Front to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and he shall be called
wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace, one of the most profound, precise and paramount
prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we hear it so much during this time of the year, do we
not? Yes, because it is treasured and
it is important, but I'm not certain how many believers
understand why it belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why is Isaiah 96 attributed and exclusively belonging to Jesus
of Nazareth? And that's what I want to
discuss with you in the opening moments of this service.
I want you to consider first, what may seem to be obvious,
that this prophecy is granted to the Lord Jesus Christ in the New
Testament. You remember in Luke 211 where
the angels appeared in glory before those shepherds at night,
and they said to them in their declaration, front to you, this
day is born in the city of David, a Savior, the Christ who
is Lord. Listen carefully to how the
angels heralded this message. They borrowed the language from
Isaiah the prophet to bring to mind how God kept His promise
even though he gave it 7 centuries before the arrival of
the very thing he prophesied. For unto us a child is born, and
in centuries pass, and the angels arrive on the scene and
say, for unto you this day is born.
And so it's very difficult to dispute how these angels are
being very strategic in their choice of words.
They are clearly making a connection.
This Jesus who was born this night is the Jesus who was
defined in Isaiah 96. The second thing that confirms
this further is what Matthew says, and Matthew adds something
and he quotes Isaiah, not necessarily verse 6, but very
close to verse 6. And I think because we're not as
familiar with the context of that awesome prophecy, people
tend to miss how there's even more confirmation that Christ is
indeed the fulfillment of that promise.
So Isaiah 96, we all know it, but do you know Isaiah 91?
Do you know Isaiah 9/2? Well today you're going to learn
it. So turn with me to Isaiah 9,
verse one, and consider the context of this prophecy, Isaiah
9, beginning in verse one. But there will be no gloom for
her who was in anguish in the former time.
He brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of
Naftali, but in the latter time He has made glorious the way of
the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great
light. Those who dwelt in a land of
deep darkness, On them has light shone.
So notice that in preparation for Isaiah 96, Isaiah is saying
something to two specific tribes, two out of the 12 tribes
of Israel. He mentions Zebulun, he mentions
Naftali. Those are tribes that most
people are not very familiar with.
They may be able to rehearse the names by memory, but there's not
much given to us about these tribes in comparison to Judah or
Benjamin, for example. But Isaiah mentioned something
that happened historically with these regions.
They were found in the upper northern part of the Promised
Land. And he doesn't get specific
about their history, but he does say something about a
gloominess, a dark past, something that essentially
haunted them for many years. And though he is not specific,
when you consider the wider testimony of the Bible, you do
discover that there is one blot, there is one specific state that
surely would have tormented them as a people.
You find it in Second Kings 15. You don't have to turn there.
Let me just summarize it for you.
When the Assyrians invaded this land, they took into captivity
the very tribes that are mentioned here, Zebulun and
Naftali, were taken from their homes and brought into a foreign
place. And surely this would have been
an embarrassing thing in their history.
This would have been something that would have made them
cringe, something that they wish would have been erased.
And the Bible defines it as a gloominess.
And yet in the same breath that describes something that they
would have known, even though he's not being specific, they
would have known the reference. The Spirit through the prophet
promises these particular tribes that whatever gloominess they
knew would soon be eclipsed by a glory, that whatever dishonor
they were haunted by would soon be dispelled by a great
privilege. And that's why He says here that
in the latter time, look at verse 1.
He has made glorious the way of the sea.
He's speaking about the region there they were by the water.
He has made glorious the way of the sea.
And whatever glory was going to come, evidently it was going to
spill over into Gentile territory.
Because the last part of verse 1 is what?
The land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
So something was going to take place that would affect more
than just these two tribes, though they would be the center
of this glory in a sense. They would be the focus of it.
It would have such a wide range of impact.
And what is this glory that will come and sweep away this gloom?
While the exciting answer again is found in verse 2, The people
who walked in darkness, the darkness of their past, the
darkness of their current shame. Because why did they go into
exile? Their idolatry, they're
rebellion, they're evil. Finally God said enough is
enough. You're going to disobey me, Then
I'm going to take you out of the things that I promise is yours,
at least for a time. So that darkness, the people who
walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness.
On them a light has shone. And what is this light?
It is a metaphor. Is it a physical light?
Is it some kind of miraculous intervention?
Verse 6 is the answer for to us a child is born, to us a son is
given. Whoever this child is, this
royal seed would also be a light bearer, and his arrival is going
to impact a specific region, the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
And the same Holy Spirit who moved upon Isaiah to give this
prophecy move the disciple Matthew to tell us and to affirm
the fulfillment of it. So go to the New Testament now
in Matthew chapter 4, and I want you to see the fulfillment of
this prophecy beginning in verse 12 of Matthew chapter 4.
And sound team, if you can help me with the buzzing again, thank
you so much. Matthew 412 Now when he heard
that John had been arrested, he, being Jesus, withdrew into
Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum
by the sea in the territory of what?
