December 1, 2019
Scripture: Isaiah 9:1-7
I. Jesus gives you hope as a Wonderful Counselor.
A. The people of Israel are experiencing gloom (vs. 1) and darkness (vs. 2). Isaiah had prophesied in chapter 8 that the Assyrians were going to invade Israel and take away Israel’s wealth and people. It was a dark time in the nation’s history. But then God gave Isaiah a message of light (vs. 2). The child Jesus was to be given (vs. 6). One of the things about Jesus that gives us hope are His names. The first name listed for Jesus is Wonderful Counselor. Jesus would be supernatural in wisdom. Some of Jesus’ wisdom is found in Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
II. Jesus gives you hope as the Mighty God.
A. Mighty God is the second name for Jesus listed in Isaiah 9:6. This name gave Israel hope because of the nature of the enemy they were going to face. Assyria was the great, rising superpower in Isaiah’s day. The tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun are in the far north of Israel. These would be the first of the tribes of Israel to experience the darkness of God’s judgment. But they would also be the first of the tribes of Israel to experience the light of God’s salvation. Jesus grew up in Nazareth in the tribal land of Zebulon near the Sea of Galilee (vs. 1). He did many miracles in this area to reveal that Jesus was not just human. He was also the mighty God. He would be just as mighty as when God defeated 120,000 soldiers from Midian (vs. 4) in the days of Gideon with just 300 men.
III. Jesus gives you hope as the Everlasting Father.
A. Another aspect of Jesus’ character is found in his name Everlasting Father (vs. 6). The word everlasting is another way of saying that Jesus is God. Just like Jesus is called God in the title Mighty God so He is referred to as God with the word everlasting. Only God is eternal. Many kings in Isaiah’s day would refer to themselves as the father of their people and their nation. God was promising in verse 6 that He would give us an everlasting Father – Jesus – one good king, the best possible king, to rule us forever. And as a father, Jesus is a father to us in that He is concerned for us like a father, He cares for us like a father, and He disciplines us like a father.
IV. Jesus gives you hope as the Prince of Peace.
A. This is the last of the titles given to Jesus in vs. 6: Prince of Peace. Usually, when we think about peace we think about the absence of war, which is certainly true in this case. We see what Jesus will do as the Prince of Peace in verse 5. “Every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.” Jesus will burn up every weapon and every piece of clothing used in warfare. This peace is also the fullness of what is described in the Hebrew word shalom. The word shalom in Hebrew means to be whole or complete. God is passionately committed (zealous in the word of vs. 7) to bringing in the Kingdom of God, this Kingdom of Peace. And if God is passionately committed to something, can anyone stop Him? No.
Application:
Look at who Jesus is and you will find hope.
Sources:
Commentaries on Isaiah by J. Alec Motyer and John Oswalt. “Prepare Him Room” by Marty Machowski.