0ver 700 years before the birth of Christ. The Lord gave hope to the nation that the Messiah would come. His role would be powerful and world-changing but different than any other King they had known.
Now more than ever we need to understand this King and the plan that was made so we understand our role in this world.
Isaiah 9:6a
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
A child is born – Jesus was fully human, he was born a child, human in every way so he might be able to be tempted in every way so he might fully understand us in our human frailty this is reflective of a verse from two chapters earlier
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
This prophetic verse reflects verse 6 in that it reveals both the human birth—“a virgin shall conceive a son”—and the son’s relationship to the Father, “Immanuel,” which means God is with us!
Unto us a Son is given – John 3:16 tells us that For God so loved that he gave his only begotten son! But we have to understand something that confuses people about the role of the trinity
Jesus is not God’s Son in the sense of a human father and a son. God did not get married and have a son. God did not mate with Mary and, together with her, produce a son. Jesus is God’s Son in the sense that He is God made manifest in human form (John 1;1,14). Jesus is God’s Son in that He was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirt (Luke 1:35) declares, “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’”
When we think of Jesus as a “son” in human terms it causes us to see him as lesser than 100% all God equal to the Father
The Jewish leaders understood something that we have a hard time grasping, it was part of their reasoning for wanting to have Jesus crucified….The Jews insisted to Pilate, ‘We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God’” (John 19:7).
Why would His claiming to be the Son of God be considered blasphemy and be worthy of a death sentence? The Jewish leaders understood exactly what Jesus meant by the phrase “Son of God.” To be the Son of God is to be of the same nature as God. The Son of God is “of God.” The claim to be of the same nature as God…to in fact be God—was blasphemy to the Jewish leaders.
The writer of Hebrews clarifies this for us a little better. Hebrews 1:3,4
The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.
In a negative sense, Judas was called the son of perdition which means ruin, destruction, and waste. He was not birthed by ruin, waste and destruction but he was the manifestation (same nature) of ruin, destruction, and waste, as Jesus is the manifestation (same nature) of the Father.
Wow, that’s a lot for the first 13 words! It is important that we fully understand some basic theology and the power and reality of God’s plan!
If we do not understand who Jesus is then his work on the cross is not as powerful. He is the manifestation of God the Father, He is God in the flesh! As Jesus said, “If we have seen Him we have seen the Father” (John 14:9)
Isaiah 9:6b
The government will rest on his shoulders[1]
This phrase is present and yet future as well.
The world, and at times, we, take on the weight of the world. Jesus said take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30
There was a weight on all of mankind because of Adam and Eve’s sin. The relationship and intimacy with God. Jesus took back the authority that Adam and Eve gave to Satan and more than taking it back, for all who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior, he destroyed that authority totally disarming the enemy.
Colossians 2:14,15
He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
1 John 3:8
But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
I say future because Revelation 19:11-22:5 shows us Christ as King who comes and defeats the final power of Satan, the anti-Christ, the false prophet, and all of their armies. He establishes his kingdom reign here on earth for 1000 years, then completes the final judgment, and then ultimately establishes a new heaven and new earth where he will rule and reign forever.
Isaiah 9:6c
And he will be called:
I know this sounds like a very simple phrase but the question is, “who is calling him or giving him these titles?”
On one hand, it is the people who will get to see him but the way it is written it is to say God is giving him these titles.
These names we will get into next week represent his character and His role. These eight words can be seen individually but it is more likely, as is Hebrew tradition, that they are for titles. Most Hebrew names are comprised of two words. Isaiah means “God saves” so next week I will break these names down into four titles
Isaiah 9:6d
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Here is a little further hint into the meaning of these titles from another part of the Christmas story.
Luke 1:30-33
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
I know I am waiting to go over these names until next week but I hope you have a greater sense of who Jesus is….
– He is fully God and fully man….he feels and understands everything we go through as a human being because he was born a child but he also knows how difficult it can be for us a humans to overcome the evil one, coming as God he knows what we need in our daily lives to win.
– He has destroyed the enemies power over your life