For unto us a child is born…(Isaiah 9:6).
One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the chance we get to sing all those great classic Christmas hymns at church. One of my favorite songs of the season is the great hymn “What Child is This?” How we answer that question will determine the course of our lives. Today’s text comes from a classic Christmas text that was written 735 years before Jesus was born. In the passage, Isaiah answers the question prophetically by giving us four names that would apply to the coming Messiah.
ANSWER #1: Isaiah begins by telling us that a child will be born and a son will be given whose name will be “Wonderful Counselor”. The idea in the Hebrew of the original text is one who gives wise and life-changing counsel. Throughout history, counselors have either given good advice that enhances life, or bad counsel that leads to disaster. Jesus is not only a “wise” counselor; he is a “wonderful” counselor. He knows us, cares for us, and knows exactly what we need to hear in order to have what he called “abundant life”.
ANSWER #2: Isaiah continues by telling us that this child would be named “Mighty God”. This must have been a mind-boggling prophecy, to both Isaiah and his audience. How can a child be “El Gibbor” (the Hebrew name)? This was one of a number of Old Testament prophecies that pointed to the coming incarnation of God in human flesh. The name tells us that the Messiah would not only be the Son of God…he would be God the Son. When Jesus was placed in a feeding trough of a barn in Bethlehem, he was the Mighty God in human flesh.
ANSWER #3: The third name given in this passage is “Everlasting Father”. How can a baby in a feeding trough be the “Everlasting Father”? One way of interpreting the Hebrew text is to say the child would be the “Father of Eternity”. This would be a child who would control the future. We live in an age of anxiety. Anxiety is fear of the future. With all the insanity we see and hear about on a daily basis, if there were not someone who is the Father of Eternity, anxiety would make perfect sense. But there is someone who controls the future. His name is Jesus. His message is that God wins! There is a plan in place that is right on schedule. We need not fear. The baby in the manger was the Everlasting Father.
ANSWER #4: The final name of the coming child is one we often do associate with Christmas. This child would be the “Prince of Peace”. In Hebrew the name is “Shar Shalom”. The word “shalom” in Hebrew is much more comprehensive than the concepts we usually associate with “peace”. It carried the idea of harmony at all levels. Shalom includes harmony in interpersonal relationships. It includes harmony in our inner life. And above and beyond any idea we have about peace in human relationships, shalom refers to harmony in our relationship with God. When one lives in a relationship of “shalom” with God, it is God’s “shalom” that influences every area of life. The baby in the manger was “Shar Shalom”. Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Many of us will gather together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We will remember the details of that first Christmas: the baby in a manger (a feeding trough), shepherds receiving the visitation of the angelic host, the message of peace on earth and goodwill among men. And as we celebrate the Christmas event, lets remember this: he is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Merry Christmas!
To hear more on this subject, go to this link: http://www.highlinecc.org/go/index.php/teaching/recent-sermons.