Sermon

Isaiah 9:1-7 — The Christmas King

December 12, 2004

We have taken a break from our John series to spend a few Sundays looking at the doctrine of the Incarnation. Today we look at a passage from perhaps the greatest prophetic book of the Old Testament, the book of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is sometimes called a “miniature Bible.” It has 66 chapters; the Bible has 66 books. The first 39 books end with Isaiah’s prophecy to King Hezekiah that Judah will be defeated and carried off into exile in Bablyon; the Old Testament ends with 39 books. The final 27 chapters of Isaiah begin in 40:1: “Comfort, yes, comfort My people,” and offer words of hope and restoration to the exiles, and speak of a suffering servant who will bear their sins on his body; the New Testament has 27 books and reveals the identity of that servant who brings hope—Jesus Christ.

Our focus in Isaiah today rests on one of the great Messianic prophecies of that book. “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given.” Who can forget Handel’s wonderful musical arrangement that features these words in The Messiah?

Today we want to savor and appreciate these great words of Scripture in order to deepen and expand our appreciation for what God has done for us in Jesus, so that we might more passionately and extravagantly worship him.

Old Testament prophecies usually have at least two, and sometimes more, contexts. First, there is the original, historical setting in which the words were uttered. Second, there is the future reality to which the prophecy points that has not yet been fully realized.

Consider this analogy: You are driving in your car and you see mountains ahead of you, perhaps shrouded in mists. You can see the faint outlines, but you cannot make out all the details. But as you come closer you begin to see more clearly the destination. This is what it is like to read a prophecy.

First let’s look at the original setting. The prophet Isaiah lived in a time of incredible political and social turmoil in Israel. His career spanned the reign of four different kings [Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah] (1:1). The first half of the book is filled with words of judgement on the nation for their sins. They have been a rebellious and disobedient people (cf. 1:2-4).

In the midst of all these words of judgement, however, Isaiah also continues to speak about the coming birth of a king who will bring hope to the nation. This prediction begins in 7:14 when he says to Ahaz: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Most who would have read this in Isaiah’s time would have been thinking that he was talking about the birth of a royal prince who would rule on the throne of David better than his fathers and grandfathers. Even back then, there was a tendency to have a “throw the bum out” kind of attitude. There was also a hope that the next king would be the man to usher in a golden age of peace and prosperity. Of course, Isaiah’s inspired utterance that this child would be born of a virgin should have raised some questions as to what manner of child this might be.

In chapter 9:1-7 the prophet provides a further prophetic prediction about this coming king. I want to break this prophecy down into three parts:

Isaiah describes the predicament of the people (vv. 1-2).
Isaiah describes the liberation that the coming king will accomplish (vv. 3-5).
Isaiah describes the identity of the king (vv. 6-7).

Let’s look at each in turn:

1. Isaiah describes the predicament of the people before the coming of the king (vv. 1-2).

Look at v. 2: “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.”

In the original context Isaiah speaks about a “gloom,” a dark cloud that had settled on the nation of Israel. He mentions in particular the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali that were on the northern borders of the land of Israel. These were the nations that had born the brunt of the invaders.

He also mentions those by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. This is significant, because this will be the area where Jesus will spend most of the three years or so of his public ministry. This also anticipates the fact that Jesus will come not just for the people of Israel but also for the nation, for the Gentiles. This is one of the first places in Scripture where we have the notion of the mission of God spilling out beyond the borders of Israel to all peoples.

But the main point again is the state or condition of those people before the coming of the Messianic king. They are a people who walk in darkness. Isaiah is not just talking about a geo-political condition but about a spiritual condition. The Biblical notion is not that before the Messiah comes that people are basically good, and they have the spark of divinity within them, and Jesus just adds a little something extra to something that we already have. No! The Biblical concept of humanity is that apart from the revelation of God in Christ we are a people who walk in darkness.

We see this imagery of darkness and light in John’s Gospel. John 1:4-5 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In John 3:19 Jesus says, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” And in John 8:12 he says, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

2. Isaiah describes the liberation that the coming king will accomplish (vv. 3-5).

First Isaiah says that the coming of this king will bring great joy to the nation (v. 3). Joy will be multiplied. It will be a joy like that of those who bring in a rich harvest from the fields. It will be a joy like that of those who defeat a hated enemy and divide the spoils. You will plunder your enemies, Isaiah says.