Zebulun and Naftali, so that what was spoken by the prophet
Isaiah might be fulfilled. The land of Zebulun and the land
of NAFTA lead the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of
the Gentiles. The people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and
shadow of death on them a light has dawned.
Jesus is that light, and He in fact intentionally moved and
relocated his headquarters into Galilee.
Why? In order to fulfill this very
prophecy, and not just to fulfill the prophecy that was
given, but to also give a preview of what he would do on a
larger scale. So Jesus intentionally moves
into this region that was historically known as being dark
with their history, their past, their behavior in a sense their
record before God. And the same Jesus who moved
into that darkness is willing to move into the darkness of any
heart that is willing to receive him.
Here is Christ's Messiah willing to make his ministry hub in this
place among tribes that are often overlooked and not really
considered, as I mentioned earlier.
And additionally, tribes that we're notoriously known of
rebelling in their sin against God, teaching you and I that
he's willing to move into the life that has a despicable past
perhaps, or sin that they are ashamed of.
The same Christ who moved there physically is the same Christ as
willing to move in spiritually. That's the Christmas message.
And so we find Jesus here fulfilling this.
And what would this produce exactly?
Well, let me finish Isaiah 9, where we read here in verse
three. You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with
joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
So what would this light produce as it came in an envelope, this
darkness Joy. That's why you should be happy
around this time, not because things are cozier, nothing,
because merely we're going to be gathered together with people
that we love, hopefully, but because we are remembering the
Christ, the Holy One who is willing to move into a place
that is dark. And I hope you have that joy.
If you don't, then perhaps Christ hasn't moved in yet.
You know about him. You can probably quote Isaiah
96, but does he live in you, and does he minister in you as he
ministered in Galilee? Does he minister through you?
If not, I pray to God that today would be the day where you would
accept Him not just as a tradition, but as your treasure.
So it's clear the New Testament testifies that Isaiah 9,
including six, belongs to Jesus of Nazareth.
Now let me give you the second and final reason why he does
because no one in all of human history can fulfill the role
that Isaiah describes. Nobody can walk in the shoes
that Isaiah defines concerning this child.
The reason why I bring that up is because in recent years, this
prophecy about Jesus Christ of Nazareth has been challenged by
skeptics, has been challenged by unbelievers, has been propagated
and preached by those who deny that Jesus Christ is the
Messiah. And this is predominantly come
from Jewish rabbis who have made a case that Isaiah 96 cannot be
of this Jesus of Nazareth, but someone else.
And I want to spend this time though we're going to get, and
we're going to conclude in a message of hope.
I want to spend this time to teach, if that's OK.
I want to teach about these objections so that if you hear
anybody daring to come to you and saying Jesus is not in
Isaiah 96, you put him there. You can say no, God put him
there. So this is a time of equipping
now. This is a time of growing and
learning about our faith. So I want Isaiah 96 to become
more precious to you than just something you hear quoted around
Christmas time. I want you to see it as a
profound testament of the accuracy and the supernatural
authorship of the Bible. So how are we going to do that?
Well, I'm going to present to you some of these objections.
And I remember hearing it for the first time, not from the
mouth of a Jewish person, but through the mouth of a Muslim
man who had an online platform and invited people to challenge
him and him challenge Christians.
And so I had a conversation with them and for the first time
years ago that I hear the things that I'm going to present to
you. So it's not just those who are
Jews that are echoing these statements, but many people who
deny Christ as the Messiah. So do you know how to defend it?
Do you know how to say with confidence?
No, no, no, no, no, you got it wrong.
This is indeed about my master. What's the argument?
Here's the first one. The first argument that comes to
us is about how Christian translators have deceptively
changed the tense of Isaiah 96 to make it appear as though it
is something to come, when in reality, in the original
language it says that it's already happened.
So I want to read to you Isaiah 95.
That's the Jewish quotation and reference for Isaiah 96 in our
Bibles. So in the Tanakh, it's not
Isaiah 96, it's going to say Isaiah 95.
And I'm going to quote to you from the JPS, the Jewish
Publication Society translation, the newest rendition of it, the
newest revised version from 2023.
Listen to the language and tell me if it sounds different.
Isaiah 9, five from the JPS. For a child has been born to us,
a son has been given us, and authority has settled on his
shoulders. He has been named the mighty
Goddess, planning grace, the eternal Father, a peaceable
ruler Has has has it already happened?
So who are you talking about? And I'll be honest, I think most
people, when they are discussing this and the original languages
are brought up, they feel helpless and almost as though
they take the word of the one who knows those languages at
face value. Because you don't speak Hebrew
or you don't know Greek. But I want you to be comforted
because you don't necessarily have to know Hebrew in order to
engage in this conversation or to make sense of this apparent
conundrum. What are we dealing with here?
