A Child Is Born

My Christmas Eve message, December 24th, 2024. This is a message I have titled, A Child is Born, taken from Isaiah chapter 9, verses 1 through 6. But there will be no more gloom for her who is in anguish.

In earlier times he treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt. But later on he shall make it glorious by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, the light will shine on them. You shall multiply the nation. You shall make great their gladness.

They will be glad in your presence as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For you shall shatter the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their taskmaster as at the battle of Midian.

For every boot of the booted warrior in the rumbling of battle and cloak rolled in blood will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders.

And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The book bears the name of its author, Isaiah, whose name means the Lord is salvation. Very similar to the name of the Messiah and the suffering servant about whom Isaiah prophesied, Jesus, whose name means God is salvation.

It's fitting then that Isaiah was quoted more times in the New Testament than any other Old Testament prophet, over 60 times. Some of Isaiah's prophecies were fulfilled in his own lifetime. Some of his prophecies will not be fulfilled until the millennial kingdom when Jesus comes and sets up his thousand-year reign on earth and he rules from Jerusalem.

Others of his prophecies, though, were fulfilled about 650 years after Isaiah's death in a little town called Bethlehem. Let's look at verse 1 again. But there will be no more gloom for her who is in anguish.

In earlier times he treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt. But later on he shall make it glorious by the way of the sea. On the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

The opening words here in verse 1 of chapter 9 look back to the closing words of the previous verse, the last verse of Isaiah chapter 8. In that verse, verse 22 says,. Then they will look to the earth and behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be banished into thick darkness.

So as Isaiah chapter 8 closes, we see distress, gloom of anguish, thick darkness. Isaiah prophesied judgment upon the southern kingdom of Judah that would come in the form of Assyrian captivity. Judah would be held captive by a pagan nation and it would indeed be a time of thick darkness.

And though God would bring them into this judgment as a consequence of their own sin and rebellion, He had not forgotten them and Yahweh's anger would not last forever. Note that there will be no more gloom and He shall make it glorious.

Three things are promised in Isaiah 9. A great light, a glorious increase, and a glorious freedom. And let's look at these three each in turn. First, a great light. Let's look at verse 2. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

Those who live in the land of the shadow of death, the light will shine on them. You see, the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali were the most remote regions in Judah and therefore the most susceptible to attack and this coming from the Assyrians.

They were the most vulnerable to the invading Assyrian army which made short work of them and then went on to besiege the rest of the southern kingdom of Judah. The northern kingdom, Israel, had already fallen previously to the Babylonians.

It was dark, but one day a great light would come. The light of the world. Jesus Christ who said, I am the light of the world. And also a great increase. Look at verse 3. You shall multiply the nation.

You shall make great their gladness. To say that the history of Israel is a fascinating history is an understatement to be sure. And I don't think it's hyperbole to say that the history of the nation of Israel is miraculous.

Israel is the only nation that has ever been in a covenant relationship with God. No other nation. Not the red, white, and blue. Not the United States. Only Israel. Israel is the only nation that has ever existed, ceased to exist, and then came back into existence.

That happened in 1948. Hebrew is the only language that was ever spoken, ceased to be spoken, and now is spoken again. It's almost like God has a plan for the nation of Israel. Indeed, God has a covenant relationship with Israel.

So why did God choose Israel out from all of the other nations of the world? Was it because Israel was the strongest, the most populous?

No.

In fact, Deuteronomy 7 tells us that the opposite of that is true. God chose Israel not because they were the strongest or the greatest. Actually, Israel was having the fewest number of people of all the other nations.

God chose Israel simply because it pleased Him to do so. God set His affections upon the nation of Israel and entered into that nation into a covenant relationship with them. A relationship that is enjoyed by no other country.

When we look at the other people groups that are mentioned in the Old Testament, we think of the Amorites, the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, all these ites. Where are those people now?

Nowhere to be found. They're gone. But the Hebrews, the Jews, Israel, still here. God clearly has a plan for ethnic Israel. Let's look at verses 4 and 5. God promises a great light, a great increase, and also a great freedom.

