Isaiah 9: 1-7 The coming wonder part 2.
The extraordinary child
Okay, last week we went mountaineering and reached the summit of the great mission of the Messiah through the eyes of Isaiah. The Messiahs mission was to bring light and liberation to a people who are living in gloom and distress 9:1 who are walking in darkness 9:2. Isaiah’s words are filled with anticipation of a future hope, the bursting forth of light is going to dawn in a land living in the shadow of death. Liberation is going to come to a people held in captivity, the Messiah is going to come and set people free, there is going to be a time when people will be together again 9:3 filled with joy and rejoicing before God and what He has done.
Today we are going to begin to climb another summit of the coming Messiah and that is the summit of his personhood - one of which I don’t honestly believe any human being has ever reached and conquered. All we will be doing is endeavouring to get as high as humanly is possible.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
1. The extraordinary child ‘given to us all’.
Here is extra extraordinary event with the birth of this extraordinary child, he has already prophesised earlier His birth, His conception and extraordinary identity 7:14 who would be ‘God with us.’ Which the birth of Jesus fulfilled Matt 1:22-23. If there Isaiah reveals the divinity of the child, here he firstly reveals his humanity. What can be more human than a ‘child born’ ‘a son given’ what can be more human than that?
Isaiah’s reference to this ‘child born’ particularly ‘a son given’ would have stirred their imaginations of the covenant promises that God would work through father to son particular through David line.
And that this son was destined for greatness 9:7 Isaiah foretells Him as one whose government would be upon his shoulders – who would reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom – who would uphold justice and righteousness. This was a breath of fresh air that there was a prospect of a future king who would reunite the Kingdoms bringing peace and prosperity to their nation.
If Judah saw it in terms of their own exclusivity as a nation, we can see it in the realms of complete inclusivity with the world John 3:16 for God so loved the world that He gave.... take note the very inclusiveness given to this child to be born into the world 9:6 notice how he puts it ‘ for to us a child is born’ ‘to us a son is given’
The birth of any child is an extraordinary event, in a family’s life, but it is also a very personal event and very exclusive to the couple and family. It’s a time when the husband gets on the phone and tells family and a select group of friends, but that’s usually as far as it goes. The wonder is that this child’s birth is given for us all, all the world has the opportunity to become beneficiaries of his peace in our lives as a result of this extraordinary child given to us.
Isaiah sees a time when the nation will be enlarged 9:3 when people will come from every tribe and every nation being added to God’s Kingdom through this extraordinary child given for us. Isaiah 11: 1-2, 10-12 all peoples and nations will be gathered to Him ultimately. The commission Matt 28:19 therefore go and make disciples of all nations.
How is this accomplished? Isaiah 53: 4 -6 He would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him. The Lord laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. This child was given to rectify the problem of our sins separating us from God. The New Testament confirms it: Matt 1:21 you shall give Him the name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.
2. This Extraordinary child who guides ‘wonderful counsellor’
The word Wonderful: Today the use of this word ‘wonderful’ has lost its real value as it is used for everyday events like, “it’s your birthday how wonderful!” “You’ve passed your exams , how wonderful!” “We’ve just inherited £50,000 how wonderful!” “You are coming over for tea, O that’s wonderful!”
But the Hebrew word here ’Pala’ indicates something uncommon or out of the ordinary outside the realm of human explanation. This wonderful is separated from the normal course of human events: something that cannot be explained. For instance turn with me to: Judges: 13:17- 18 Where Manoah asked the Angel of God, “What is your name?” He replied “it’s beyond understanding . This is the wonder we are meeting the divine!
King David could say about the wisdom of God……Psalm 139: 6 “Such knowledge is too wonderful to me:”
This Christ Child is wonderful….. We cannot neatly explain him away, We cannot neatly package Him, our minds cannot contain Him in a box or either explain Him away. He is wonderful beyond human explanation.
Could it be we have become so familiar with Jesus that we have lost the wonder of this extraordinary child?
Not only is He wonderful but wonderful in his counsel, where do you go for advice these days?
Citizens advice, marriage guidance, the doctors, a trusted friend, trained counselors the pastor. All these are appropriate places but they can only ever be 2nd best our first response rather than our last resort should be to the wonderful counselor .
Illustration on Gods counsel: A young man once lost his job, and growing somewhat desperate about his plight, went to see an old preacher that he knew. As he poured out his heart to the preacher he angrily declared "I’ve begged and begged God to say something to help me, preacher. Why doesn’t God answer?"
