What’s in a name?
Isaiah 9:6
Intro: One of the most difficult times I think we had in pre-child birth days, especially with Regan, was in picking a name.
When we had the ultrasound done it was probably about a week or two too early and when the doctor looked he said, “Looks like a girl...no wait, maybe a boy. Nurse, what do you think?”
So, needless to say we had a lot of green and yellow when Regan joined us.
Since we didn’t know the gender of the baby we had to choose names for both a boy and a girl...seems simple enough, right?
Not always.
But it turned out to be a bit easier than than what I expected.
For a girl we chose Haley Meshelle, Haley coming from a play on Brig’s mom’s maiden name, Hale, and Meshelle just because we thought it sounded good together.
For a boy we chose Logan Montet, we just liked the name Logan and Montet was in honor of my grandfather on my mother’s side...his last name.
Well, all was going well until for like a 3 week span when we got the Seminary newsletter at Southern every little girl born was a Haley, a Kaylee or something similar...so Brigitte looked at me and said, “We need to think of something else.”
We thought long and hard for a while and we had nothing until one day I came home from work and she was sitting in her comfy preggers chair and said, “How about Regan?”
Being a hard core conservative and life long Republican I said, “Yes!” and Regan it was...but the middle name wasn’t decided on and we still didn’t know if we were having a girl or boy.
When August 26, 1997 came around we found we had a Regan and not a Logan, but no middle name...and after a REALLY long labor the last thing Brigitte wanted to do was pick a middle name.
I think I might have been the one to say, “How about Meshelle...Regan Meshelle?”
And so it was.
And since that day, she has been the best Regan I know of and that name just fits her like a “T”.
The power of a name, right?
But what is in a name?
Well, a name can mean a lot...as we will see this morning.
Read Isaiah 9:6 and pray.
The prophet Isaiah penned these words we just read, his name in Hebrew means, “The Lord is Salvation”, and it comes from the same Hebrew root for the name of Jesus, Yeshuah.
Born some where between 770-760 BC, it is estimated that this book was written some 30 years later...at least 730 years before the birth of Christ.
Isaiah begins by saying, “For...”, three little letters to begin a sentence that is the foundation for great expectations.
He goes on to say, “unto us a child is given...”.
The understanding here is that the birth of the Messiah was to be first of all for the Jews, and then for the Gentiles.
This was confirmed on the night Christ was born when the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:11
Jesus was born as the King of the Jews, the promised Messiah, the deliverer who was not coming to simply free them from a physical captivity...but from the spiritual captivity that all mankind was under.
And we are also the beneficiaries of that great gift.
Of course the Apostle Paul also mentioned in Romans 1:16...
This child though, notice what it says in Isaiah 9:6, “a Son will be given...”
This Child is God’s gracious gift to all of us, to which no man has any claim.
His Father is the heavenly Father...and the curse of man’s sin is not upon Him.
That is why His name is Jesus, Yeshuah...salvation.
And that is what I want us to consider, what is in a name.
The third statement of our verse says, “And His name shall be called...”
This is not just what He is called, but relates to the essential characteristics that will be seen in Him.
In the Old Testament Hebrew tradition a name was so much more than something you called some body…it had meaning.
In many cases a Hebrew name not only described the person but also predicted what his or her life would be like.
In the Old Testament book of Isaiah the prophet foretold the coming of a Child, born of a virgin who apparently would change the world…we know that Child to be Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Isaiah goes on to tell us exactly what He would be called, and I want us to consider that this morning.
We are told that the Messiah would be called…
1.Wonderful Counselor
That word “Wonderful” is pretty unique, it is “Pehleh” in the Hebrew and is only found 12 times in the entirety of the OT; one other time in Isaiah and 7 times in the Psalms.
It can mean “marvel” as it is used in Isaiah 8:18, but can also mean:
wonder, marvel
a.wonder (extraordinary, hard to understand thing)
b.wonder (of God’s acts of judgment and redemption)
The wonderful nature of this wonderful counselor is not only it is beyond us, but it is totally an act of God’s judgment and redemption.
God’s love for us is great in light of God’s judgment, because we are sinners deserving God’s wrath...His love and mercy for us is so much more wonderful.
But that counselor part...what about that.
Often when we think of “counselor” we often think of some one we go to in hard times to confide in, maybe to get advice from, etc.
And while I do believe that to be correct, this morning I want us to consider “counselor” from a different point of view...a legal one.
