Who Is This Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father?

 I’m going to examine those titles today and show how Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem over 700 years later, was the very one seen a long way off by Isaiah, and tonight we will hear from Ron how Mary was called by the Angel to bring Him into the world.

Content

1. Wonderful Counsellor

Gamini Perera- Tears in my eyes and hugging my waitress, I just reached out to even just touch the Great Man, as he was taken to the City Square to receive a worshipping nation’s adulation, after yet another incredible display. To the footballing world , PELE is still the greatest.. Yes. No certainly is. Hence, seeing this great man in flesh and blood and touching his garment is also simply great. Incredible. The immortal Pele. Many moons have passed since Pele, the world’s greatest soccerite hung-up his magical boots. But, he still remains a man of international stature and influence. Now turned a mature 62, Pele, the scorer of 1,300 goals said: " I‘ll never stop thanking God for every wonderful thing he has given me."

People don’t know where Pele got his nickname from, but amazingly enough the word ‘Wonderful’ in our text today is translated from the Hebrew word ‘pele’! The man was truly a wonderful football player, and the writer almost seems to worship him, calling him the Great Man, immortal and talking about touching his garment. But is Pele truly a wonderful man? Not really. He is a sinner just like the rest of us, and if Pele was made king, he’d probably fail as badly as many of the kings of Israel. He himself acknowledges that God is the source of “every wonderful thing.” We are looking for someone more wonderful than Pele, someone who is not just talented, but wonderfully perfect. We need something more than a footballer to admire: we need a counsellor, a saviour.

After the miraculous Red Sea crossing, Moses says in Exodus 15:11, “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

If this coming Child is to be Wonderful, he must be like God, because Psalm 136:4 says He “alone does great wonders.” If the coming Child is to be a Counsellor, he must be like God because Psalm 16:7 says “I will praise the Lord, who counsels me.” In fact, in some mysterious way, this child must be God.

2. Mighty God & Everlasting Father

Not only must this child be mighty God, but- what an enigma!- this child who is to be born is to have been a Father, from eternity. But what does ‘mighty’ mean? A few years ago, there was a TV series about superhero teenagers called ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’, and they were generally admired for their ability to beat up bad guys and put the world to rights. Well this is and isn’t an accurate description of the word ‘mighty’. It is accurate in that the Mighty God comes to bring judgement on the wicked (as seen in the first half of Exodus with the plagues on Egypt). And it’s true that the Mighty God came to bring the Israelites out of bondage “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” But where it isn’t accurate is that the Power Rangers are only able to deal with people’s external problems. If you have an enemy called Minotaur, Terror Toad or Babe Ruthless, then the Power Rangers could obliterate them for you. But if you have an enemy inside, an enemy called Sin, then they would be truly powerless to save you from that. Even the perfect Law of Moses could not bring deliverance from sin. It says in Galatians that “the Scripture has confined all under sin” (3:22) and that “by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (2:16). Only the Mighty God Himself, the Everlasting Father, who is given to us as a Son of Men, can do this.