It is with strong emphasis that the angel defines the sphere of
salvation as being 'their sins.' The Messianic expectation had been
degraded as it flowed through the generations, as some pure stream loses
its early sparkle, and gathers scum on its surface from filth flung into
it by men. Mere deliverance from the Roman yoke was all the salvation
that the mass wanted or expected, and the tragedy of the Cross was
foreshadowed in this prophecy which declares an inward emancipation from
sin as the true work of Mary's unborn Son.
We can discern the Jewish error in externalising and materialising the
conception of salvation, but many of us repeat it in essence. What is
the difference between the Jew who thought that salvation was
deliverance from Rome, and the 'Christian' who thinks that it is
deliverance not from sin but from its punishment?
We have to think of a liberation from sin itself, not merely from its
penalties. This thought has been often obscured by preachers, and often
neglected by Christians, in whom selfishness and an imperfect
understanding of the gospel have too often made salvation appear as
merely a means of escape from impending suffering. All deep knowledge of
what _Sin_ is teaches us that it is its own punishment, and that the
hell of hell is to be under the dominion of evil.