In the court of law the person you have representing you, your attorney will be referred to as “counselor”.
In a very real sense that is what we have in Christ.
He is our Advocate, pleading our case for us and defending us for the crimes we have committed...but He takes it a step further.
If you commit a heinous crime and are brought up on charges and then brought to trial, your attorney will represent you and defend you and plead your case for you.
He will fight for your rights and your innocence, seeking the best possible outcome...but if you are found guilty, his job is done.
You did the crime, you do the time.
Here is what makes our wonderful counselor so wonderful...Christ, our advocate, our defender is not only pleading our case, but after we are found guilty, He pays for the crime.
While we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8), paying the price and penalty for the sins we have committed.
God, the Judge appointed Christ as our Counselor, out of Love...you see how they all go together?
Have you put it together into your life though?
Have you let the Wonderful Counselor who came as a baby in a manger and died on a cross for you save you from the penalties of your sin?
This Christmas, why not celebrate it with Christ in your life?
ABC
Isaiah tells us that He would be called “Wonderful Counselor”, but also says He would be called...
2.Mighty God
One Bible translator translates this section as “God the mighty man.”
The Hebrew is ’el gibbor and it is one of the strongest, if not the strongest titles in Scripture in reference to God’s deity.
The root of the word “mighty” means, “to prevail, have strength, be strong, be powerful, be mighty, be great “
It is a reminder of what we discussed a couple Sunday night’s back, that we would know this child as Emmanuel according to Isaiah 7:14...meaning God with us.
This Child isn’t just a Child, but He is the God of creation who spoke the world into existence.
And it is only fitting that the same God who was part of the “Let us creation man in our image” in Genesis now partakes of the same flesh and blood so that He can redeem us.
While the trinity can be a lot more complicated to understand and explain than I have time for this morning, one thing I know is true...from beginning to end, Scriptures speak of a triune Godhead.
Father, Son and Spirit, coexisted and coequals, of the same essence in person...but separate in terms of mission.
And Christ, Emmanuel, God with us, the mighty God, is He who came with a mission of restoring our right relationship with God by providing the avenue of forgiveness that cleanses.
This is some that only He can do as God, and therefore that is what makes Him mighty God.
Isaiah tells us that He would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God and then...
3.Eternal Father
Once again, the meaning of “wonderful” as being a “marvel” or a “extraordinary or hard to understand thing”...I believe 2700 years after this passage was written and 2000 years after the birth of Christ we have grasped it a bit; but still do find it a bit hard to understand.
Think about it, the child Jesus was born with no earthly father, yet He is the Eternal Father.
But, as Emmanuel, this is a wonder that only He can pull off.
This tells us that Christ is the Lord of Eternity as well as the author of eternal life and salvation that we read about in Hebrews 12.
And unlike earthly kings whose reigns end after a short time, the reign of this King of kings and Lord of lords will never end due to the fact that He is the eternal Father.
In Isa. 9:7 we are told...
There is that eternity again, how the Christ would come and fulfill the Davidic covenant, and not just for a few years before a new leader arises, but for all eternity.
His throne would be eternal.
And according to Phil 2 it is at His feet every knee would bow and every tongue would confess that Jesus Christ, this Eternal Father, is Lord of all.
So much in a name, but that isn’t it.
You see, He will be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and then He would also be called...
4.Prince of Peace
The Hebrew used here is shar-shalom, reminding us that this Child would not be a warring monarch, but as the loving and benevolent Eternal Father, His kingdom would be established in and identified in peace.
2 ways this peace can relate to us today:
1.Peace with God...you are no longer enemies with God.
Read Romans 5:1-10.
In our natural sinful state we are at war with God as we seek to control our own lives and destinies...but God’s love and mercy saw beyond that and seeks to make peace with us through Christ.
In Christ we are no longer at odds with God, but are at peace...and it is a peace that is eternal.
2.Peace in our lives...assurance that all is well.
Phil 4:7 tells us that we can have the peace that surpasses all understanding, meaning that we may not understand it, and the world around us can never do that...but we are at peace, we are sure and all is well.
And this can only come in a right relationship with the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
Do you have that today?
Have you received the gift of forgiveness and eternal life that can only come through faith in Christ and repentance?
Today, I want to offer you a Christmas gift like no other...a new start with Christ.
If you have received Christ, what are you doing with this gift?
He is the gift that keeps on giving.
