Big, BIG Shoulders Isaiah 9:6

Big, BIG Shoulders Isaiah 9:6 At the end of the eighth chapter of Isaiah, the prophet describes the horrible plight of God s people who had either turned their backs on the Lord or stuck their fists in His face. He describes these people as wandering in the dark (v. 20), raging and cursing at their king and their God (v. 21), and unable to escape the trouble and anguish and dark despair they had brought upon themselves (8:21b-22). It is in this backdrop of rebellion and oppression and hopelessness that, ironically, we find God s most profound and gracious promise the promise that is associated with Christmas. Isaiah 9 starts like this: 1 *Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. 2 * The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness,* a light will shine 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor,* Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven s Armies will make this happen! (NLT) Please note the language in the text. Government rule throne This is talking about a King and a kingdom. And so we have gathered here today to celebrate the birthday of our King. I d like you to let that sink in for a moment. Jesus Christ, the baby born in a crude feeding trough in a cave carved in a hillside in a remote Judean village, is a King. And not just any king. He is the King of kings. He is absolutely sovereign. That means that His authority is unqualified, His power is unlimited, His majesty is unparalleled, His glory is incomparable and incomprehensible, and His dominion is infinite and eternal. That s our Jesus who was born in Bethlehem. That s our Jesus who lived in this world for thirty-three years and then died on a cross for our sins the very thing He came into this world to do. But let there be no mistake: Jesus is no longer in the manger; and Jesus is no longer on the cross. So when you think of Him don t merely think of Him in that way. He is presently sitting on a throne in heaven at the right hand of His Father, at the very center of the universe, and whenever His Father gives the word He is poised to return this earth to finish the work that He started. Thus, He will obliterate hatred, evil, injustice, darkness, disease, sorrow, sickness, selfishness, Satan, and anything else that came from the curse of sin. 1

Such is His power. Such is His prerogative. He s the sovereign King. Which is why His sovereign rule is, ultimately, His greatest gift to us. It is the very thing that ought to make us the most delighted and the most excited, not just today, but every day. For it is the basis of our hope, our freedom, and our everlasting joy. As you know, we just had a presidential election. One of the things that was revealed during the campaign prior to the election was just how many incredibly complex problems there are in our country. Problems with our economy, our tax system, our trade policies, our foreign relations, our immigration system, our partisanship, our racial divisions, our vulnerability to terrorism, etc. Some of these problems are enormous. Some of these problems are overwhelming. But what intrigued me about the presidential candidates is that whenever they were asked about these problems on the campaign trail, whenever they were asked how they were going to solve these problems, they always had a ready answer. And they could usually summarize their solutions in a couple of sentences. And they always came across with a great deal of confidence as though they had the intelligence, the wisdom, the power, the resources, and the capability to fix all these problems. It was like, Of course I m going to fix them that s why I m running for president. That s why you should vote for me! But does anyone seriously believe that one man or woman can solve all these problems? Eight years ago, when President Obama was elected, many people reacted as if he was a modern day messiah who was going to usher in an American utopia. MSNBC s Chris Matthews said, I ve never seen anything like this This is bigger than Kennedy This is the New Testament. Newsweek editor Evan Thomas wrote, In a way, Obama is standing above the country, above the world. He s sort of God. He s going to bring all the different sides together. Today, at the end of his second term, the different sides in our country have never been further apart. We see a government mired in mind-boggling debt, contentious gridlock, bitter partisanship, and more racism than we ve had in forty years. Frankly, I don t blame our president for not living up to the expectations people had of him. I actually blame people for putting so much hope and trust in human leaders. When will we learn that even the best and brightest men and women don t have shoulders that are big enough and strong enough to provide what we really need and want real and lasting peace and joy and freedom and wholeness and contentment and good will? Which brings me to the reason why Christmas is such a spectacular celebration, for we celebrate the birth of a different kind of leader, the only Leader who lives up to our highest expectations, a Leader who makes a real impact, a Leader who is truly invincible, and a leader whose kingdom will last forever. Five hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, predicted the coming of this Leader, and his timeless words provide a stark contrast between the temporary kings and kingdoms of this world, and the eternal King and kingdom that are out of this world. Isaiah prophesied at a time when Israel was being brutalized by the tyrannical kings and nations that surrounded them. He describes Israel as a beast of burden with an oppressive yolk on its shoulders. But he said that one day God would send someone to remove that yolk and provide permanent peace and joy and freedom. 2