Well, here's an answer. What you'll find in the Old
Testament on more than one occasion is that the prophets of
God often refer to future events as though they had already
occurred. This is a consistent pattern.
It's a literary device to convey of an event to come that it is
so certain it's as though it already took place.
It's an idiom. It's an artistic way of
communicating the certainty of a matter, and this is commonly
known as the prophetic perfect or the prophetic past tense.
So you're saying something that is to come, but you're speaking
as though it already took place. Why?
To communicate. This is so going to happen.
Just consider it a done deal. And that's not only found here
in Isaiah 96. Let me just give you 2
quotations from the same prophet, the same book to make
this matter clear. So turn to Isaiah 5 and look at
verse 13. I hope you're taking notes.
It's important to remember these things.
Isaiah 513. Here's the prophet saying.
Therefore, my people go into exile for lack of knowledge.
Their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with
thirst. This is even more clear if you
have a new King James Version or King James Version.
Here's how the new King James would read it.
Therefore, my people have gone into captivity or the King
James. Therefore, my people are gone
into captivity. How does the ESB render it?
My people go into exile. What's amazing about this?
The people didn't go into exile yet when Isaiah prophesied this,
it was still to come. But what is he implying?
The same literary device as though it already happened?
My people go into exile. They have gone into exile.
It's going to happen. Judgment is sure to arrive.
O people of God, It's not just there.
Look at Isaiah chapter 10, beginning in verse 28.
What you're about to read is a description of the movements of
the Assyrian army as they're encroaching upon Jerusalem.
So this is almost like a chartering of the movements of
the Assyrian invasion that is to come.
And excuse me if I don't get all these names right as I read
these verses. Isaiah 1028.
Look what the prophet says. He has come to Ayat.
He has passed through me grown at Mick Mash.
He stores his baggage. They have crossed over the past.
Notice the tense at Giba. They lodge for the night.
Rama trembles. Gibeah of Saul has fled.
Cry aloud. O daughter of Galim, give
attention. O Laksha, O poor Anatot, Madmina
is in flight. The inhabitants of Gabim flee
for safety. This very day he will halt at
Nob. He will shake his first at the
mount of the daughter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.
So notice he's giving a play by play every movement of the
Assyrians as they come closer and closer to the holy city.
But notice the language that he uses.
He has come, He has passed. They have crossed over.
It didn't happen yet. There's still generations that
need to come to pass before this is realized.
But he's speaking as though it already took place.
Why? Because prophets would do this
to convey something as though it has already taken place.
And I want to also mention while we're here that this is a
message of hope. By the way, the reason why
Isaiah is telling this to the people of God is because he
wants to let the people of God know.
As God, I'm aware of every move of the enemy.
It's true spiritually as well. I know the playbook of the
enemy. I know what he's thinking next.
I know his next move. I know his every angle.
And so I'm letting you know that I have this knowledge even
before it happens. I know where he's going to be,
where he's going to rest, how he's going to come.
But I also want to let you know that I already took care of it.
So notice, as the Assyrians are coming closer and closer to
Jerusalem, he also lets the people know I know where they're
going to stop because I'm going to make them stop.
They're not going to be able to come and invade.
They're not going to take one soul away from you.
Why? What's the extent of what
they're going to do? Look at verse 32 again.
This very day. He will halt that knob.
He will shake his first at the mount of the daughter of Zion,
the hill of Jerusalem. That's the most he's going to
do, shake his first. And I'm going to take care of
him right there and then. And we read of it later on where
185,000 Assyrians were slaughtered in one night.
So this is a truth for us to be relieved by as well.
God knows everything and if you belong to Him, then you have
nothing to fear. Any scheme is already understood
and registered by your protector and we can look at more
examples, but I think the point is clear, right?
Isaiah 96 is not about something that has already happened, is
something that will come to pass with absolute certainty.
However, apologists, they need to bank on this and they will
fight for this and they will try to cast doubt, especially on
those who don't know these things to make it seem as though
no, no, no, this is already history.
And the reason for that is because they need to make a case
based on that. Everything falls if if that's
not laid out. And so the argument continues.
Let's just suppose that you hear this and you don't know how to
answer. How would they follow it up?
They will. They will follow it up with
this. After determining the past
tense, they will go on to say that the names ascribed to the
king are simply representative titles, like many names of kings
or prophets that communicate a characteristic of God.
Right. So you think of the prophet
Isaiah. What does his name mean?
Salvation is of the Lord or God saves.
That's what Isaiah means. What about what about Joel?
Yahweh is God and we can give example after example.
In short, the argument is that in the same way that these names
do not imply the deity of the ones who bear them, so it is
with this child. It's not that this child is
everlasting Father. It's not that this child is
Mighty God. He is just holding these titles
as a testament of what God will do and who God is.
Just like Isaiah, just like Joel, just like Daniel.
You've made too much of this child.