The old preacher, who was sitting across the room, spoke a reply so quiet the young man was unable to make it out. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, again in a soft tone. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn’t hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "So we will move closer to hear him." Source: oz sermon illustrations
Have we moved close to Him to seek His wonderful counsel? Often the dilemmas we face are without His wonderful counsel as a result of us distancing ourselves from Him.. Isaiah 28:29 the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom. Don’t we need to move closer to Him?
God has divine attributes which Jesus clearly demonstrated in his teaching:
Jesus the counselor: 1. He taught in Parables, as he taught in the synagogues he baffled the religious elite with his wisdom and counsel, He alluded to them that a greater than Solomon was present. 2.He guided the multitudes on the mountainside with the greatest set of teaching this earth as ever known. 3.He counseled and trained His disciples. 4.He counseled the seeking like Nicodemus and the Rich young ruler. 5. He also promised another counselor to come the Holy Spirit John 14: 16. 15:26. 16:7. To those who believe in Him who would guide and counsel us.
The whole of the gospels and the NT is filled with His wonderful counsel. Paul says in Romans 11:34 who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor? Isaiah 40:13.
Yet Jesus has given us another counselor the Holy Spirit who lives within us, who guides us through the truth of the Scriptures we too can seek wonderful counsel along life’s way especially and we can minister God’s word to others who are confused and perplexed through the wisdom of the Spirit (Not classical wisdom) 1Cor 2:6- 16 Wisdom from the Spirit
3.This extraordinary child is powerful: Mighty God
There are people in our world today who have immense power at their finger tips for instance George Bush of the USA or his counterpart Vladimir Putin of Russia, these men have untold power at their finger tips.
Yet both these men are merely men whpo are like children playing at cowboys and Indians when it comes to the power of this extraordinary child whom is none other than the Mighty God.
Mighty God This word here is a very strong Hebrew word which can be split into two it includes the Hebrew word ’EL’ one of the names for God which derives the idea of strength. It is also used in the compound names for God: El SHADDI - THE ALMIGHTY GOD - EL OLAM THE ETERNAL GOD – EL ROEH THE ALL SEEING GOD.
In Isaiah it is EL GIBBOR - THE MIGHTY GOD.
Jesus is the Mighty God: this infant born in a humble stable, weak and dependent as any infant upon his mother in his humanity was also Mighty God - the very one who created the whole universe by the power of His word. The God who became flesh and dwelt amongst us: John 1:14: The Word became flesh and made His dwelling amongst us.
Jesus revealed Himself as the Mighty God through his miracles : The Power over nature Mark 5:39 – 41 who is this even the wind and the waves obey Him! The raising of the dead like Lazarus , the widows son, Jarius daughter and his own amazing resurrection. Luke 5: 20 – 25 The paralyzed Man … these miracles substantiated His claims as the Mighty God Himself :
He also often he testified to the very fact before the Jewish people as they asked Him whether he was greater than Abraham? John 8:58. Jesus declares Himself as the eternal God I tell you the truth, Jesus answered before Abraham was born , I AM! John 10:30. I and the Father are one v33 you a mere man claim to be God.
The Apostles demonstrated the ongoing power of the name Jesus, the Mighty God.
For it is in His name people are saved 2:21 Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
There is Power to be healed. 3:6 In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth get up and walk.”
There is Power to be changed in the name of Jesus 16: 18 In the name of Jesus I command you to come out of her .”
There is power to suffer in the name of Jesus 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. There is power to teach in the name of Jesus 4:18 They commanded him not to speak or teach in this name. There is power to live and power to die in His name, Stephen could say 7:59 Lord Jesus receive my spirit.
Do you remember the question poised to Peter “who do people say that I am?” Jesus personalizes it “But who do you say That I am?” And Peter said you are the Christ the Son of the living God! That same question is asked to each of us still today? what’s your reply?
4.This extraordinary child is the Eternal Father.
A real Father and Son business: Jesus also taught of his work with the Father His Father worked so he worked,He only did what the Father commanded. All those who came to Him only did so because the Father drew them there was a real Father, Son relationship in the work Here. Jesus always distinguished between himself and His Father in persons yet always stressed an underlying unity.
Father and Son are One: This is startling that the Son should be attributed to the Father and the everlasting Father at that. But this in balance with what Jesus taught the religious leaders that He was one with the Fathere Jhn.10:30 and then on another occasion to Philip in the upper room Jhn 14: 8 - 11 .
The amazing truth of this extraordinary child born that He was Son, He was Father. This is what Isaiah declared and Jesus verified. This is all part of the opening revelation of the trinity where we see that the FATHER INTIATES - THE SON PROVIDES AND THE SPIRIT APPLIES SALVATION. Yet in all this there is an underlying unity.1Peter 1:2
(Shorter catechism,6 states) There are three persons in the Godhead: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Our heavenly Father : Jesus always taught about the Father in a interesting way for instance in the Lords prayer he taught us about our Heavenly Fathers presence and comfort towards us, that we are his children who desire to fulfill his will, one who provides for our needs, who forgives us and protects us and delivers us, He is a Father figure who is constant, eternal and never absent from our lives.
