December 25, 2005 Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Imagine if you heard your doorbell ring last night. You groggily woke up, put on a robe and went to the front door. As you peered through the glass nobody was there, but as you glanced down to the ground you noticed something. It was a little basket with a blanket over it. What could it be? Cautiously, you opened the door, brought the basket inside and lifted off the blanket. What do you find, but a beautiful and healthy baby boy with a note attached to him! The note says, “Merry Christmas. This baby boy is for you. No strings attached.” How would you respond? Just what I’ve always wanted? Maybe some of you would. Or maybe you’d wonder WHY they picked you. You would say things like, “I’m too old,” or “I don’t have time,” or “I don’t have room,” or I’m sure you’d come up with about a hundred other excuses.
This morning, Isaiah does the same thing to us spiritually. He lays a baby at the door of our heart and says, “here you go! To US a child is born. To US a son is given.” You see, Christmas isn’t just a story about a baby being born. It’s about a baby being for FOR US and GIVEN to us. This is a gift that God is laying on your doorstep. How are you going to respond? Some natural questions would be WHY is this Son being given to us? How much work is He going to be to take care of? Will I have to change His diaper and feed Him? Isaiah tells us why God gives us this Son as He talks about Who He is and what He would do. So today we are going to look at these descriptions of the baby boy put at our doorstep, and hopefully these descriptions will open the door to your heart and make you welcome the true meaning of Christmas which is -
Unto Us a Child is Born
The giving of this baby is presented with an interesting background and comparison in Isaiah. He compares it to “the day of Midian’s defeat.” (Isaiah 9:4) Who is Midian? How were they defeated? That day is described in the sixth through the eighth chapters of Judges. Let’s take a brief look at them.
Judges 6:1-6 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the LORD for help.
The Israelites were being completely overrun and overpowered by the neighboring Midianites. There was absolutely NOTHING they could do at harvest time - but run to the hills and hide. It was then that God called an unknown man by the name of Gideon to deliver them. This was so surprising to Gideon that he said in Judges 6:14-15 “But Lord, how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD knew that Gideon was a nobody. That’s how he liked it - to show that his choice isn’t based on STATUS and prestige but on grace. This whole story played out as the Lord commanded that Gideon’s army be shrunk down. 22,000 of the men were afraid to fight, so Gideon dismissed them. Then he had them go down by the brook, and only those who picked the water up in their hands and drank from their hands were allowed to stay - which took the army down from 10,000 to 300 - 300! Remember what Judges said about these people. They were as “thick as locusts.” (Judges 7:12)
So how did Gideon then win the battle? Judges 7:19-22 Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. . . the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords.
This was a PRECURSOR - an EXAMPLE as to HOW God would bring about victory in the future. In verses 4-5 Isaiah talks about a “yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.” For the Israelites it could have been referring to the Assyrians or even the Babylonians to come. But in the bigger picture he is referring to a much more heavy bar and rod that oppresses. It is the oppression of sin. Ezekiel 33:10 says, “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them.” Sin works much like that Midianite army. It surrounds us. It takes away the things God gives us to pleasure in. It makes us run to the hills and hide in caves out of embarrassment and sheer terror of God’s wrath. There is nothing we can do about it. We aren’t strong enough. It attacks us on the Internet. It attacks us at school. It attacks us at work. It attacks us within. Sin is even worse than the Midianites, because we can’t hide from it. It even comes into the cave of our heart and our mind. We are BORN in it. (Psalm 51:5)
This CONTEXT of Midian’s defeat is ALL IMPORTANT. If you live this life happy with who you are, what you do, and what you have, Christmas will be nothing more than a nice story about a baby being born. You will say to yourself, “hmm, that’s interesting. Now, what ELSE did I get for Christmas? Give me something I can eat or I can watch or I can play with.” But if you recognize that you were born in slavery to sin, under the control of Satan - and needing DELIVERY from an enemy - THEN you’ll sit on the edge of your pew in eager anticipation to see what kind of a Son you are being given.
Isaiah goes on to describe what kind of Son this is by giving royal titles to Him. These are complimentary terms talking about His reputation, not meant to be actual names that he would go by. “He will be called Wonderful.” The NIV connects this with Counselor. Yet this is a noun in and of itself - which can be recognized as a whole separate entity. He is literally to be a “wonder.”
As we read through the Gospel we can see how Jesus fulfilled this prediction. Jesus did WONDERFUL things from childhood on.