Here's the problem. If we just take the title, which
is usually the most contested part of this prophecy, Mighty
God, what you'll discover is that it is mentioned more than
once the very few times in the Old Testament.
And every time just Mighty God is brought up, it always refers
to God himself. Always.
So you're in Isaiah, right? Go to Isaiah 10.
Look at verse 21. A remnant will return, the
remnant of Jacob to the mighty God al Gabor, the mighty God.
That same phrase is found in another prophet's writings.
You don't have to turn there. Let me quote it to you.
Write it down if you need to remember it.
And Jeremiah 3218, Jeremiah 3218.
You show steadfast love to thousands, but you will pray the
guilt of fathers to their children after them.
Oh great and mighty God El Gabor, whose name is the Lord of
Hosts. If you want to use another one,
though not exactly spelled out like these two references, it's
found in Deuteronomy. Listen to this language in
Deuteronomy 10/17. For the Lord your God is God of
Gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty and the
awesome God who is not partial and takes no bribe.
So it's clear Mighty God alone is purely and exclusively
ascribed to God Himself. But no, no, no, no, they're just
titles. They're just titles given to a
human king. And which king do people agree
that this is about if it's not about Jesus?
You ready for this one? Hezekiah?
This is about King Hezekiah. This is not about Jesus of
Nazareth. Where did you get that silly
idea from? I have a question.
Where do you get the idea that it's a Hezekiah and there's
reason for it? There's reason for it because
when you dig in, you see here that there is images and there's
a there's a wording and there are certain phrases that are
found in Isaiah 9 and Isaiah 10 that are repeated and are
mirrored later on in Isaiah 36 and Isaiah 37.
And what's happening on Isaiah 36 and 37?
Well, we have a record of the Assyrians invading and
surrounding Jerusalem and God giving them victory.
So I don't have time now in one single message to go through all
these evidences of the claim that this is in connection to
Isaiah 36, Isaiah 37, where Assyria was overthrown under the
reign of Hezekiah. But that's where they're going
to go. That's what you're going to
hear. And it seems compelling.
Yeah, I see that. I see that there is, there is
correlation and there is an overlap here.
There's something that is connected.
Hezekiah. Why not Josiah?
Well, because the context suggests that it is about him.
And as convincing as these cross references may be, it still
doesn't satisfy the demands of Isaiah's descriptions of this
king. If everything that I've shared
up to this point has been a little overwhelming or difficult
to retain one, take comfort. It's recorded.
You can revisit it, but 2 all you really need to do is
remember this one point that I'm about to share.
If you can remember what I'm about to share, it's enough for
you. Want to be confident and also to
perhaps convince somebody else who is honestly skeptical about
this being Jesus? Isaiah 96 is not just a prophecy
about a king. It's also prophecy about a
Kingdom. It's not just about a person,
it's about a government. And when you consider the
government that will be ushered in and established by this
child, you'll realize that it doesn't fit with Hezekiah.
So we read verse six. Look at verse 7.
You know it well, but let's refresh our memory of the
increase of His government and of peace.
There will be no end on the throne of David and over his
Kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with
righteousness. From this time forth and
forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will do this. Hezekiah was one of the holiest
kings in all of Judah's history. Hezekiah was a man of God.
Hezekiah accomplished much, but Hezekiah falls short of what is
said here about this administration, because even
after Hezekiah, yes, was used, his faith connected with the
power of God and the Syrians were expelled.
Yes and yes. Hezekiah, though he was on his
bed sick, received a miracle in addition of several years on his
life. After his healing, Hezekiah fell
into pride. The Babylonians came to to kind
of check up on him, and he decided in his pride to show him
all that he had, and Isaiah condemns him for that.
Hezekiah would also have a successor named Manessa his son,
and Manessa would be realized as one of the most wicked kings in
Judah's history, though he repented and was restored by
God. And if Hezekiah really fulfills
Isaiah 96, then why was it that other prophets anticipated a
king to come? A king far after Hezekiah's
reign and even his life? You remember the prophet
Zechariah. What did he say long after
Hezekiah, long after the temple was destroyed?
You usually hear this one around Easter time.
And there is no argument that this is about Messiah.
Even among Jews. I'm sure there are some who
would argue against it. But listen to Zechariah 99.
Rejoice, great Leo, daughter of Zion, shout aloud.
O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your king is coming to you
righteous and having salvation. Is he humble and mounted on a
donkey? On a colt, the full of a donkey?
Why are you looking for another king?
If Hezekiah was a fulfillment of this perfect perpetual Kingdom,
this argument makes sense. I hope it does.
Zechariah tells of the people, tells the people there's another
king coming. Well, if if there's this
increase of the government of peace with no end, why are we
looking for another king who's going to usher in another
Kingdom? It should have happened already.
So you're left with only two conclusions about Isaiah 96.
If it's not about Jesus, then it's failed prophecy.