Christians are sons and daughters of the everlasting Father this indeed brings stability, security, love, forgiveness, hope into our lives as we cry out to ABBA FATHER
5. This extraordinary child brings peace: He is the prince of peace
Shar – Shalom “the one who removes all peace and disturbing factors and secures the peace. In the OT This peace didn’t just mean the end of war but a total well being in life also.
A human prince might well be able to bring peace to a nation like King David through conquest in battle, another Prince might be able to maintain the peace like Solomon and this is what many hoped for when they looked at Jesus to bring peace through conflict and rule …. But that wasn’t the peace that Jesus had come to set up, not yet.
The hope of Isaiah is that a divine prince of peace was coming with a twofold peace,
1.Inaugarate a perfect peace when all conflicts will cease when He returns. 2 Also taking place today, is to bring the peace of well being in one’s life with God.
This peace that Jesus brings is not the absence of difficulties – absence conflict – absence of doubts – absence of worries but a confident assurance in any and all circumstance of His peace :
Jesus said , Jhn 14:27 Peace I leave with you ; my peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and d o not be afraid.
The worlds peace comes at the price of a bloody war where thousands shed blood in its cause and yet still cannot bring the spiritual peace of well being in one’s life. His peace and rule in our lives depend not on bloody human war but upon the sacrifice of His own life upon the cross. Col 1:20 God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile to himself all things on earth or in heaven , by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
illustration: THE PEACE CHILD : In 1962, the Sawi people of New Guinea still lived in relative isolation. They were head-hunting cannibals. Their culture could not be more different from that of Don and Carol Richardson, and yet this missionary couple attempted to share Christ with them. In fact, two rival Sawi tribes, fascinated by the Richardson’s, moved their villages right around the missionaries’ jungle home.
But Don became frustrated by his inability to find a point of contact. He was also discouraged by the 14 civil wars he had already counted right outside his front door now that the two tribes lived side by side. Eventually, the Richardsons decided to leave. However, the Sawi response surprised them: "If you’ll stay, we promise we’ll make peace in the morning."
The next morning the Richardson’s awoke to see the most amazing ritual they had ever witnessed. The two tribes were lined up outside their houses, on either side of the clearing. Finally, one man dashed into his hut, grabbed his newborn son, and began to run across the meadow towards the other tribe. His expression betrayed absolute agony. His wife ran after him, screaming and begging him to give the baby back to her.
But her husband wouldn’t stop. He ran over to the other tribe and presented the boy to them. "Plead the peace child for me. I give you my son, and I give you my name," he said. Moments later, someone from that tribe performed the same agonizing sacrifice with the same intensity and passion. Richardson found out later that as long as those two children remained alive, the tribes were bound to peace. If they died, then literally all hell would break loose--cannibalism, murder, civil war.
While this amazing scene unfolded before him, Don suddenly realized that this was the analogy he needed to communicate Christ. The next time he spoke to the Sawi elders he told them of the perfect Peace Child, Jesus. Eventually, droves of Sawi became followers of Christ.
Several years later, on Christmas day, hundreds of Sawi from every tribe - tribes that had warred and cannibalized each other for many years - gathered together for a feast for the first time. A Sawi preacher stood up and read in his own language a scripture that few people in the history of the world have ever understood so clearly: "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders, and He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Later, the Richardson’s would write that it was the best Christmas they had ever experienced. It was the best day the Sawi had ever known.
SOURCE: Adapted by James McCullen from "Peace Child" by Don Richardson (Regal, 1976) in Mars Hill Review, Fall 1994. Pages 62-63. http://www.preachhim.org/3wisewomen.htm
“Let us never forget these wonderful titles of our Messiah, this extraordinary child, given to us, this coming wonder into the world and into our hearts when received by faith. A son was given to us that we might be belong to Him, that we might be enfolded in His love, lost in the wonder of his divinity, knowing that when we are confused and perplexed He is the wonderful counselor always there to assist and guide. When we are weak and in need of strength, let us remember He is the Mighty God and in His name we can do great exploits. When real dark and difficult times come our way and they will let us remember He is the everlasting Father never absent and always caring and when Satan endeavors to tempt us to despair and tells us of the sin within, let us remember He is the prince of peace who has purchased our peace with God.”
Aubrey Vaughan cbchurch.org.uk
