Birth of the King

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. So you can turn in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6. Some of you, I know, have this memorized, and that's certainly something we encourage people to do.

If you find a verse or a passage of scripture that seems significant to you, go ahead and memorize it. And if no verses seem significant to you, we'll pray for you. But before we read from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 9, let's pray.

The Virgin Birth and the Prophecy of Immanuel

Our Father and gracious God, how thankful we are that you love this world so much that you sent your only begotten Son. As the scripture says, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. May your spirit be with us this morning. Illuminate your word, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6.

For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. When it comes to the Advent season and Christians celebrating the birth of the Messiah, this is perhaps the primary prophetic verse on the subject in the Old Testament Scriptures.

About 800 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote these words. For unto us a child is born. And a couple chapters earlier, go ahead and flip back to Isaiah 7. A couple chapters earlier, the prophet wrote this.

Isaiah 7, verse 14. He says, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And if you compare that with Matthew 1, where that prophecy is referenced, we see that Emmanuel means what?

God with us.

So, the birth of Jesus fulfilled prophecy. He was born of a virgin. And if a child fulfills prophecy, and if he is born of a virgin, and if he is called God with us, that in concert with Isaiah 9, verse 6, that he will be called the Mighty God, that tells us something.

That this is the greatest truth the world has ever known, that God himself chose to enter into his own creation through the person of Jesus Christ. So, we all know the story of the birth of Jesus. And you know the thing about preaching year after year after year on Christmas, you kind of have to come up with, okay, what new angle are we going to come at it?

You can't preach the same sermon every year. So, I thought, what am I going to do this year? Well, I want to focus on the implications for the nations. We know the story of Jesus and the birth of Jesus and personal salvation.

And that is the most important thing, that you as an individual place your trust in what Jesus did, dying on the cross for our sins, rising from the dead the third day. That's the most important thing for us as individuals.

We understand that. But what are the implications for this world? What are the implications for the nations? So, that's what I want to look at in this message from Isaiah 9, verse 6. Because there's one thing in this verse that could be easily overlooked.

So, let's work through this verse. First of all, notice, before we get to that, first of all, notice two different phrases here. A child is born and a son is given. This is likely a poetic form of writing.

How many of you have heard of a Hebrew parallelism?

Right.

So, that's basically a poetic way of writing where you're saying the same thing twice, just in different ways. That's probably what Isaiah is doing. A child is born, a son is given. And he's basically saying the same thing.

But I just want to speculate for one moment. Because I tend to look at it this way. The human child was born. But the son of God was not born. The son of God was given. So, the child was born. The son of God was given.

Because the son of God is eternal. He is from old, even from everlasting. Micah 5, verse 2. So, the human child is born. The eternal son of God is given. Isn't that what the scripture tells us? The most famous verse in all of the Bible, John 3, 16.

That God gave his only begotten son. And there are implications, as I said, that go well beyond personal salvation. Because there is this claim to authority. Isaiah says, the government will be. Not, we hope it will be.

Or, you know, it should be. No, the government will be upon his shoulder. So, what is that all about? Let's turn to Matthew, or excuse me, John. The Gospel of John, chapter 18. The Gospel of John, chapter 18.

What does that mean that the government will be upon his shoulder? Now, this is where we're going to be challenged to think about all this a little more deeply. Now, the simple gospel that all true Christians understand is that Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

He died on the cross. He rose from the dead the third day. All who place their faith in him are saved from sin and its penalty. Believers inherit eternal life. That's the simple gospel.

We get it.

That's Christianity 101. But this goes a little deeper, I think. Because there is this claim of not just authority, but I believe ultimate authority. The government will be upon his shoulder. So, I think the first question you have to ask, trying to figure out what this means.

The government will be upon his shoulder. Okay.

What government?

That's the basic question. We know when Jesus was born, at least some people recognized this was the birth of what?

A king.

A king.

King of what? King of who? I think many people would conclude that the prophet is talking about the government of the Jewish nation. After all, Jesus came as king of the Jews, right? Well, yes, but let's take a look at it.

John 18, verse 33. Then Pilate, who was the Roman governor at the time, and this is Jesus' trial before he's crucified, says,. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to him, Are you king of the Jews?

And Jesus answered him, Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning me? Probably not the answer Pilate was looking for. Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to me.

What have you done? Now, in Mark, chapter 15, verse 2, Pilate asks him, it records it a little differently, where Pilate says, Are you king of the Jews? And by the way, he could have said this too, right?

He could have asked him multiple times, but Pilate asked him, Are you king of the Jews? Mark records this response. Jesus says to Pilate, It is as you say. And you might wonder, Okay, pastor, what are you getting at?

What are you implying? Are you saying that Jesus wasn't king of the Jews? No, what I'm saying is he was far more than that. He was far more than that. Look at John 18, verse 36. Jesus answered, My kingdom is what?

Not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. Right now, let's turn to Matthew chapter 2.

As you're turning to Matthew 2, a few things to consider. If Jesus' kingdom is not of this world, another basic question, where is it from? If it's not of this world, where is it from? Do you remember in the Great Commission, Matthew 28, Jesus said, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.

How much authority? All authority. So Jesus is not just king of the Jews, he is king of kings. Because if you think about it, if Christmas was a celebration of a bunch of non-Jewish people, that's us, celebrating the birth of just another Jewish king, that would be a little strange, wouldn't it?

I think it would.

If Jesus were just king of the Jews, and the government that was to be upon his shoulder was just the Jewish nation, why would we even care? Why would Gentiles even care, especially all these centuries later?

Yet we do care, and here's what we're going to look at. People, non-Jewish people, cared even back then. Look at Matthew chapter 2, starting in verse 1. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we have seen his star in the east, and have come to worship him. To me, the fact that they worshipped him, to me, that seems significant. Now, I've read some commentaries. I like to do that during the week and see what people write about this.

I was a little troubled. Some of the commentators, they kind of downplay the fact that the Magi came and worshipped Jesus. Basically, they were saying, you know, this really doesn't prove anything, that this was normal, a normal custom in the eastern world, that a nation might send a delegation to another nation to honor the birth of a new king.

Well, let me ask you, were kings worshipped as deities in the ancient world? Okay, that's true. That is true. Here's one difference, though. This king actually was deity. Some will say, yeah, but they didn't necessarily know the extent of it.

Well, I don't know. I actually think they did. So, maybe there are some theologians who want to downplay this. Here's another thing I know. The thing that really sets it apart is the star.

The star.

I just have to point this out. That the wise men, when they come to Jerusalem, who do they go and talk to? And they're asking questions of who?

Herod.

Who was the king, right? Herod was the king. They didn't worship Herod. I just want to point that out. Look at verse 9. When they heard the king, that is Herod, they departed, and behold, the star which they had seen in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

Normal stars don't do that. But this isn't a normal star. This is not a normal king. None of this was a normal situation. Verse 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshipped him.

And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Potentially representing the three great offices of Christ, prophet, priest, and king. But it says, then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Here's the point.

They knew.

They knew this was not just the birth of another Jewish king. This was the birth of the king. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscornickchurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.