It's failed prophecy because Hezekiah didn't usher in this
kind of government. So you either deal with a God
who lied or a God who fulfilled His promise, but in another
person. And we believe that He kept His
word. And that is where it was,
realizing Jesus of Nazareth. I hope that makes you excited.
But Jesus of Nazareth did not bring in World Peace.
That's the argument that you'll usually hear if you quote Isaiah
9/6 or Zechariah 99, among other scriptures.
OK, if Jesus is who you say he is, then where all the weapons
of war being turned into farming equipment?
And where is Jerusalem being the headquarters of the world?
And where are the kings and and the governors and the mayors
flooding to Jerusalem to receive counsel from the Lord?
Where is that? How do you make sense of that?
And I say it's coming because what you fail to understand, my
dear friend, is the same misunderstanding that the Jews
and Jesus they had, that you are so focused on the prophecies of
a conquering Messiah that you miss the ones of the suffering
Messiah. So who fulfills those ones?
Because Messiah would come and establish a Kingdom, yes, but
Messiah must also die for the sins of his people.
So my Messiah came to accomplish not some prophecy, but all
prophecy. And in his first advent he came
to be a sacrifice. And in his second advent, he
will come to be the ruling king forever.
That's my Messiah. And so we believe the prophecies
of a suffering Messiah and a ruling Messiah are found in one
person. And because of the New Testament
and the Christian movement, sometime after Jesus arrived on
the scene and the church emerges, you had Jewish people
now trying to wrestle with these prophecies as they are brought
to the surface of the suffering Messiah.
So here's here's what some have concluded.
So you have these prophecies of a suffering Messiah and a ruling
Messiah. Christians say it's one person.
No, no, no, it can't be Jesus of Nazareth.
So they have to be two messiahs. There's going to be a suffering
Messiah and there's going to be Messiah, son of David.
OK, so you think it's two We believe it's one big difference.
And so I lay this before you for you to be confident that this is
indeed about Jesus. Can I, can I put a cherry on the
top of this before we move on? So the accusation from the
beginning is you Christians, not you personally.
The church massaged Isaiah 9/6 to the degree that it makes it
be something that it's not. And you have manipulated
translations as though it is a future thing and as though it's
about Messiah when it's about 1 king out of the roster of the
kings of Judah. And here's how you can respond.
The idea of Isaiah 96 being about Messiah, not just any
ordinary king, but about the King of kings, the ultimate seed
of David who is to come, didn't originate with Christians
necessarily saying, what do you mean?
I'm saying that ancient Jewish writers, teachers, rabbis,
commentators also believe that this is about Messiah.
So I have three sources here. I'm just going to read one of
them to you. This is from one who is known as
Rambam. Rambam was one of the most
influential Jewish philosophers from the Middle Ages, legal
scholar. He was a physician, and he is
considered one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of all time.
And I want you to hear what he said in his epistle to Yemen.
There was these Jews who were in Yemen who were really struggling
with their faith. And one of the struggles that
they had was about Messiah, their expectation of the
Messiah, when the Messiah would come, who the Messiah would be.
And so in this epistle to Yemen, we read here what I'm about to
quote to you, beginning with this quote.
The Messiah indeed ranks after Moses and eminence and
distinction. And God has bestowed some gifts
upon him which he did not bestow upon Moses, as may be gathered
from the verses. So what is he, What is Rambam
saying here? He's saying, I want to prove to
you how Messiah is greater than Moses, and I'm about to quote
you some verses to show how He is superior even to that great
man of God. So I continue, his delight shall
be in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11/3.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.
Isaiah 11. Two, and righteousness shall be
girdle on his loins. Isaiah 1156.
Appalachians were divinely conferred upon him, as the
following passage indicates. For a child is born unto us, and
his Son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder,
and he is called, and he quotes what we know to be Isaiah 96.
Then he goes on to Psalm 2, verse 7.
Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee.
And he finishes with this. All these statements demonstrate
the preeminence of the Messiah. That is from one of the
greatest, most influential Jewish writers in all of
history. He's saying that this is about
Messiah, so don't go and point fingers at the church.
And I have a quotation here from the Targum.
I have the quotation here from the Talmud, Sanhedrin showing
that this is about Messiah. Not saying that they think this
is about Jesus as Messiah, but about Messiah nonetheless.
Because the argument again is this is about Hezekiah and
Hezekiah is not Messiah. Strange arguments, but I present
this to you. Be fortified in your faith.
And now give me the last few minutes of this afternoon in
this church service to talk about Jesus.
Can I do that? This is about Jesus, precious
Jesus. And I want to quickly glance
over four titles that we see here.
He is wonderful counselor. He is mighty God.
He is everlasting Father. He is Prince of Peace, some
divide wonderful and counselor. So he is wonderful in one place,
counselor in another. We'll merge them together.
Wonderful counselor indeed. He is wonderful.
And what's so beautiful about this is that in Isaiah 28, nine,
we read that he is wonderful in counsel.
