 1 of 5: Salvation From Hell

When he had considered it, a messenger of the lord appeared to him in a dream saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to accept your woman, Mary, for the thing in her that has been conceived is through a holy wind.
Moreover, she will give birth to a son and you will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
—Matthew 1:20-21 (paraphrased by author)

In the introduction to the book of Matthew, the author lays out the purpose of the messiah as he understands it. In essence, the author is saying that Jesus’ primary goal is to “save his people from their sins,” which many of us were taught means that Jesus was sent to bring forgiveness from that which will send a person to hell, individual sins. However, the author doesn’t have an eternal destination in mind for this verse, but the subversion of the Roman Empire.

First the word “save” is the Greek word “σῴζω” (sozo), which is the word most commonly used in the Septuagint (or LXX, the Greek translation of the BCE portion of the Bible) for being rescued from other nations. Often in the CE portion of the Bible, we are taught to think of this word as being saved from eternal conscious torment, but it was never used in that sense in the BCE portion.

The key to this verse is in the understanding of what Matthew means by “sins.” We were often told to believe that being saved from “sin” is to receive forgiveness that would allow us to escape hell.

However, the Hebrew prophets focused on the errors, or sins, of the nation and warned that they would face destruction and oppression from outside nations if they did not change. This narrative came to fruition when Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians and Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians.

In this light, it was the “sins of the people” that led to the national destruction and occupation by foreign nations. Thus, to be saved from the “people from their sins” would indicate being saved from occupation.

In the first century, they found themselves under new occupation and oppression under the Roman empire and it was believed that the messiah would come and bring liberation from oppression. Thus, it is established that Jesus’ mission was to bring liberation from the people’s “sins,” i.e. the Roman oppression of the people.

However, the author could not simply come out and say that “the purpose of the messiah is to save his people from Rome.” That would have been considered sedition and would have led to the deaths of the author and those with copies. So, the author wrote in a way that would subvert the Roman authority without being noticed.

In this view, Jesus’ message and focus is not one of salvation from hell, but one of salvation for those who were born into a society of oppression.

Often, “our sin” is an abstract idea that people use to ensure we are constantly seeking forgiveness and release from shame and guilt. However, according to Matthew, “sin” isn’t even about us, it’s about where we are in our society. How can “being saved from sin,” which is liberation from social oppression, help us navigate our way to liberation in our society?

Day 1 of 5: Salvation From Hell

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