Luke 2:47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Matthew 8:27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Matthew 7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
Matthew 9:33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
Matthew 15:31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Matthew 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Even in his death - which is anything BUT wonderful - Jesus proved Himself to be a true Wonder. When he spoke in parables, the people following Jesus couldn’t understand what He was saying. He was so far superior in speech and actions that everyone who saw Him or listened to Him soon realized that He was a Wonder. Who else do we know that would know when and how He was going to die and actually willingly go through it. Who else do we know of that could predict His own resurrection and actually achieve it?
Counselor
What’s the first thing you think of when you hear this word? Isn’t it a therapist of sorts, someone who sits on a couch and listens to your problems and maybe tries to help you find the right thing to do? Counselor means so much more than that in the Hebrew. It is in connection with Psalm 33:10-11 that He “counsels.” It reads, “the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Counselor is more in the sense of a Presidential advisor or a strategist. The Son to be born would be a Counselor. He wouldn’t need someone to tell Him what to do - or be just a puppet king who would do whatever anyone told Him to do, because He would know what to do. Unlike today’s presidents and rulers who have a board and committees to help direct him down the right pathway, this Son would need advise from no one.
The Scriptures show how the PLAN of God - or the Counsel of God - is the ultimate thing that makes the world go around - Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son. The time had to “FULLY COME” before God would send His Son. It had to be according to God’s timetable and His plan. So when Jesus went to the cross, you can see how this was according to His scheme the whole time. Matthew 16:21 says, “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” You see, Jesus wasn’t just a Counselor telling us what to do in order to “get saved.” He didn’t just make the plan, He WAS the plan and He IS the plan. The same is said when it comes to our salvation in Ephesians 1:11. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. So Jesus tells us in His Word, “I am THE WAY, the truth and the life - no one comes to the Father except through Me.” God planned from eternity to make our salvation completely dependant on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. His “counsel” to you is, believe in Me and be saved.”
Almighty God
When the Israelites chose to throw away their relationship with God and worship idols that were made out of wood, God more or less made fun of them for it. Later on in Isaiah he wrote, “Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.” From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me; you are my god.” (Isaiah 44:16-17) You’d have to be a fool to worship a piece of wood. Yet God says that this baby boy - that would come to save the world - would also be the Almighty God! Through the eyes of the world and even our own eyes of flesh, it would seem foolish to bow down to a baby that you have to feed, clothe, and change the diaper of and say to that baby, “save me.” Who would want to put their salvation in the hands of a baby? If someone were to tell you that a baby boy created the Universe - you’d think he or she was nuts. Baby boys don’t exactly represent power or have a lot of power.
Yet God’s Word told us that this boy would not just be an angel taking on flesh, but God Himself taking on flesh. Jesus was recognized as that the Wise Men came and worshiped Him. When Jesus gave Peter a miraculous catch of fish, Peter said to him, “away from me LORD, for I am a sinful man.” Peter also confessed that Jesus was the CHRIST, the Son of the Living God. At Jesus’ baptism God the Father said, “this is MY Son.” We know that Jesus Himself - even as an infant - was the Almighty God.
If you get to thinking about it - when God comes to us as a Baby - this may be one of the most powerful acts of history. How so? Imagine if you set loose a bull in a China shop - and it didn’t break one thing. That would be impossible. The power and size of the bull would make it impossible for it to maneuver through the shop without breaking something. God is ALL powerful and ALL consuming. It is natural for the Almighty God to do mighty things - bring down lightning, create the sun, moon and stars, produce a powerful windstorm - these things are natural to God - because His very nature is POWER. How much more miraculous then, would it be for the POWERFUL and ALL CONSUMING God - to limit Himself to the flesh and size of a Baby? What a miracle! Out of all the mighty things God has done - this has to be one of the most incredible of them all - to limit Himself to a virgin’s womb and be born as a baby boy!
Therefore, as we look at Jesus in the womb, we are in a strange way reminded of His power even in His humility and say - “this is the Almighty God. We worship Him. We praise Him”. We say, “This is our Creator, the One who preserves the earth and plans the rise and fall of kingdoms.” It is definitely not a matter of sight. It is a matter of faith. This baby is Immanuel - the actual God lives among us and has become us!
