The Gospel According to Isaiah
Text: Isaiah 9:1-7
Introduction
1. Illustration: Praise God for Christmas. Praise Him for the incarnation, for the word made flesh. I will not sing of shepherds watching flocks on frosty nights, or angel choristers. I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem, or lowing oxen, wise men trailing star with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Tonight I will sing praise to the Father who stood on heaven’s threshold and said farewell to his Son as he stepped across the stars to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son, who became most finite, a baby who would one day be executed for my crime. Praise him in the heavens, Praise him in the stable, Praise him in my heart. SOURCE: Joseph Bayly.
2. One day I was sitting in the office of one of my heroes of the faith, Dr. Stanley M. Horton, and he autographed for me a copy of his commentary on the Book of Isaiah along with these words: "Pastor Mark Schaeufele, enjoy the Gospel According to Isaiah."
3. Truly, the Book of Isaiah is a testament of Jesus Christ as Messiah. Nowhere is this better exemplified than in our text Isaiah 9:1-7.
4. It tells us that:
a. Jesus brings light to our darkness
b. Jesus brings freedom to our slavery
c. Jesus brings himself to our world
5. Read Isaiah 9:1-7
Proposition: Isaiah prophesied long ago that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming, and therefore, we must accept Him into our hearts today.
Transition: Isaiah tells us that...
I. Jesus Brings Light to Our Darkness (1-2)
A. A Great Light
1. One of the great truths of Scripture is that because of our sin we walk in darkness, but that Jesus has come to bring us into the light.
2. This great prophecy concerning the Messiah begins with, "Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled..."
a. These two tribes had been devastated by Assyrian invasions in 734 and 732 BC.
b. However, the physical suffering was nothing in comparison to the spiritual darkness in which they found themselves as they turned to gods of wood and stone (Walker, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Isaiah, 49).
c. As you might imagine there was great despair in those days.
3. However, the good news that Isaiah brings the people is "but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory."
a. He says there was coming a day when these areas would be filled with the light of the coming Messiah (Walker, 49).
b. Galilee, where God’s judgment first humbled his people, would be honored in the future.
c. This was fulfilled when Jesus chose his first disciples in Galilee and ministered there (Horton, CBL: Isaiah, 77).
d. When every human attempt has come to nothing God will bring the light, not because he has to or because we have unlocked some hidden key, but only because of His grace (Oswalt, NICOT: Isaiah 1-39, 239).
4. Furthermore, Isaiah says, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine."
a. This verse explains why the gloom of the previous verse will be disappearing.
b. Like the suddenness of the dawn a light will appear. When they find themselves groping around in the darkness, they will sudden find themselves blinking from the light (Oswalt, 242).
c. Isaiah 49:6 (NLT)
He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
d. The idea of God as the provider of light was a regular feature of Israel’s worship.
e. All light is said to come from God, not just because he created it, but because it is part of what God is (New International Dict of OT Theology & Exegesis. Pradis CD-ROM:Lexical Articles/ a / r/a /ANE).
f. There is light for people in spite of their sin and rebellion.
g. 1 John 1:5 (NLT)
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
h. This does not mean they could continue to walk in sin and be in the light, but nothing could keep God’s light from shinning on them (Oswalat, 242).
B. Out of Darkness Into His Marvelous Light
1. Illustration: A little boy was asked, "What is a saint?" He replied, "A saint is a person who lets the light shine through." Evidently he got this idea by watching the sun shine through the prophets and other great people of God in the stained-glass windows of his church. But he was certainly not far off base. A saint, or a person who is pure in heart, will let the light of God’s grace and mercy shine through. As that person’s heart remains pure, it remains transparent to God’s light.
2. John 1:9 (NLT)
The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
3. The great truth of Christmas is that Jesus came to bring the light.
a. Just as a candle helps you see in a dark room, so Jesus helps you to see through the darkness of sin.
b. Just as an electric light allows you to see obstacles in your way, Jesus lights your path so that you do not stumble on the devil’s tricks.
c. Just as a flashlight helps you to see when there is no other light around, Jesus helps you to see the truth in a dark and lost world.
4. Another great truth of Christmas is that Jesus came to shatter the darkness.
a. Because of our sin and rebellion we allowed the darkness to take control of our lives.
b. Because of our sin and rebellion we allowed the darkness to separate us from God.
c. But Jesus came and shattered the darkness.
d. Jesus came and illuminated our path.
e. Jesus came and allowed us to see again.
f. He has brought us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light.
Transition: Another important element of the Gospel According to Isaiah is...
II. Jesus Brings Freedom to Our Slavery (3-5)
A. You Will Break the Yoke of Their Slavery
1. The prophecy continues its message of good news.
2. Isaiah says, "You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder."
a. As a result of God’s revelation of himself through his Messiah, joy sweeps over the people, a joy of abundance (Oswalt, 243).
b. At this point the atmosphere of great joy that entered the prophecy at v.1, becoming stronger in v.2, turns into exultant praise as the prophet, anticipating the people’s own future joy in their God (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah).
c. National enlargement probably presupposes conditions of peace and prosperity under the blessing of God.
d. Both the farmer and the soldier have their times of joy at the climax of their work and these provide illustrations of the joy that is to come to God’s people (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Isaiah).