In v. 4 he says that when the king comes, the yoke will be broken. Israel as a nation had been a slave, a vassal, to the surrounding super-powers. Later, they will go into exile as slaves. But when the king comes, the yoke will be broken. We are to imagine the people as a beast of burden, controlled by their master. But when Jesus comes, the chains are loosed. The prisoners are set free. It is a day of liberation.

In v.5 he says that the coming of the king will usher in an era of peace. The warrior’s sandal and the blood stained garment will become fuel for the fire. We are to imagine a great bonfire and all the weapons of war will be piled up there to be burned.

This vision of peace is found in other places in Scripture. Compare Isaiah 2:4: “He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.” Consider also the image of the wolf dwelling with the lamb in Isaiah 11:6ff.

The king will bring peace. We still hold to that hope. Man will never be able to create a utopian society without war and conflict. But at the end of history when the king comes in glory, he will bring in an age of peace.

Of parallel importance is the fact that spiritually because of the first coming of Christ, a way of liberation has been opened for all who will come to believe in him. For us a reign of spiritual peace has been inaugurated. We no longer have to live as slaves to sin (see Romans 6). We no longer have to live in a state of hostility against God and men. Jesus has come to bring the joy or harvest. He has defeated Satan and now we can plunder his possessions.

3. Isaiah describes the identity of the king (vv. 6-7).

In the final part of this prophecy, the prophet describes the identity of the king.

First, we note that he is a child. There is some surprise in that statement. Who will be able to bring in such glorious changes? The king will come as a child. There is the gospel in this statement. The Incarnation will be an act of condescension. The king will come in humility. He will come in weakness, in vulnerability, in humility.

And the government will rest on his shoulders. I like the ASL (sign language) sign for “responsibility.” Two “r”-s resting on the shoulder. On this Son’s shoulders will rest the hopes of the whole world. Can you imagine us taking our six-month old son and handing him the checkbook and the bills and the calendar and saying, “OK, son we are placing the management of the family in your hands.”

I think what Isaiah is preparing us for here is the astounding declaration that Christians will make about Jesus. That he is the Messiah. That he is the Son of God. On his humble shoulders rest the plans and purposes of God, the management of the whole universe.

In the second half of v. 6 the prophet gives to this future child king a series of titles. The KJV and NKJV present five names, but most modern translations set them out at four titles, each with two parts. He is:

Wonderful Counselor
Mighty God
Everlasting Father
Prince of Peace

The Wonderful Counselor might be literally rendered, “wonder of a counselor” or “wonder-planner.” It emphasizes his administrative abilities (see Page Kelley, Broadman Commentary, Vol. 5, p. 224).

He is Mighty God. This represents a departure. This virgin born king will be a man but not a mere man. The Jews did not ordinarily think like this. Yes, the surrounding pagan cultures, most notably the Egyptians, worshipped their kings as gods, but not the Jews. They generally knew that their kings were fallible men. Witness the life of King David who commits both murder and adultery. But this coming king will be God Almighty.

He is the everlasting Father. He will be like a loving daddy. He will be Abba Father. His care and his concern and his protection of his children will know no end. Here we get hints of complex notions to come like that of the Trinity. The Son will be the Father. Jesus will say in John 10:30: “I and My Father are one.”

The Prince of peace (shalom). The notion here again is not just that this King will bring a cessation of physical hostility with enemies but that he will bring spiritual peace.

What is the practical teaching in these verses? Sometimes we come to Scripture looking for the wrong things. I think Isaiah has written these words just to have us marvel at the attributes represented in these titles given our Lord. May we worship him as the Wonderful Counselor, as the Mighty God, as the Everlasting Father, as the Prince of Peace!

There was an article that broke this week. I read it online Friday and then saw it picked up in the Progress Saturday. It was about an 81 year-old British philosopher named Antony Flew who for many years had been an avowed atheist, but had announced that he has changed his mind and now believes in a God who created this world. Before we evangelicals get too excited, Flew makes clear that his belief in God is more like the deism of Thomas Jefferson. He does not believe in a personal God. He was quoted as saying, “I’m thinking of a God very different from the God of the Christian and far and away from the God of Islam, because both are depicted as omnipotent Oriental despots, cosmic Saddam Husseins.”

Some may celebrate Flew’s move to deism, but he seems to be just as lost today as when he was an atheist. He does not get the meaning of Isaiah 9: the King of the Universe is the Son. He is not a petty tyrant. He is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He is the Christmas King.

Jeffrey T. Riddle
Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

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Sermon

Isaiah 9:1-7 — The Christmas King

December 12, 2004

Jeffrey T. Riddle Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church

Jeffrey T. Riddle
Pastor, Jefferson Park Baptist Church