Isaiah 9:6-7 For to
us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his
government and of peace there will be no end, on
the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with
justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal
of the Lord of hosts will do this.
We think of Christmas as a
time to recognize the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Strangely, Christmas is
recognized all around the world, even in countries where there are few
Christians. For example, Japan celebrates Christmas with as much enthusiasm as
we do here in America. Yet only about one percent of the population are
Christian. In Japan they display extensive decorations and have replaced Santa
Claus with a Buddhist monk! His name is Hotei-osho
and he brings presents to each house and leaves them for the children. Like
Santa Claus, Hotei-osho has eyes in the back of his head so that the children
will behave themselves in anticipation of their gifts. It is sad that Christmas
is so easily celebrated without Christ! 700 years before Mary delivered a son, and
called his name Jesus, Isaiah promised him.
The prophecies really began in
the Garden of Eden after the temptation of Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3:15 the
Lord God promised Satan that he would put enmity between him and the woman
throughout the generations until the seed of the woman would bruise Satan’s
head. Of course, he was referring to Jesus defeating Satan on the cross and the
empty tomb. The promise was not a plan B after the failure of plan A. Before
the creation of the universe God had prepared a plan that involved the fall of
man into sin and the payment of the sin debt by the Son of God. In fact, God’s
plan went so far as entering the names of those who would be saved, before the
ages began, in the Lamb’s Book of Life. God’s plan involved, not a conquering
King, but a baby born to a young woman and brought up as a human. Isaiah said…
To
us a child is born. Turn with me to, or repeat from memory, John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
As Isaiah was looking into the
vision God gave him he saw a child being born. Everything about this birth was
contrary to what would be expected by the religious leaders. The world’s way of
doing things would be to send a powerful man to conquer and destroy the
opponents of God. God’s way was to send a child, His only Son, to live the life
that Adam had failed to live. God’s love was demonstrated to us on that first
Christmas morning. Yes, God’s love for the world was packaged in a baby. The
Wise Men from the East knew that he would be born to be King of the Jews. When
they saw the star they packed up their treasures and brought them to Bethlehem.
They probably arrived several months after the birth of Jesus. “The wise men”
of Jerusalem didn’t have a clue, and that is remarkable! When Herod asked the
priests where the Christ would be born they knew right away that it would be in
Bethlehem. However, they didn’t know it had already happened until the
strangers came looking for Him. Isaiah had seen a child being born and
described the child as “a son”. He wrote…
To
us a son is given. Turn with me to Isaiah 7:14. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel.
Earlier in the vision of
Isaiah he had seen a virgin conceive and bear a son. In chapter nine Isaiah had
said that the son was given to “us”. The prophet could not have known that this
plural pronoun “us” would include so much more than the Jewish people. The “us”
that the son was given to included every generation of mankind from righteous
Abel to the last person born on the earth to be chosen by God. He was given to
us!
As Paul wrote to the
Corinthians, God made this Son to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might
become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) This is a powerful gift.
Not only was a Son given but…
He
will rule. Jesus himself proclaimed his rule to his
disciples when he ascended into heaven. Turn with me to Matthew 28:18-20. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of
the age.”
He was born in a manger and
raised in the home of a carpenter. So far as we know, He never owned anything
except the clothes on his back. Yet, according to Isaiah’s vision the
government would be upon His shoulder. Jesus will rule until He puts all His
enemies under His feet.
Jesus lived on earth as a man
even though He is God! He was a very remarkable man — and still is. Part of
what is amazing about Jesus is that he could be fully man and not sin and fully
God and still give his life. After Jesus took our sins in His own body on the
cross He was able to enter into the holy place in heaven with His own blood to
cover the sins of all those chosen by God who will put their faith in Him. Then
he returned to the tomb only to be resurrected on Easter morning.
The result of the work of
Christ on the cross and His victory over the grave was that all authority in
heaven and on earth was given to Him by the Father. Since that authority was
given to Him we can go and make disciples of all nations. Because we go in His
authority not our own. Not only will he rule but…
He
will conquer His enemies. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:25-26. For he must reign until he has put all his
enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is
death.
