The Light of Christmas
Isaiah 9:1-5
Introduction
Over 40 years ago, a church in Philadelphia witnessed one Sunday morning three boys being baptized and become members of the church. Unfortunately, in a matter of months the church had to disband and sell the property because the membership continued to dwindle.
Years later, one of those three boys decided to research the denominational records of the church that he was baptized in years ago. He found the record of the year that he was baptized. On this record was this notation, “It has not been a good year for our church. We lost 27 members. 3 joined, but they were only children.”
The man who checked the record was Dr. Tony Compolo, a prolific Christian author. Of the two other boys, one became a missionary, and the other a seminary professor. The church record said, “3 members joined, but they were only children.”
Like the passage that we looked at last week in Isaiah chapter 7, this one in Isaiah chapter nine centers on a child, a child of hope, a child of light. This child would be the light of the world, shining into our darkness and showing us the direction out of the darkness. The child of light in Isaiah 9 would be become the bright light of Christmas.
“But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. [2] The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them. [3] You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. [5] For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. he zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
It will take us a few Sundays to unpack this passage of Scripture. Let me begin by putting these verses into their larger context.
From verse one of chapter seven to verse eight of chapter eight, we have noticed in our last study how God is going to judge king Ahaz for not trusting the Lord. Unfortunately, many of the Israelites are going to follow king Ahaz’s leadership and also trust the Assyrians rather than trust in the Lord.
The result of not trusting in the Lord is discipline and destruction. Fortunately, in the midst of all this judgment is found hope for those who turn to God and trust in him. The sign of this hope is found in Isaiah 7:14, “Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.” The ultimate fulfillment of 7:14 is the Christ of Christmas.
The Lord will continue to build upon the hope for his people from verse nine of chapter eight to verse seven of chapter nine. The hope comes to a dramatic climax when the Lord speaks of the child who will fulfill Isaiah 7:14, the Messiah.
We learn from verses 8-22 of chapter eight that even though many of the people will turn their backs on God and trust in the Assyrians, God will set apart a believing remnant, a remnant set apart by the presence of God, the fear of God, and the truth of God.
The end of chapter eight ends with people who are living and walking in darkness. Even so, the darkness will soon be dispelled by a great light, a light that will come through a child, yes, just a child, however the child will be the light of Christmas.
There are three observations that I want to make from verses 1-5. First, the light of Christmas conquers are greatest need.
I. Conquers our greatest need
Notice the dismal condition that verse 22 of chapter eight speaks of, “Then they will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness.” Distress, darkness, anguish, and gloom, now that is dismal conditions. In the midst of this darkness and anguish God proclaims hope, hope that will come from a great light that will dispel the darkness.
Notice verse one of chapter nine, “But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.” The land of Zebulun and Naphtali were located in Northern Israel. When the Assyrians and other nations attacked Israel, they would come from the north. Therefore, these two lands located in Galilee experienced the brunt of the destruction that came at the hands of the enemies.
Even though they experienced contempt, the Lord would make these devastated areas glorious. How would the Lord make these areas glorious? The Lord explains in verse two, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”
The darkness that is spoken of in these verses is both an outside and an inside darkness. The destruction from the Assyrian army made the land desolate and dark. Thus, it was dark on the outside. Nevertheless, the darkness that would be caused by the Assyrians was evidence of an inward darkness.
The prophet Isaiah was commissioned by God to call the people of Israel to repentance. The sins of the people were great and Isaiah warned them of their sin and the coming judgment that would come if they did not repent of their sins. The outward darkness of Assyria’s destruction was the result of the inward darkness of Israel’s sin.
Isaiah says in verse two, “the people who walk in darkness.” The verb “walking” suggest a conduct of life. It refers to people whose behavior and conduct is one of darkness. All people, apart from Christ live in darkness and walk a path of darkness. The darkness that all walk in apart from Christ is found in the heart of man, in the heat of woman, in the heart of child. The darkness that all walk in is the darkness of the sinful condition of all humanity apart from Christ.
Scripture consistently teaches that all humanity apart from Christ is walking in darkness. All are living in the dominion of darkness apart from Christ. All are groping in the darkness apart from Christ. Therefore, the greatest need that we have is the need of salvation from this darkness. The only way that any one can be salved from this darkness is through the great light promised in verses two.
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light… the light will shine on them.” The verbs “see” and “ shine” are translated in the future tense, but they are actually in the perfect tense. Perfect tense speaks of a past action that has present and future implications. Scholars call these perfect tense verbs “prophetic perfects.” Isaiah speaks of a future event that will take place as if the events are already completed actions. In other words, by using the perfect tense Isaiah isn’t saying that it is a possibility that a great light will shine, it is a done deal. If God said it would happen, then it will happen. It is already done.
Who is this great light? If you look down in verse six, we are told that this great light will come through a child, “ For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;” This child that Isaiah is talking about would also be the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14. This child would be born of a virgin, and his name will be called Immanuel, God with us. That salvation that meets our greatest need come through a child, his name is Jesus.
Turn to Matthew chapter four, verse twelve, for I want to see how the prophetic perfect verbs were fulfilled, “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; [13] and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. [14] This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, just as the Lord said 700 more or less years before through the prophet Isaiah. The great light is Jesus Christ.
The apostle John said, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. [5] The Light shines in the darkness, (John 1:4-5)
Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life….While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light." John 8:12; 12:36
It is not the darkness that comes to the light, but the light that comes to the darkness. The light of the world does not let our sin and rebellion keep him from manifesting his saving light to us so that we can be saved from our darkness. The light of the world shines on us even though we were his enemies. Thank the Lord that are sin and rebellion are not enough to keep him from seeking us out in the darkness and drawing us out into his light.