A great freedom. Verse 4. God delivered them from Egypt, and He will also deliver them from these pagan nations as well. God will not only vanquish the enemy soldiers, but even their cloaks and boots will be burned as fuel for the fire.

It is not a good idea to be an enemy of the nation of Israel because Yahweh is on their side. What will bring about these great things, this great light, glorious increase, and a glorious freedom? What will bring these things about?

A child will. Look at verses 6 and 7. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. In his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace. On the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.

The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah says that a child will be born. There was nothing miraculous about the birth of Jesus. Nothing miraculous about his birth. Jesus was born the same way that you and I are born.

He was born as a child, a human male child. And he was born in the same way that all other human male children are born. There was nothing miraculous about his birth. What was miraculous is how Jesus was conceived.

Conceived of the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary. So a child will be born. This speaks to the humanity of Christ. Jesus was fully man. And the text says a son will be given. Given by whom? Given by God.

The Son of God. God will give his own Son. John 3 .16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus is fully man and fully God.

He is the God-man. Jesus was one person with two distinct natures. Jesus was man. Truly man. Jesus grew. Jesus learned how to walk like we do. He learned how to talk like we do. I have no doubt that as a human baby, Jesus cried like human babies cry.

That song that we sing at Christmas, Away in a Manger, one of the lines says, The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,. But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes. I don't believe that for a second. I believe that Jesus cried just like all babies cry.

Before he learned how to talk, when he got hungry, he cried. If he was uncomfortable, he cried. He had no other way of communicating his hunger or discomfort, so he did what all human babies do. He cried.

In Luke 2, 52 says, He, Jesus, grew in stature and wisdom and in favor with God and man. Jesus grew physically in stature, but he also grew in wisdom. And he grew in favor with God and man. Jesus learned things.

In his humanity, he learned. He grew in wisdom. In his deity, he was and is God, very God. As he was a child, and in his humanity, learning how to walk and talk, in his deity, he knew everything. Jesus in his humanity could say, Of that day and hour, no one knows, not the angels in heaven nor the sun, referring to himself.

So in his humanity, his knowledge was limited. But in his deity, Jesus was and is omniscient. Jesus knew the thoughts of man. He could read people's minds. In John 16, the disciples said to Jesus, Now we know that you know all things.

What was Jesus' response? Did Jesus correct them? Did Jesus say, Now wait a minute. I can understand how you would think that. I used to know all things before I came to this earth, and one day I will again know all things, but right now I don't.

No, that's not what Jesus did. He didn't correct them. He affirmed them. He said, Do you now believe? Do you now believe? Yes, I know all things because I am God. One person, two distinct natures, and these natures did not intermingle.

At times Jesus appeared to speak and teach more from his human nature, still sinless, but nonetheless human nature, in which he could learn things, in which his knowledge was limited. But in his deity, at times he spoke and taught from his deific nature, and he is omniscient.

Think about this. As Jesus in his humanity was being cared for physically by Mary and Joseph as a baby, Jesus in his deity was at that same time upholding all things by the word of his power, Hebrews 1 verse 3.

So as Mary and Joseph were caring for him as a baby and as a young child, Jesus was upholding every atom of every star and every planet in the entire universe. As Mary was feeding baby Jesus and sustaining him physically with nourishment, at that very same time, Jesus in his deity was upholding every atom in every cell of his mother's body.

That is an incomprehensible thought. But this is our great God. This is Jesus, the God-man. And then the text says,. And the government will rest on his shoulders. What government is this? The government of Christ's kingdom.

Now, this had a partial fulfillment in King David, but it is the promised Messiah who will sit for eternity on the Davidic throne. Partially fulfilled in David, fully fulfilled when the Messiah comes and sets up his earthly millennial kingdom.

Jesus rules in heaven now, but one day Jesus will establish his earthly kingdom in rule here. Zechariah 14 verse 4 says this,. And in that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east.

And the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. I have seen this, actually.