It is obvious that everything
is not yet subjected to Him because, if it were, the evil going on the world
would all be over. Jesus is in the process of subduing all his enemies. Part of
that process is getting the gospel into all the world. Jesus himself said that
the end will not come until the gospel of the kingdom is proclaimed throughout
the whole world. No one will be able to say that they did not have the
opportunity to be saved. A very sad truth is that everyone, everywhere, will be
confronted with the gospel one way or another. But not everyone will be saved even
though every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans
14:11)
Our enemy, who is roaming the
earth like a roaring lion, is going to be completely defeated. Part of that
defeat must involve setting the spiritual captives free. You see, millions live
in a world of spiritual darkness and must be brought to the light. The God of
this world has blinded their minds so they cannot see spiritually. (2
Corinthians 4:3-6) Yet, God has enabled His people to be in the process of being
transformed from darkness to the light. As the Church proclaims Jesus Christ as
Lord, God will give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah could see, at a
distance, a Child being born and a Son being given to us. Isaiah could see that
this Child would be different from all others. Not only was He given to us but…
He
is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. Turn with me to the
gospel of John 1:1. In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
At least seven times in the
New Testament Jesus is proclaimed as God. John, thinking back through the
centuries to the beginning saw, in his mind’s eye, the Word with God he saw
that the Word was God. In the original language the word order is different.
The last phrase can be translated as, “God was the Word”. So, “God” and the
“Word” are interchangeable they mean the same thing. Now let’s turn to the
story of Jesus’ resurrection and the reaction of Thomas. Throughout history he
has been called “Doubting Thomas”. Yet, when he was confronted with the
evidence he gave one of the strongest statements of any of the disciples about
who Jesus is. Turn with me to John
20:26-29. Eight days later, his disciples were inside
again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and
stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said
to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and
place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas
answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have
you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and
yet have believed.”
Thomas called Jesus “my God.” The
story shows that both John in writing his gospel and Jesus Himself approve of
what Thomas has said and encourages everyone who hears about Thomas to believe
the same things Thomas did. Jesus immediately responds to Thomas. “Have you
believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed.” As far as John is concerned this is the high point in his
gospel because he immediately tells the reader — in the very next verse — that
this is the reason he wrote it. “These are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in
his name.”
Jesus speaks of us in this
passage. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Think
about it, we are among those who have not seen and yet have believed. Isaiah
tells us that He is the Mighty God and then it is confirmed in the New
Testament, Gospel of John. Not only is He the Mighty God who will rule but also…
He
is called Everlasting Father. Turn with me to Jesus’ words found
in John 14:18-21. “I
will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a
little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I
live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I
am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my
commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be
loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Jesus had earlier clearly
stated that, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) Here Jesus promises us
that we will not be left as orphans, He will come to us! Just as Isaiah stated —
the Messiah would be called “Everlasting Father” and that is what Jesus also
promised. He and the Father are eternally interrelated. In fact, we are taught
that, “In Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” (Colossians 2:9) Jesus
is fully God and as such he is the Everlasting Father. Not only that but…
He
is called Prince of Peace. Turn with me to Ephesians 2:13-18. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far
off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he
himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh
the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of
commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new
man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might
reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the
hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were
far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we
both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
“Prince of Peace” is an
important title. It’s part of the evidence that Jesus, Himself, is God. The
Bible tells us that God is a God of peace (Romans 15:33, etc.). Isaiah had
stated that we would be led forth in peace. (Isaiah 55:12) God, again and again,
promises peace to his people. The third element in the fruit of the Spirit is “peace”
(Galatians 5:22) so peace is part of our spiritual inheritance.
We once were far off but now
have been brought near by the blood of Christ. God grants peace to all those who
claim the name of Christ. That would be peace with one another as well as peace
in our own heart. The angel that greeted the shepherds on the first Christmas
morning spoke of “peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14) We
have a responsibility as citizens of the kingdom of heaven to “pursue what
makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (Romans 14:19) We also have the responsibility,
and the privilege, to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. (Colossians
3:15) This is our calling. We are one body in Christ and as such we should be,
as much as possible, at peace with each other.
The Lord Jesus Christ enables
us to have peace but we have to allow it to rule in our heart. Satan, our
enemy, likes nothing more than to rob peace from a child of God. Please
remember he is a liar and the father of lies. Don’t let him take away your
peace.
Luke tells us that Mary
treasured all these things in her heart when Jesus had stayed behind at the
temple after Passover. It was very hard for Jesus’ earthly family to see him as
the Mighty God because they had seen him first as a baby in a manger and then
later on as an obedient son and brother. It is equally hard for people today to
identify the baby in a manger with the man on the cross and the empty tomb. We
should enjoy the Christmas celebration but we need to remember that this season
is about the Christ who came to earth to bear our sins and to give us the
privilege of confessing Him as Lord. The greatest gift — and it is shown at
Christmas — is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! Have you received
him? This could be your day to make Christ Lord of your life.
All
scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version.
2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.
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