A savior is someone who rescues or delivers people from danger. In the Bible, this word is most often used for God and Jesus Christ. Understanding Jesus as Savior is very important for understanding the Bible's message.
Savior in the Old Testament
Versions of the English Bible use “savior” in the Old Testament to translate various forms of the Hebrew word yasha‘. This word means “to save,” “to deliver,” or “to rescue.” Most frequently it is used to translate the participle of the verb, moshia‘, meaning “the one who saves.” Used in this way, “savior” is found 13 or 14 times in the Old Testament, depending upon the version.
The basic idea of a savior as someone who rescues is shown in Deuteronomy 22:27. This law talks about a situation where no one is near to help in a time of need. Moshia‘ is also used for individuals:
Both Othniel and Ehud are called “deliverers” (Judges 3:9, 15).
Nehemiah 9:27 speaks of the judges collectively as deliverers sent by God.
Second Kings 13:5 says that God gave Israel a savior to rescue them from their enemies (the Arameans). Some have identified this deliverer with King Jeroboam II of Judah. Others think the deliverer is a foreign king, quite often Zakir of Hamath. However, the text does not clearly say who this savior might have been. The point of the text is that God sent this deliverer for his people.
But most often in the Old Testament, God himself is called Israel's savior. Even when other people are called saviors, it is clear that God sent them. Israel knew God was their savior and said this in songs of praise (Psalms 17:7; 106:1–12) and cries for help (Jer 14:8). David said this of God: “My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior” (2 Samuel 22:3). Quite often the psalmists refer to the Lord as their “help” or “salvation” (Psalms 27:9; 38:22; 42:5, 11; 65:5; 68:19; 79:9; 85:4; 89:26).
The greatest example of God saving Israel was when he rescued them from Egypt (the exodus). The psalmist, remembering Israel’s sin of making a golden calf, proclaims, “They forgot God their Savior, who did great things in Egypt” (Psalm 106:21; compare Isaiah 63:11; Hosea 13:4–6).
In Isaiah, “savior” is often used as a title for God. The term is used to emphasize his uniqueness. It shows that God alone is the savior, not foreign gods or idols, God says, “I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me. I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed—I, and not some foreign god among you” (Isaiah 43:11–12). Isaiah also says that God would show himself as savior by blessing and restoring Israel in the future (49:26; 60:16). The Old Testament does not directly call the Messiah (God's chosen leader) a "savior," but passages like Zechariah 9:9 suggest that the Messiah would be a deliverer.
Savior in Other Writings
Some books not included in most Bibles (apocryphal books) use the term "savior" for God. They give God grand titles like "everlasting Savior" (Baruch 4:22) or “the eternal Savior of Israel” (3 Maccabees 7:16). These titles show that people saw God as the one who could save Israel.
In Greek writings, the word for "savior" (soter) is used for both gods and humans. For example, the writer Herodotus once called the Athenians the "saviors" of Greece (Persian Wars 7.139.5). In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) soter is used to translate various forms of the Hebrew yasha‘, which. means “to save.”
Savior in the New Testament
Soter occurs 24 times in the New Testament and is only applied to God and Jesus Christ. Is is used for God 8 times and for Christ 16 times. Out of the 24 NT occurrences of soter, ten are in the Letters and five in 2 Peter.
We can see how the New Testament depends on the Old Testament in Luke 1:47, where Mary praises God as Savior in her song. Jesus’s name (which is Greek for Joshua) means “the Lord is salvation.” He was given this name because he would be the Savior (Matthew 1:21). As the Savior, Jesus completes God’s plan for a promised deliverer (Acts 13:23; Ti 3:4). He provides redemption for humanity (Titus 2:13–14). And, he is the hope of the believer (Philippians 3:20–21).
The word "savior" means someone who rescues people from danger and brings them to safety. Jesus has rescued the believer from sin and death, giving them eternal life (2 Timothy 1:10). Jesus never refers to himself as Savior (soter), but:
Angels announced him as Savior at his birth (Luke 2:11).
Those who heard his words called him Savior (Jn 4:42).
The early church proclaimed him as Savior (Acts 5:31; 13:23).
Salvation is central to the mission of Jesus (Luke 19:10). Paul teaches that Christ is the Savior of the church in the present (Ephesians 5:23). Christ is also the Savior of the church in the future (Phil 3:20). Savior, as a title, is applied to God in the Pastoral Letters and clearly represents God as Savior of all persons (1 Timothy 2:3; 4:10). The Pastoral Letters also clearly designate Jesus as Savior (2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 3:6). In some instances, the Pastor Letters also declare that he is God the Savior (Titus 2:13; 3:4–6).
Savior is used as a title for Jesus Christ throughout 2 Peter (for example, 2 Peter 2:20). John, in his first letter, uses it to describe Jesus as the Savior sent by the Father to save the world (1 John 4:14).