The Coming Messiah/Isaiah 9:2-7

This is the lesson I'm going to be presenting in church this morning.  Hope it keeps you in the spirit.

"The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shined.
You have multiplied the nation;
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke of his burden,
and the staff for his shoulder,
the rod of his oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

Today is Christmas.  A long time ago somebody decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on this day, December 25^th, each year.  But as we celebrate His birth, we must remember that Jesus is no longer a baby in a manger.  People love to think of him as a cute little baby surrounded by animals, receiving gifts from the wise men, but Jesus is no longer confined to this humble estate.  He humbled Himself in coming to Earth so that He could live a righteous life, die a criminal’s death, and be raised again and exalted to the right hand of God.  As Jesus says unequivocally in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  Jesus came to be crowned King of the Universe.  This leads us back to Isaiah where we see the purpose of the coming Messiah.

    “For unto us a child is born, unto a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder.”  This promised Messiah was to be the righteous king that Israel had lacked for so many years.  This Messiah was to be the fulfillment of God’s promise given to David hundreds of years before. We see this promise in 2 Samuel 7:16, which says, “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.  Your throne shall be established forever.” Look at Isaiah 11:1, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.” 

    Jesse was David’s father.  Isaiah is here predicting that the promised Messiah of Israel would come and return David’s throne to its former glory.  This is why Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, starts out by saying, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.”  And in Luke 1:32 and 33 we see the angel Gabriel telling Mary how special her baby would be.  He said, “He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

    The Jews as a nation rejected their Messiah because He did not fit their image of what a Savior should look like.  Jesus, the conquering King came to be a servant.  If we read the New Testament with this mindset, we can understand why Peter would at first refuse to let Jesus wash His feet.  The Kingdom Jesus came to establish was not quite like the one the Jews had in mind, or the one our modern-day Dispensationalists envision.  Jesus came to establish a spiritual Kingdom that would conquer the Earth not by weapons of war, but by the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As Jesus said in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my Kingdom is not from the world.”    Instead of recognizing this, the Jews sent him away to be crucified, saying, “We have no king but Caesar!”

    Jesus came to be a very different kind of King.  He came to be a King who was also a Prophet.  This does not mean that he came to predict the future, though He did do that, but He came to bring light to nations in darkness.  Look at Isaiah 9:2, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has the light shined.”  And Isaiah 11:2, “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”  Jesus came to be the greatest Teacher the world has ever known.  He came to teach the true meaning of His Law that had been abused for so many centuries.  He came to be truly righteous and to give us an example to follow.  He came to be the true Word of God and the true Light of God.

    Finally, Jesus also came to be a priestly King.  He came to offer a perfect sacrifice that never needed to be repeated.  In Isaiah 53:5 we read, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.”  What kind of King is this?  One that would suffer for his people?  Israel wanted a King that would be strong in waging war, but they got a King that showed true strength by laying down His life as a substitute for His people.  As Jesus says in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 

    What a Wonderful King we have!  The Great Counselor!  The Mighty God! The Everlasting Father!  The Prince of Peace!