3. The reason for the rejoicing is explained in v. 4, "For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian."
a. They rejoice because the Lord has freed them.
b. This is not a temporary or superficial deliverance but an ultimate deliverance (Oswalt, 243).
c. "When you destroyed the army of Midian," refers to when Gideon reduced his army from 32,000 to 300 in Judges 7.
d. The coming deliverance would also be by the Lord’s power and not by human might or ingenuity (Horton, 79).
e. We can rejoice because God has delivered us from the chains of sin.
f. He did what we were unable to do on our own.
B. He Set Me Free
1. Illustration: Toward the later part of the Civil War, a slave who had recently bought his freedom was disappointed to see the Union troops come marching into town. He said, "If I knew you gun men was a coming I’d of saved my money!"
2. Romans 6:6-7 (NLT)
6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.
7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
3. The Good News is that Christ has freed us from sin.
a. Before Christ, we did whatever the devil told us to do because we were his slaves
b. But now Christ has set us free from the power of sin.
c. But now we are no longer slaves to unrighteousness.
d. But now we are free to live for God.
4. The Good News is Christ has freed us from death.
a. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT)
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. Since sin no longer has a hold on us, death no longer has a hold on us.
c. We are free from the hold of death.
d. We are free from corruption and decay.
e. We are free from the finality of the grave.
Transition: He set me free yes He set me free. And He broke the bonds of prison for me. I’m glory bound my Jesus to see, for glory to God He set me free.
III. Jesus Brings Himself to Our World (6-7)
A. For A Child Is Born to Us
1. The joy and excitement comes to a climax in verses 6 and 7. They emphasize the great hope of the coming of the Messiah.
2. Isaiah says, "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us."
a. God’s truth was not meant to merely be in the form of ideas and concepts, but in flesh and blood presence.
b. Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)
All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).
c. He is not a God out there somewhere, but he is God with us, right here, right now.
d. The Messiah will be both completely divine and completely human at the same time as evidenced by His most human of arrivals, namely His birth (Oswalt, 245).
e. This shows that God is able to defeat his enemies by becoming vulnerable, transparent and humble.
f. John 1:14 (NLT)
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
3. He continues saying, "And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
a. This is a precise theological description of the eternal Son of God.
b. The four names that are given, and each of the names has two elements, one of which is a description of the Son’s divine nature (Walker, 49).
c. Counselors were important in the royal courts of the day and this was an office that was well known to the people.
d. Lit. "wonder of a counselor"
e. The Bible warns us to beware of mere human counsel because it lacks spiritual wisdom.
f. However, this counselor would give wonderous counsel not lacking in spiritual wisdom.
g. It is true wisdom that realizes that in weakness there is strength, in surrender there is victory, and in death there is life (Oswalt, 247).
4. Mighty God emphasizes the Son’s diety and strength.
a. Some misguided commentators try to dismiss this because the Hebrew word translated "Mighty" can also be translated "hero," and the Hebrew word translated "God," can also be translated "great."
b. However, whenever these two words appear elsewhere in the OT they are always a reference to God (Oswalt, 247).
c. Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."
d. He is our El Shadai - the Lord God Almighty!
5. Everlasting Father emphasizes the Son’s eternal nature and oneness with the Father.
a. It could also be translated "Father of Eternity" (Horton, 79).
b. Jesus always is, always was, and always shall be!
c. John 1:3 (NLT)
God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
d. He is the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end!
6. Prince of peace reflects the nature of his rule which will bring the cessation of warfare and wholeness to society.
a. Shalom = The general meaning behind the root sh-l-m is of completion and fulfillment—of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship (G.L.C., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament).
b. He has come to bring to a sense of wholeness that can only come from him.
c. It is not a sense of false peace, a cessation of hostilities only, but a sense of total and complete peace.
d. John 14:27 (NLT)
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
B. The Incarnation
1. Illustration: John Howard Griffin was a white man who believed he could never understand the plight of African-Americans unless he became like one. In 1959, he darkened his skin with medication, sun lamps, and stains, then traveled throughout the South. His book, Black Like Me, helped whites better understand the humiliation and discrimination faced daily by people of color. Jesus Christ became like us; the Incarnation is evidence that God understands our plight.
2. Philippians 2:7-8 (NLT)
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
3. The Good News is that God loved us so much that Jesus became like on of us.
a. He took on our hurts.
b. He took on our struggles.
c. He took on our temptations.
4. The Good News is that Jesus became like us - except in regards to sin.
a. Hebrews 4:15 (NLT)
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
b. In order to take our place he had to be sinless.
c. In order to be our sacrifice he had to be sinless.
d. In order to be our example he had to be sinless.
e. And he was without sin!
5. The Good News is that because of this, he took our place on the cross.
a. We owed a debt we could not pay.
b. He paid a debt he did not owe.
c. He did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves.
Conclusion
1. The Gospel according to Isaiah tells us that Christmas is about God becoming human.
2. The Gospel according to Isaiah tells us that Christmas is about God setting us free from sin.
3. The Gospel according to Isaiah tells us that Christmas is about God illuminating our darkness.
4. What do you need this Christmas?
a. Do you need a Messiah to pay your price?
b. Do you need a Messiah to set you free?
c. Do you need a Messiah to shed light on your darkness?
5. If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then I have Good News!