He says, Isaiah 9:6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. As we read earlier, chapter 9 begins with a description of the terrible darkness and gloom in the regions around the Sea of Galilee, the area that suffered the most under Assyria s harsh rule. But Isaiah prophesied that this region would be the first to see the dawn of a new day. That glorious day would be ushered in by the birth of a male child who is described as the radiant light who would one day shine in Galilee. Isaiah talks about the advent of this child in two ways: First, as a child who was born for us; a human being born for our benefit, for our well-being, indeed, for our salvation. For to us a child is born. And second, as a Son who comes from God Himself, from outside the realm of humanity. For to us a Son is given. He was not born in this world as God's Son, but was given as His Son. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (Jn. 3:16). A distinction is made in these two clauses, Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. In the first there is an emphasis on the humanity of Christ as one who was born who became flesh and lived among us (John 1:14). In the second there is an emphasis on the deity of Christ as the One who is the pre-existent Son of God who, prior to being born into this world was, in His very nature, God (Phil. 2:6). Earlier, in chapter 7, Isaiah identified this child as, Emmanuel which means, God with us. But notice what Isaiah says about the responsibilities this child would have when He grew up. The government shall be on his shoulder. He will be a ruler, a head-of-state; but not just any ruler or head-of-state. He will lead and administrate God s government otherwise known as the kingdom of God. And so this child will grow up to be the King of kings and Lord of lords. He will be the supreme Ruler of all time, having all authority and all responsibility. The government will rest on his shoulders As we anticipate the inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, I m sure there are a variety of emotions and sentiments represented in this room about him taking office. But no matter how you feel about him winning the election, or whether you like him or not, I think one thing is universal: Everyone is glad that we have in our system of government what we call checks and balances. We have a legislative branch of government to make sure that the executive branch (the president) doesn t have too much power and authority. We have a judicial branch to make sure both the executive and the legislative branches don t wield too much power and authority. If Donald Trump had absolute authority, we d all be scared. We ve seen what happens to men and women who have absolute authority. They turn into despots. But in the kingdom of God, the Son is being given all authority absolute authority. That means the execution of every divine decree, the implementation of every divine plan, the fulfillment of every divine purpose, the destiny of every human being, the well-being of every kingdom citizen, the distribution of the kingdom s wealth, and the delegation of all authority rests entirely on Him. He will assume responsibility for everything, and everything will depend on Him. 3

I would suggest to you that those are big, BIG shoulders. And no ordinary or even extraordinary human being could ever take on that responsibility and succeed. In order to successfully administrate this government it takes supernatural wisdom and skill. It takes leadership qualities that are far greater than even the most outstanding human leader who has ever lived. Those qualities are identified in four names that God s Messiah will be called, listed at the end of verse 6, which reflect both His divine and human nature. He is Wonderful Counselor because He has been personally acquainted with the counsel of God from eternity past and will be able to impart this divine counsel for eternity future. He is Wisdom personified and all of His judgments are true and right. He is Mighty God, for just as He has supernatural wisdom, so He has supernatural strength, and is therefore able to perfectly execute His leadership responsibilities. He is the Everlasting Father, which means that He Himself is God, who alone is from everlasting to everlasting. Prince of Peace means that as the ruler of this kingdom He secures and protects and preserves the subjects of His kingdom. Indeed, He is our peace, and it is His peace that rules in the hearts of His people. You might be thinking to yourself, These are exactly the kinds of qualifications that are needed to administrate a righteous kingdom. But it s hard not to be skeptical. We ve just come off a presidential election and I m used to hearing hollow campaign promises. Besides, I ve heard people from other religions describe a similar kind of utopia that is promised to them by their leaders and prophets. Why should I believe what Isaiah wrote 2500 years ago? How do I know it s really true? Because Isaiah told us that God Himself would make sure it happened. He said at the end of verse 7, The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven s Armies will make this happen. And, indeed, 500 years after Isaiah s prophesy, God delivered on His promise. Listen to the announcement He made through an angel to unsuspecting shepherds near a remote village called Bethlehem: I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11 ESV). As we read through the Gospel accounts about the life and ministry of this Messiah, Jesus, as we are confronted with His amazing teaching, His astonishing miracles, His incredible love; as we read His words and most especially His claims about Himself and who He was and is; as we read about His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead three days later, we are forced to conclude that this was no ordinary man. This had to be the child that was born for us, the Son that was given to us. And we are forced to make a decision. Will we believe in Him or not? I don t know some of you. I don t know what you believe about Jesus or where you stand in relation to Jesus. What I do know is that He knows and He cares. What I do know is that when Jesus died on the cross He bore your sins in His body, because it was the only way you could be forgiven of your sins and be restored to a relationship of peace and friendship with God. And He did it because He loves you more than you will ever know. I also know that three days after He died He rose from the dead, and that His resurrection proved that He was who He said He was Messiah, Son of the living God. It demonstrated His divine power. It established that His death on the cross did accomplish 4

what He said it would the forgiveness of sins and the defeat of the powers of darkness. It proved that Jesus was telling the truth when He said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies And if you want to be a citizen of the kingdom Isaiah described then you must confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9-10). His death and resurrection on your behalf is God s provision for your salvation. And all of us need His salvation! Remember that description at the end of Isaiah 8 who were suffering the agonizing consequences of turning their backs on God or sticking their fists in His face? That s all of us, to one degree or another. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Every one of us has turned to His own way (Isa. 53:6). But God demonstrated His love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us! (Rom. 5:8). The good news is that the sovereign King of the universe loves you! He loves you so much He died for you so that you might live with Him forever. Put your trust in Jesus as God s provision for your forgiveness, your peace with Him, and your eternal life. Allow Jesus to be your Savior and your King. That s His gift to you! 5

Big, BIG Shoulders! Isaiah 9:6 Main Idea: Messiah s leadership is unparalleled, and His kingdom and peace are ever expanding and everlasting, secured by none other than God himself God s appointed Leader (Messiah) The Child Born for us Given to us The government on His shoulders His names (qualifications) Wonderful Counselor Mighty God Everlasting Father Prince of Peace 6