It's impossible to look at Jesus in the gospels and be bored.
There's something staggeringly wrong if you can look at Jesus
and read his words, see his actions, trace his love, and not
come to the conclusion he is amazing.
Don't you find it amazing how almost every world religion,
even cults, want to claim Jesus? Have you ever noticed that
everybody wants Jesus? Nobody's fighting for these
other supposed messengers or teachers, but everybody wants to
claim Jesus. Why?
Because he's wonderful. And he is wonderful in His
person, and he is wonderful in the manifestation of his
counsel. When Christ comes to rule and
reign forever, the world will be solved by his counsel.
It's amazing in this past election how so many feel a
sense of relief that hopefully problems are going to be solved.
Can you imagine the relief when the perfect Son of God comes to
fix everything and the world is going to flock to his counsel to
receive his instruction, his guidance.
He's actually going to do something that's never been
known since the beginning of time.
No more war for 1000 years. No more war.
People are going to be like, what do we do?
What do we do with all these weapons?
What do we do with all our training programs?
Or what do we do about our national security, all the tax
money that went into that? It's going to be futile.
It's going to be nothing because of the Prince of Peace.
But he's not just going to be wonderful in this council when
he comes, He's wonderful in this council now.
Today he's given us the manual for life in his word and and the
book of Proverbs talks about how when this word is is tied around
your neck and it's bound around your heart, it will speak to
you. And I'm telling you when you get
the living word in you. Oh, the counsel that you
receive. It's amazing how in in life
events or circumstances that you can't find chapter and verse
about how the wisdom of the word, the character of God,
examples and stories come to the surface and give you wisdom to
know how to deal with this situation, how to comfort you.
The greatest counsel I've ever received were from people who
knew the word of God so well that they could effortlessly not
just bring references to promises, but examples, things
that you wouldn't necessarily see at face value and just bring
counsel to my life. And it originates with Christ,
the word who became flesh. He's wonderful and counsel
reminds me of the passage in Judges chapter 13 or we're told
of Samson's parents. We don't know the name of his
mother. We know the name of his father
Manoa. And the Angel of the Lord
appears, right? And he comes before the wife and
tells her of the supernatural birth that's going to happen
this this pregnancy, right? A judge is going to come for
Israel. She runs to her husband and the
husband asks the Lord in prayer, Oh bring that man back so that
we can receive clarity what we're supposed to do with this
child and the prayers answered and finally after he received
some kind of instruction. Manoa asked him in Judges 1317,
What is your name so that when your words come true, we may
honor you. And what is the Angel of the
Lord? Reply with in verse 18.
And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why do you ask my name,
seeing it is wonderful. Angels are powerful, angels are
splendid in their own way. But for an Angel to say, Why do
you ask my name, seeing that it is wonderful.
I have a hunch this is no ordinary Angel.
And if you're skeptical about this being something more,
someone more than an Angel, listen to what they say.
After this encounter in Judges 1322 and Manoah said to his
wife, We shall surely die, for we have seen God.
So here's one of the many previews for those who are very
stumped by the idea of God becoming flesh.
God appeared in human like form many times in the Old Testament,
including this one. And you're saying, well he
appeared as an Angel? No, no, the Hebrew word and the
Greek word is very simple, simply means messenger.
So it's not the cartoony version with wings.
That's not an Angel. A messenger with human like
appearance comes on the scene. His name is ass.
Why do you ask my name? Seeing it as wonderful, but
Noah's think this is strange. And then he realizes we've seen
the face of God, and Israel would in fact see the face of
God again when this child would be born in Bethlehem.
Wonderful counselor, but he's also mighty God.
So he has this infinite wisdom, but he's going to have this
infinite power to execute his counsel.
But as we heard earlier, he's not just mighty, He is mighty
God. And the detail, this detail is
so important because it really transforms the entirety of the
message and carries massive implications.
What I mean, OK, how do you have mighty God as a child?
And how do you have God who is by nature eternal, being born?
So look back at Isaiah 96 again. For to us, a child is born, to
us, a son is given. Whenever in the Hebrew there
wants to be an emphasis. The author wants to make
something, he wants to under score, highlight something.
It's happening through emphasis, right?
And you can say that's the case here.
There's an emphasis, a child is going to be born, a son's going
to be given. But I think it's more deep than
that. This is a very specific choice
of words to convey a deep theological truth.
How do you make sense that mighty God will become a child?
How do you make sense that mighty God will be born?
He has no beginning. And the only answer that you can
find that will bring a sense of clarity and conclusion is the
dual nature of Christ. So notice the language, for to
us a child is born. The humanity of Jesus had a
beginning. Jesus wasn't always human from
eternity past, but he would add humanity to Himself.
But more than that, he's not just man.
And that's why we're told a son is given.
Here's my question. Whose son is he?
You say he's the Son of David. That's what the prophecy is
about. From the lineage of David, a
son's going to come, but he's mighty God.