A couple of years ago, I was in Jerusalem, and I was up on the Temple Mount, the dome, the golden dome that you see pictured so often from Jerusalem. And I was up on that mount, and as you look towards the east, you go down this hill into a valley, which is the Kidron Valley.

And in the Kidron Valley is where the Garden of Gethsemane is, where Jesus, of course, prayed and sweated drops of blood right before his crucifixion. And then as the hill goes back up, that is the Mount of Olives.

And you can look right across. It's not a big valley. If you had a really strong slingshot, you could probably shoot a rock all the way across it and hit the Mount of Olives. But one day, I've seen it.

I see it in my mind's eye right now. One day, Jesus will physically come down from heaven, and his feet will touch that mountain. And that mountain will split from the east to the west, and half of that mountain will be shoved towards the north.

Half of that mountain will be shoved towards the south. Jesus will have a literal, earthly, millennial kingdom. And his name will be called, literally, God will call his name Wonderful Counselor. Wonderful Counselor.

This name reflects both the omniscience and the miracle-working power of the Messiah. A counselor gives advice, gives wisdom. Jesus is the ultimate Wonderful Counselor because he knows all things. He is omniscient.

Let's look at Psalm 139 verses 1 -6. O Yahweh, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Even before there is a word on my tongue. Behold, O Yahweh, you know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and you have put your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is too high.

I cannot attain to it. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor because he has all knowledge. He knows all things. And so he is the ultimate counselor. And also implied in this name is not only the giving of counsel and wisdom, but also the accomplishment of things that are impossible for man to accomplish on his own.

In other words, miracles. Miracles. Christ cleansed the lepers. He made the lame walk. He made the blind see, showing his authority and sovereignty over human flesh. Jesus also turned the water into wine and calmed the storm by his word, showing his sovereignty and rule over all of the created order.

Jesus performed by far, by far more miracles than any other person in the entire Bible. And the second is not even close. He is the Wonderful Counselor. He gives counsel and wisdom, and he works miracles.

He is also Mighty God. Mighty God. Jesus is the God-Man. Dear friends, this Jesus, the Mighty God, this is not the Jesus of Islam, who is merely a prophet. This is not the Jesus of Mormonism or Jehovah's Witnesses, who is a created being, and who is the spirit brother of Lucifer and Michael the Archangel, respectively.

It's not that Jesus. The Jesus who is a Mighty God is not the Jesus of Roman Catholicism, even, who has to be re-sacrificed on the altar at Mass every single time they have Mass, they recreate and re-sacrifice Christ.

No, this Jesus offered his life as a once-for-all sacrifice, never to be repeated. This Jesus is God, very God, who has a better name, who has instituted a better covenant through the one-time, once-for-all, better offering of his own life on the cross.

A better sacrifice. This Jesus is truly God and truly man. This Jesus did not merely push back God's wrath, like the Old Testament animal sacrifices did. No, this Jesus completely satisfied God's wrath.

His once-for-all sacrifice on the cross quenched the full fury of God's wrath that burns against the sins of his people. This is the wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Eternal Father. Jesus is one with the Father.

In John chapter 14, Philip said to Jesus, Show us the Father. And Jesus said, Have I been with you all so long, and have you not come to know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. Jesus is the same as the Father.

If you have seen the Father, you have seen Christ. If you have seen Christ, you have seen the Father. So he is the same as the Father, one with him in character and nature, and yet he is also distinct from the Father.

Jesus shares all of the Father's attributes and perfections. He is eternal. He is self-existent. He has no beginning, and he will have no end. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is one with the Father and yet distinct from the Father.

At Jesus' baptism and later at his transfiguration, when that voice boomed from heaven, that was not the voice of Jesus. That was the voice of the Father. In the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus was praying, he was not praying to himself.

He was praying to the Father. So he is distinct, and yet he is fully God. Colossians 2 verse 9,. And so Thomas could rightly proclaim to Jesus after his resurrection, My Lord and my God. And Jesus accepted that worship.

Jesus ascribed to himself the name of God, I Am. The same name that God used in the burning bush with Moses. When Moses said, Who do I tell the Egyptians you are? Who do I tell Pharaoh you are? I Am that I Am.

