Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
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.
The Meaning Behind Christ's Titles: A Christmas Eve Reflection on Isaiah 9
By James Huenink
Merry Christmas. Tonight is one of those nights that is built up in every family. I'm sure you all have traditions that you have on your own—every family, every place, we have the things that we do every Christmas and we get to practice them.
The Traditions of Christmas Eve
A big one for me are all the songs that we sing this Christmas night. We don't get a whole lot of time to sing all our favorite Christmas carols throughout the rest of the year, so we jam pack them into this one service, just so we get to sing them all. Though you can't get all of the songs that you're used to hearing, all of the great traditions into our Christmas service.
Isaiah's Prophetic Announcement: For Unto Us a Child Is Born
Tonight, the reading that I wanted to talk about from Isaiah chapter 9 always calls to mind a very famous song. When I hear the phrase "for to us, a child is born, to us, a son is given," all I can hear is that song from Handel's Messiah: For unto us, a child is born, unto us, a son is given. You know that one? It's sung with such joy and such power and excitement, because the announcement of a new child is a cause for celebration.
On this night, when Isaiah is speaking these words, he is speaking an announcement of hope for God's people. Because when this child is born that he is announcing, he is not just announcing any kind of birth. Kids are great news for every parent, but they don't matter to the whole nation. Isaiah 9 means that there is one child who is born to give hope to everyone—a child who is going to give hope for the nation of Israel, and pointing ahead to a child who gives hope to us, all of humanity.
Understanding Christ's Divine and Human Nature
The birth of Jesus Christ, this child, this announcement, is about a Savior who comes not just to give us happiness, but to give us life. And Isaiah gives us a number of titles—titles that I've always thought were interesting: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Let's take a look at some of those titles. We're so used to hearing them, especially on this night of Christmas Eve. What Isaiah does is he pairs two different things in each title: a human quality that would be for a normal king and a divine quality that no king could live up to. When he announces this in the ancient world, they probably would have seen just some sort of exaggeration. Lots of the kings exaggerated their power. But for us, we see a God and a man born in Bethlehem and lying in a manger.
Wonderful Counselor: The Miraculous Wisdom of Jesus
Isaiah calls him Wonderful Counselor. The word "wonderful" isn't exactly the right translation for us. Wonderful just means kind of good, but that's not really what the Hebrew is about. It is more like wonder, as in miracle—miraculous counselor, supernatural counselor, someone who has insight and wisdom into all of the things of the divine.
Prophets claimed that. Sages claim that. And if you are scrolling through any kind of social media feed, you probably see a whole lot of people claiming that kind of wisdom and power too. But Jesus is the only one who truly has this insight to share the love and peace of God with the whole world. He is the only one who can truly reveal who God is.
How Jesus Revealed Divine Wisdom
And how does he do it? In a regular house in a regular village, born and laid down in a manger. This wisdom that he reveals by being a regular person—not a king, not a warrior, not someone who is famous, but just a guy—a God come into humanity is the reason his wisdom was rejected. His message turned away because nobody could see a God who would come in humility and service and love.
And yet, that's what Jesus did, the Wonderful Counselor displaying the wisdom and power of God by going to a cross and dying for you so you could live with Him forever.
Mighty God: The Warrior Who Conquered Death
The next title is Mighty God. This word "Mighty" is often used in the ancient world to talk about a warrior. The greatest men in an army were the mighty men of valor, the ones who would go out and fight. But this child, this Mighty God, he fought a different kind of battle than the men and the warriors of the ancient world.
Jesus's Victory Over Sin and Death
He fought a battle where he invaded death itself, and it began when he was conceived and born as a child, because God Himself took on human flesh and entered our experience, so much so that he lived through every stage of life we do. God becomes a child who—all he can do is cry when he's hungry or squeal when he's dirty—just like any child ever born to humanity.
He comes in to fight the powers of sin and death by being put under them, and he goes into death itself to free us by His glorious resurrection, so that the curse we read about with Adam and Eve in the very Garden of Eden is no longer applied to us because he lives forever, and through him we will as well.
Everlasting Father: The King Whose Kingdom Has No End
The next title is Everlasting Father. This birth announcement must be announcement for a king, because kings were always considered the fathers of their nation. They are the ones who are supposed to protect and watch over the people. But none of the kings of ancient Israel could claim the title "everlasting." In fact, no king, except for Jesus, could have that one.
The Eternal Kingdom of Christ
Because no matter what we do, whether you're a king or someone like us, everlasting isn't in the deal. All our works, all the things we do, eventually they crumble and fall. But not for Jesus. He is the only king who could be on the throne of his father forever. He is the only king who never dies again. He is the only King who comes to be with us and promises a kingdom with no end, and he can actually deliver.
This Savior, Jesus Christ, came as a child to serve you, to give you life. And he promises to come again. He promises to come again with power and might. Now he promises to give you grace, inviting you to enter into His salvation, inviting you to come and receive His gifts. Then this father, this king, everlasting, will come with judgment. The door of grace will be over.
Prince of Peace: The King Who Brings True Peace
The last of the titles is the Prince of Peace. We hear this all the time at Christmas, because we like the Prince of Peace title. The scene of Bethlehem, the one we all have in our minds with snow that probably wasn't there, and the evergreen trees that don't grow in Israel—that's what we think of when we have peace.
Why Peace Is Revolutionary for a King
It's strange to call a king a king of peace, because, well, every king that was ever famous became famous because he liked war. I'm listening to a podcast about Alexander the Great, and I heard all about his feats, his work, his amazing things he did, and the only reason we know about him is because he really liked to kill a lot of people. It's not peace that makes someone famous.
This seems true for our politicians and leaders too. Being quiet doesn't get you noticed online. Who actually wants peace amongst our leaders? All they want is stirring up trouble.
The Peace That Christ Brings
Jesus—he brings actual peace. He is a king who comes to bring peace, not just with God (which he does by dying on a cross), but with each other by the power of His forgiveness. The grace and peace that he gives to us binds us together in his holy Christian church and makes us one in his body.
He is the only king who can bring true peace, because he pours out his love into you and to me.
Celebrating the Gift of Christ This Christmas
This is what we celebrate this Christmas night: a God who became man, human and divine, who gives up himself for us so that we can have peace. This Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
In Jesus's name. Amen.
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