So he's not just the Son of David, He's the Son of God.
And the Son of God by nature doesn't have a beginning.
That's why he's given. The Son isn't born, The Son of
God is given, but the child is born because the Son who would
come from eternity would add flesh, would add humanity.
So his humanity had a beginning, but as the eternal Son he always
was, a child would be born. A son is given humanity and
deity, one person, Jesus Christ. He's saying, well, this is
wonderful, and this is confirmed by another prophet, Micah 5 Two,
let me read it. But you, O Bethlehem Efrata, who
are too little to be among the clans of Judah, for you shall
come forth for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming
forth is from old, from ancient days.
So whoever this ruler who'll be born in Bethlehem is, we're told
where he's actually coming from from, of old, from ancient days.
Ancient days is a phrase that's synonymous with eternity,
synonymous with everlasting. That's why in the King James and
new King James, it reads from everlasting.
Whoever this ruler is, he's going to come from eternity, son
given child born son of God, always was taking on humanity
and flesh 2000 years ago. Which leads us to possibly the
most controversial part of of these titles concerning Christ.
Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, hold on.
We believe in the Godhead. We believe that God is one in
being but three in persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
How is it then that you have Jesus, who is the Son, given
this title that should belong to the Father alone?
And here's what we have to make sure that we're clear on.
This is not describing the roles within the Trinity.
This prophecy is not about describing the different roles
in the Godhead more than it is talking about the character of
the coming Messiah toward his people.
That's what this is conveying more than anything else.
And So what this means is that Jesus is not only going to be
infinitely wise, wonderful counselor.
Jesus is not only isn't going to be infinitely powerful, but
Jesus is going to be infinitely caring and protective as a
father would be. Another way to understand this
is that the Messiah is going to be fatherly.
The Messiah is going to be caring and loving and protective
and compassionate as a good father would be to his children.
And why is that comforting? Because we're not just learning
about a governor who's going to rule a Kingdom that's going to
dominate the universe. You're talking about a king who
actually cares everlasting father.
And as much as the Father is exclusive in that title, the
idea of the Son having certain qualities about him that are
father like it is not foreign in the Scriptures.
It's everywhere. So can I show you a couple
places in John? Turn with me to John and notice
this with me. This title does not dismiss the
unique position of the Father, but it does confirm something
about the heart of Christ for those that he brings into the
family of God. Look at John 14 verse 8.
John 14, eight. Philip said to him, Lord, show
us the Father, and it is enough for us.
Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long and you still
do not know me? Philip pause.
Can I say something? What he said to Philip can be
said by many and too many Christians today.
Has it been so long you still don't get it yet?
Maybe somebody needed to hear that.
Have I been with you so long and you still do not know me?
Philip, whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
How can you say show us the Father?
What's Jesus saying here? If you want to know what the
Father is like, who the Father's like, look no further than me.
I'm the exact representation of His being.
I'm the exact imprint of His nature.
You don't have to guess or wonder about distinctions.
I am exactly a copy paste of the heart, the mind, the will of the
Father. So what you can expect from the
Father, you can see an experience in the sun.
Scroll down and notice what he says in verse 18.
I, Jesus is speaking, I will not leave you as orphans, I will
come to you. Another way of understanding
this. I will not leave you fatherless.
I will come to you. Jesus will come to you.
So he is implementing parental language here, parental care,
parental protection, parental supervision.
I'm not going to leave you here without a father.
I will come to you. Not that he is the same person
as the Father, but he is father like He is fatherly.
And we see here that it's shown in the title, Everlasting
Father. And here's how it applies to us
as we anticipate the return of Christ.
So unto us a child is born, a son is given, and upon his
shoulder shall rest. What government?
So the shoulders represent strength in the Bible, right?
So the government of the world is going to rest on the strength
of Jesus Christ the Messiah. And I love how the Bible uses
the word shoulder because there's one place in the New
Testament where we read Messiah concerning his shoulder.
You know the story very well. Listen carefully to the parable
of the lost sheep, Luke 15, Three.
So he told them, being Jesus, this parable, what man of you
having 100 sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the
99 in the open country and go after the one that is lost until
he finds it. And when he has found it, he
lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
So not only is Messiah going to have the strength to uphold this
universal government, but this Messiah will also have the love
to take sinners and care for them and protect them.
And what's so beautiful about this is that if you consider
this in the plural, then you have even a deeper thought.
The government shall rest upon His shoulder, one shoulder.
But when it comes to redeeming and securing sinners shoulders,
both shoulders. So in his caring, his love,
there is a specific type of grace and strength that's
implemented towards those that belong to him.
So this Messiah is not just concerned about the eternal
reign of a government. He's concerned for every single
one of his subjects were ultimately his children that he
knows by name. That's what Isaiah is trying to
convey. He's a mighty king.
