A Child Is Born A Son Is Given

A CHILD IS BORN. A SON IS GIVEN

TEXT: Isaiah 9:6, 7

INTRODUCTION:

This text is one of the most well-known of all the OT texts prophesying the coming the Messiah. The prophet Isaiah is called, “The Evangelist of the OT,” and his name is translated as: “Salvation of Jehovah,” which is almost identical in meaning to the name of the Messiah whose birth he was prophesying: Jesus, whose name in Hebrew is Ye shu’a, which interpreted in English is “Jehovah our Salvation.” These verses in our text are a more complete exposition of the earlier verse: Isaiah 7:14, where the prophet says, “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” The verses in our text expand on the characteristics that relate to “Immanuel,” which means: “God with us.” Isaiah tells us that the virgin’s child shall be the royal son of King David, with rights to the Davidic throne. He will be called Wonderful. That word interpreted means: a miracle, a wondrous thing. He will be a Counselor. He is Wonderful and He is my Counselor.

He has supernatural wisdom, and is the authoritative teacher of the truth; in fact, He IS Truth personified -- He is the Mighty God, which is literally translated as: The Almighty God. He is also the Everlasting Father. He will be and is an eternal Father to those that are His. He is the Father, for eternity, to all those He has given to His Son as an everlasting possession. He is also the Prince of Peace, Who will heal the rift between God and man that was caused by original sin; and when the curtain has rung down on the final act of this earth’s play, and eternity begins, He will be the Prince of His people, and we that are His will have eternal peace. That word: “peace,” mean more than just relief from strife or war, but of welfare and prosperity, rather want and sorrow.

Notice also that the prophet uses the present tense: “is given,” not “will be given,” for God the Holy Spirit showed the prophet, that in God’s timing, it is already an accomplished feat, although the birth itself would have to manifest in time, some 700-plus years in the future. The Jews of course, claimed that the word “us” in our text referred only to them – that they were and would be the only ones who would be granted salvation by the Messiah. But the word “Us” refers to all those who by grace through faith, will find mercy and become His eternal children: Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, male and female, from every race, color and creed – those who will by grace become God’s own people through their union with Christ.

The word “given” should also be emphasized also, because The Heavenly Father GAVE the gift of His Son to a lost a dying world, so that those who are hell-bound might find their way to heaven. But my focus for this Christmas message shall be on just a portion of this scripture: “…a Son is given,” using these titles of Christ as headings: The Son of Man, the Son of David, the Son of Mary, and Son of God

I. The Son of Man is Given

A. Jesus used this title: “THE SON OF MAN,” more than any other title He gave of Himself. I counted 81 references in the Gospels to Jesus calling Himself “the Son of Man.” It’s interesting that although He referred to Himself as The Son of Man, no one else in the NT used that name when addressing Him.

B. God also referred to Daniel as “the son of man” once, in Daniel 8:17. Daniel also referred to the person he saw in his vision in Daniel the 7th chapter as “The Son of Man, **READ** DANIEL 7:13, 14 (PINK) READ** This is the first reference to the Messiah as the Son of Man, a title that Jesus applied to Himself. He will be enthroned as ruler over the whole earth, and his kingdom “will never be destroyed.”

1. I believe one reason Jesus may have used this so often, was because the Jewish scholars all recognized this vision of Daniel as being a prophecy of the Messiah.

2. He wanted to say to them plainly, I am the One that Daniel saw in his vision. I am the Messiah.

C. Jesus referred to himself as "Son of man" from three perspectives.

1. He used it to describe His humble condition, such as in Matt. 8:20, where He said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay His head.”