Of course, though God seeks us out, we still have to choose to follow the light if we are going to be freed from the darkness. We can’t have our sin and our light too.
Our greatest need as humans is salvation from the darkness of our sinful condition. Only the light of Christmas, Christ Jesus can deliver us from the dominion of darkness into the wonderful kingdom o flight. The light of Christmas conquers our greatest need. In addition, we see the light of Christmas confronts our worst fears.
II. Confronts our worst fears
Verse three speaks of the joy that comes to those who come to the light, “You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; They will be glad in Your presence As with the gladness of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.” Behind this promise of joy for those in the light we see some elemental fears of humans.
The people of Israel have heard through the prophet Isaiah that God was going to bring destruction upon their land, their homes, their lives. Things were looking bleak. One of the basic fears that they were dealing with was loneliness.
a. Loneliness
God was going to destroy the city and scatter the people, can you imagine how the people were feeling, no home, no family, no community, in a foreign land. They were fearing loneliness. Also, there was the fear of finances.
b. Finances
If their land was destroyed, and they were scattered, what would happen to their livelihood? Third, there was the fear of death.
c. Death
Would God use the Assyrians to destroy them completely?
Nevertheless, God doesn’t want his people to be consumed with fear. Notice what the Lord tells the believing remnant of Israelites back in verses twelve of chapter eight, “You are not to say, ’It is a conspiracy!’ In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it.” The people who were trusting Assyria were fearful of loneliness, finances, and death, but God says to those who trust him not to fear those things, but to fear God. God is in control, He is for his people. He is with his people, and he will take care of his people.
They didn’t have to fear loneliness because God says in verse three of chapter nine that he will grow their nation. They didn’t have to fear financed because God would bless their harvest. They didn’t have to fear death because God would give them the victory. How would these fears be confronted? They would be confronted with the light of Christmas.
When one comes to the light of Christmas God takes those elemental fears and replaces them with the joy of the Lord, a joy that comes from being in a right relationship with the Lord.
What are some of the fears you are dealing with this Christmas season? Loneliness? Finances? Death? Are these fears debilitating you? Are they causing you to be overly anxious?
Jesus said, “The thief comes to kill, still, and destroy, but I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly.” Is fear killing your joy today? Is fear stealing you sanity? Is fear destroying your outlook? Jesus wants to conquer your worst fears and exchange with the joy of an abundant life in him. The light of Christmas conquers our greatest need, confronts our worst fears, and third, the light of Christmas calms our weary souls.
III. Calms our weary souls
The Lord has told us through Isaiah that a great light will come and joy will be for those who accept the light. The next three verses, verses 4,5, and 6 give us the reason for such abundant joy. The word “for” begins each verse which is our indicator that these verses are the reason for verses two and three. The third reason found in verse six is the climax of the three verses showing how verses four and five will come about. The joy comes to those in the light because of the calm that comes to our weary souls. This calm comes first of all because of the power of God delivering our souls.
a. The power of God that delivers our souls
“For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.”
The language of verse four describes a people set free from bondage. The oppressor is dealt with and his burdensome yoke is taken away. This is a good description of those who walk in darkness. We re under the bondage of the prince of darkness and the power of sin, and we need to be freed. However, we can’t free ourselves in our own power. The deliverance that brings true freedom can only come by the power of God. The reference to the battle of Midian is referring to the deliverance of Israel from their enemies through the leadership of Gideon. Gideon would start out with an army of 30,000, but by the time that God was finished, he had only 300 soldiers. The reason that God only used 300 men was to show Gideon and Israel that the deliverance came by the power of God, not the power of man. The calm for our weary souls comes from the deliverance by the power of God. Second, we notice the peace of God that calms our souls.
b. The peace of God that calms our souls
“For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.” Verse five describes a time of complete peace. The warring parties are no longer warring against one another, but instead they are at peace with one another. The deliverance of our souls by the power of God results in the calmness of our souls with the peace of God.
One Saturday morning, a man woke up around 5 A.M., his wife and children still asleep. Glad to have time to himself, he went downstairs, brewed some coffee, and began to read the morning paper. Three sentences into an article, he saw his five-year-old daughter descending the stairs.
He said, "Honey, go back to bed."
"But I’m not sleepy," she insisted.
Determined to read his paper, he again urged her to go back to bed. Again, she told him she was not tired.
Looking down at the newspaper, he conceived a plan. In the paper was a picture of the world, which he cut into several pieces. Handing his daughter some Scotch tape, he instructed her, "Go sit in the dining room, and see if you can put the world back together."
His daughter accepted the challenge, and he went back to the kitchen to finish his coffee and read the paper. After only a few sips of his coffee, though, his daughter came bounding into the kitchen. "Here, Daddy, I’m finished!" she said, showing him the picture of the world put back together.
Amazed, he asked, "Sweetie, how did you do that so fast?"
She replied, "It was easy, Daddy. On the back side of the page was a picture of a man. When you make the man right, you make the world right."
The light of Christmas came to make the man right. Because of the darkness that we walk in we are separated from God. Our relationship with God is broken and need of repair. The light of Christmas is the only way that we can have peace with God, the only way that we can be reconciled to our creator.
Are you weary this Christmas season? Are you walking in darkness looking for light? Are your worst fears taking over you life? Are you concerned about your relationship with the Lord?
Jesus is calling you today! He is saying, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. [29] "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