He's wonderful in counsel, but he cares about those that belong
to his Kingdom. He's not just carrying a
government, He's carrying you and carrying me on those mighty
shoulders, everlasting Father. And I hope you have a whole new
understanding of this, because not only will His Kingdom be
eternal, but those who become a child of God will belong to him
forever. He will forever be your Father.
He will forever be yours. He will forever care for you and
love you and keep you. He's not just eternal, He's
eternal in His love. And some are troubled by this
title, so they go a different direction.
They say this doesn't really mean everlasting father, it
means father of eternity. You can go there too.
And the argument is father of eternity.
In the Jewish mind, Father doesn't just mean you're a dad.
It also means you're the source of something.
So Satan is called the father of lies.
It's not like he's the a dad of lies.
He's the source of lies. So some would say, no, this is
just saying that Jesus is really the possessor of time, that
Jesus is the supervisor of all things as he is eternal, which
leads to the final thing. Prince of Peace, you heard it so
many times. So I'm not going to be redundant
here. He's going to bring peace in a
way that this world can only dream of.
But I want to present to you this thought.
Perhaps you haven't considered it.
I don't think it's an accident that out of the titles mentioned
here, Prince of Peace is brought up last.
Why is it brought up last? Because there's an equation that
before the world can ever know peace, it first has to
acknowledge and submit to the reality that He alone is
wonderful in counsel, that He alone is mighty in power, and
that He alone is everlasting Father and His care.
Until you acknowledge and submit to His counsel, His power, His
fatherly love, you will never know peace.
This world will never know peace.
And, and, and let's just put that aside now, never mind
what's going to come. Let's talk about your life and
mine. As I conclude, you will never
know supernatural peace until you personally make those same
acknowledgments. Do you submit to His counsel and
do you see it as wonderful? Or do you look at His word as
options and suggestions? OK, you can do that.
You'll never know peace, true peace.
Do you believe in His mighty power that He can perform in
your life? Intervene, protect, rescue,
provide? How can you know peace if you
don't believe that He's able to do that?
Do you see Him as a loving God? Oh, you believe?
You believe He's wonderful in His wisdom, wonderful in His
power, mighty and all those things.
But I don't know if He really loves me.
I'm just trying to do my best so that when I'm graded for
eternity, I just pass. I just want to get in.
Oh, you. And you expect peace, thinking
that God's temperament is so fickle.
You'll never know peace until you understand Him as a loving
God. And I hope that you would
realize it today. He is Prince of peace.
The world will know Him as such. But you can know it personally
today. You just have to acknowledge Him
as such. And how do you do that when you
realize that Messiah has come to suffer and die in your place,
and that He is waiting for you to respond to that news so that
you can belong to Him? And when you belong to Him, He
will take you up and put you on His shoulders, and nothing can
RIP you out of His hands. Nothing.
You know, when somebody announces that they have a child
on the way, I've never heard anybody.
As much as we celebrate babies here, I've never had anybody
come through the doors and approach me or any of the
leaders and say, I want to let you know that a child is coming
to us. That 'd be a little strange.
You say no, so and so and I, we're having a baby and we
celebrate that. What did Isaiah say this child
would be for us? He's God's gift to the world.
He's God's gift to you. News flash, he's not a baby
anymore. He's ascended on high and he's
the ruling king. But you do have to believe that
at one point he did come as a baby.
He did live as a man perfectly. He did die on a cross to pay for
your sin. He was buried in a tomb.
He did conquer death, He did rise into the heavens, and He
promised that in the same way He went up, He will come back down.
And when He comes back down, it's no longer to deal with sin,
but to redeem those who have repented of their sin and
believed on His name. Today, this Christmas service,
have you repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ?
If not, He is God's gift to you. Would you receive it?
Let's pray. Father, we thank You that You've
given us the ability to register all these things for the time
being. We pray that by Your help they
would be remembered. Thank You for instilling in US
greater confidence in the sufficiency, the accuracy, the
validity of Your Word. We ask that in times where Satan
would try to make us doubt that You would remind us that Your
Word is perfect. When those who don't believe in
Jesus as Messiah, we would be gentle and kind to show them the
truth and that You would give us the ability to communicate these
things in a way that would help them embrace the Messiah.
We ask, Lord, that if there's even one person here who does
not know you, who has not experienced Christ Jesus as
their Lord, that 2025 would be the beginning of a new walk with
you. Only you can perform that by the
power of your Spirit. And for those who have made that
confession, for those who have been born again, may we never
lose the wonder of who You are. May we never lose faith in the
might of your power. May we never lose the sense of
your tender, fatherly love. And may we remember that you
offer peace, that no money, no health, no amount of children,
no job can provide. Thank you for being our Prince.
Thank you for being our Lord. Thank you because you're coming
back again in Jesus name, Amen. What a mighty God we serve.
Let's celebrate Him and rejoice in His goodness.
As we stand in conclusion of this service, let's sing to the
Lord.