And Jesus ascribed that name to himself. I Am the Way. I Am the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me. I Am the Good Shepherd. I Am the Door. I Am the Light of the World. I Am the Vine.

I Am the Bread of Life. Jesus ascribed to himself equality with God the Father. Truly God and truly man. And also Jesus the Messiah is the Prince of Peace. Every good king wants to bring peace to his kingdom and to his subjects.

Peace implies an end to what? War, an end to hostilities. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings. He is the sovereign who will make an end to war by making his enemies a footstool for his feet. In Isaiah chapter 63, a question is posed to the Messiah.

Let's look at this. Isaiah 63 verse 2. Why is your clothing red and your garments like the one who treads the winepress? Messiah, why is your clothing red? Why is your clothing like the one who treads the winepress?

Just as a person treads the grapes in a winepress and gets the red grape juice splattered on their clothing, this person asks the Messiah, Messiah, why is your clothing red? The Messiah answers the question.

I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the people there was no man with me. I also trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath, and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments. And I stained all my clothes.

What is this? Blood splatter. Blood splatter. The Messiah, Jesus, says I have trodden the wine trough alone. There was no man with me. I trod them in my anger and trampled them in my wrath, and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garments.

This is blood splatter. This is what Jesus, the Messiah, will one day do to his enemies. He will make war with them. And he will bring peace to his kingdom by slaughtering his enemies. The Messiah continues.

My wrath upheld me. I trod down the people in my anger and made them drunk in my wrath, and I brought down their lifeblood to the earth. My wrath upheld me. The Messiah was upheld by his wrath. He was strengthened by his own wrath.

His own wrath strengthened him, and their lifeblood has been drained down to the earth. What blood that was not splattered upon his own clothes drains down to the earth and is soaked up in the ground.

Does this sound like the Jesus of the movies? Does this sound like or look like the Jesus on Hallmark cards? Does this look like the Jesus of The Chosen? No, dear ones, this is not the Hollywood Jesus.

This is the real Jesus. This is the servant who once suffered under the wrath of God but now is a wrathful king, and he will bring peace to his kingdom by the slaughter of his enemies. Does this sound harsh?

Does this sound unjust? Dear friends, this is what our sins have earned us. When we sin, we break the laws of the king of kings. We break the laws of the Alpha and Omega, the one who spoke the universe into existence and upholds it by the word of his power.

And our sin is high treason against that glorious, righteous, mighty, and thrice holy king. And Jesus will one day go to war with his enemies. He will splatter their blood. You do not want to be an enemy of the king of kings, but this mighty king who reigns with full authority, whose anger burns with the white-hot heat of a trillion suns, this king of kings offers you terms of peace.

You deserve his wrath. You deserve to have your blood splattered on his garments. And Jesus would do none of us any injustice if he splattered all of our blood on his garments, if he let all of our blood seep down to the earth to be soaked up by the ground.

But he offers us terms of peace. If you have not come to Christ seeking his forgiveness, then you are at war with him. You are his enemy. You don't want to remain his enemy. He offers you terms of peace if you will turn from your sin, repent of sin, and place your trust in Christ.

Christ is a fearsome king, but he is also good, he is kind, he is just, and he is patient. And his patience is made manifest to us, is made manifest to you right now simply because you are still here and you are still able to listen to these words and hear my voice as I present the gospel to you.

Turn from your sin, place your trust in Christ. This great fearsome king is also the good shepherd, and he laid down his life for his sheep. On the cross, he bore the full fury of God's wrath, took it upon himself.

God the Father treated his own son as though he were a sinner, even though he was not. Died on the cross, quenched the wrath of God, and three days later bodily raised from the dead. And if you will come to Christ empty-handed, seeking him and him alone for the forgiveness of your sins, he will save you.

In this fearsome king, you will find to be kind, merciful, patient, with arms outstretched, ready to receive you. Jesus said, the one who comes to me, I will in no wise cast out. A child is born, a son is given.

In his name is wonderful counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace. Make peace with this prince today.