Everlasting Father
This term, “everlasting Father,” has caused confusion for some in the area and doctrine of the Trinity. How could Jesus - the Son - be called the Father? Could it be that the Son is the Father? Could it be that there aren’t really three persons but one person in God? No. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father, as a separate Person, said that Jesus was His Son. So what does this mean? How come this verse says that the Son would be called the Everlasting Father? Usually, according to human terms, the son is not made to play the role of the father. The son is meant to be taken care of, raised, nurtured - to become a man and a father of his own. The only time within the family that the son takes on the father role is when the father becomes too old to take care of himself and needs the help of the son. Even then, it is not a comfortable situation for the father or the son to be in - because the natural God given roles are reversed.
Did Isaiah mis-speak himself then? Not at all. Hebrews 2:13 confirms the role of the Son as the Father when Jesus says, “Here am I, and the children God has given me.” When Jesus takes on Himself the role of Father - it is not within the confines of the Trinity, but within the role of Preserver and Redeemer of the Universe. As the Son of God, He would accomplish the job of dying for the world and taking care of our greatest need - for hell to be paid for. As a father protects his son, Jesus would protect us from God’s wrath and from the fires of hell. On top of this, Jesus also says that all things are sustained by His powerful Word. He continues to provide for us - His children through faith. Through His death and resurrection the Son has become our Father - in other words - our Provider and the one who takes care of us, even though one of ours - the virgin Mary - once had to take care of Him.
The neat thing about it is this boy would be our EVERLASTING Father. Usually when you have children you anticipate about twenty years of real concentrated nurturing - where you have to do anything from change clothing and give baths to pay college tuition and provide a washer and dryer. When the child gets to be over twenty, the parent generally starts asking questions like, “when do you plan on moving out?”, or saying, “we’re going to have to start charging you rent.” They want to move on with life. The Son’s role never changes. He is the Everlasting Father - the one who will take care of us for an ETERNITY. Imagine if your son grew up to be a multimillionaire and provided you with a mansion and plenty to spend for the rest of your life. Jesus did even more. He provided us with an eternity in heaven. He is the Everlasting Father. That’s what He was born to be - and He loves it.
Prince of Peace
When you think of the name “prince” - like “Prince Charles” - you don’t always think of the head guy. Yet this word has a wide variety of uses. It can mean -
1) prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain
1a) chieftain, leader
1b) vassal, noble, official (under king)
1c) captain, general, commander (military)
1d) chief, head, overseer (of other official classes)
1e) heads, princes (of religious office)
From these meanings you can see that the prince was hardly a second banana by any means. He would be a ruler - not of war, or Israel, or America, but of peace. You might wonder, “how?” After all, when Jesus was on earth He himself said in Matthew 10:34-36, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ”‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’” As Jesus lived He brought out anger and war from the Pharisees and Sadducees who wanted to kill Him. Since He has risen He has been the center of wars between Muslims and Christians. Can this really be talking about Jesus?
When Jesus was born the angels declared, “glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will towards men.” The peace that this Boy would establish was not between nations, races, or families, but between God and men. Ironically, the only way that peace could be established between God and men was if there was a war between the Father and the Son. The anger and wrath of God over our sin had to be taken care of. And so God sent His only Son to take that wrath. When Jesus was on the cross, He took that wrath. In the worst act of judgment - God the Father put the Son through hell. Why? In order to establish a true and lasting peace. Now every day the blood of Jesus pleads to God’s anger - and makes God at peace with the sinful world. That’s why He is called the Prince of Peace.
This Son - the Wonderful, the Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace - has been laid at the door of your heart this Christmas. God did not become man for Himself. He did not give this Son to the angels. He gave this Son unto US - each and every one of us sinful humans. This is really the key to Christmas. This wonderful Son came here for US. The sad thing is that many people don’t want this Jesus. They look at Him as another obligation, another duty, another Moses. They would rather have Santa Clause just give them new bikes and toys and gadgets. Other people think that there is no way that this Jesus came for them - that as Jesus is laid at their doorstep it must be a mistake - He must be for someone else more righteous, more holy, or better than them. So they don’t find the joy and peace that God wants them to have at Christmas. They don’t want to let Christ in. However, if this message of the gift of the Son makes you say to yourself, “thanks, God”, if it makes you feel a peace in your heart - to know that your sins are forgiven and you are going to heaven - that you are a part of the “us” - then you know that the Holy Spirit has done more than to put the Prince of Peace at the door of your heart - He has actually put the Prince of Peace in your heart. You know that the UNTO US a Child is born - what a wonderful Child He is. Merry Christmas. Amen.
