Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

We often read Scripture without thinking about or meditating on what we are reading. For instance, the words “unto us” are repeated twice. Who is the “US” that the text addresses? Some would be quick to say “US means US. It is for US”. Well, that is true. But when it was originally written over 2700 years ago neither you nor I were here.

The original US was a broken people. It was for a nation that God lifted up and loved, but who turned from following Him. God addressed His nation saying:

Isaiah 1:4 (KJV) Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.

Israel was broken by sin. The nation that defeated Egypt, a world power that took over Canaan, was going to be defeated by first Assyria, then Greece, and after 700 years would in the time of the virgin Mary would be under Roman bondage. Because of sin Israel’s Temple would be built not by God’s Children but by Herod, a son of Edom, descendant of Esau. Israel would be ruled not by the rightful ruler, the Descendant of King David, but by Herod the Horrible.

Why?

Because God’s people and God’s nation got away from their God. Compromise set in. Other things began to rule God’s Israel rather than God Himself. His Word was not taken seriously. The Bible says:

Psalm 33:11-12 (ESV) The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Psalm 33:18-21 (ESV) Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

God preserves His people. Israel suffered through many years of bondage to sin and death. Then one day the Promise of God was fulfilled. The Messiah came to a broken people, a sinful people, a repentant people. The promise of the Messiah was fulfilled in the Coming of Jesus Christ. Eternal God was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.

Jesus Christ is the Child Who was born, but the Son Who was given. He is not the Son Who was born, for Christ is Eternal God, always existent with both Father and Spirit. John declared without apology:

John 1:1-3 (KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:14 (KJV) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

“The Word was MADE FLESH and dwelt among us”. The Son of God was given, not created, but clothed in flesh in the virgin’s womb. God did a new thing in Christ. The Eternal Son of God became perfect and sinless man. God became the Son of Man, not through Joseph but through the Holy Spirit of God. The Child was born of Mary, but God was never born. The Son of God became like us, but without sin.

The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulder

When Jesus Christ came He came preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom:

Matthew 4:23 (KJV) And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom …

Mark 1:14 (KJV) Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

Jesus did not preach a quick fix salvation, but invited people into the Kingdom of God. He called people to “Follow Me” and to submit to Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The “Gospel” literally means “Good News”. The Good News is this:

God loves you
God wants His best for you
You will find His best in loving Jesus
And living as a son of God in His Kingdom

Jesus did not merely invite His followers to “come and dine” but to “come and die”. To die to the world. To submit to Him and His Word. To live in the shadow of God. To “Take up your Cross and follow Me”. The Gospel is like a glorious pearl of great price, which Jesus said..

Matthew 13:44-46 (ESV) “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Kingdom of God is offered to every person who will receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The government shall be upon His shoulder. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The day will come – and I believe it will comne sooner than later – that:

Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Government SHALL be on HIS shoulder. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, The Messiah, the Ruler of all! There is no other Savior, and all other Kingdoms will one day fall to His. He is Lord!

His Name Shall Be Called Wonderful , Counsellor

Isaiah prophesies four names by which Jesus shall be declared, or literally, a Fourfold Name. The King James translators added a comma where no comma is needed. He is, literally, the Wonderful Counselor.

The word “Wonderful” (Hebrew פֶּלֶא pele’) is one of the descriptive terms of God Himself.

“Wonderful” means “to be indescribable or marvelous”. You see the word used of God in:

Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness,awesome in praises, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11)

I shall remember the deeds of the LORD; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.(Psalm 77:11)

You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among thepeoples. (Psalm 77:14)

He wrought wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.(Psalm 78:12)

The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. (Psalm 89:5)

Your testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul observes them. (Psalm 119:129)

O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; for You haveworked wonders, plans formed along ago, with perfect faithfulness. (Isaiah 25:1)

When Jesus came and walked among us it was clear that He was no ordinary Counselor. When just 12 years old …

Luke 2:46-47 (NIV) {Mary and Joseph}found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

and as Jesus grew the people stayed amazed at Him. The Bible often says:

Luke 4:32 (ESV) and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.

Matthew 7:28-29 (ESV) … And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as the Scribes.

Jesus Christ is not just another Rabbi, Prophet, or Teacher. He is Almighty God among us. He is the Wonderful Counselor, and His Words are the Words of the Creator. To heed Him is to heed God Himself.

His Name Shall Be Called The Mighty God

Our Jesus is not only our Great Shepherd, but He is our Mighty God. As Creator He controls the world that He made. In Matthew 8 alone we see Jesus:

Touched a leper, and healed him (Matthew 8:3)
Spoke, and the Centurion’s servant was cured (Matthew 8:13)
Healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever (Matthew 8:15)
Commanded a thousand demons to leave a poor man (Matthew 8:32)

None of these things caused His followers to speak out in amazement. But when there was a great storm on the Sea of Galilee and they were in its midst, the Bible tells us that:

Matthew 8:25-27 (ESV) And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

What sort of man is this, indeed! This is no mere man. This is the Son of God, God Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. This is Jesus Christ, the Mighty God! Our Savior!

The Apostle Paul said of Christ that:

Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

His Name Shall Be Called .. The Everlasting Father

The Disciple Philip asked Jesus one day

John 14:8 (KJV) …. Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Jesus told Philip:

John 14:9-10 (KJV) … Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou [then], Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

When you see Jesus you see the Father revealed. Jesus often said “I come to do the will of Him that sent Me”:

John 4:34 (ESV) Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

John 6:38 (ESV) For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

Luke 2:49 (NKJV) And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

When you see Jesus, you see the Everlasting Father revealed. God loves us in spite of our foolishness and willfulness. And God sent His Son to reach out to whosoever will. To love every person who would be loved of God. To bring as many as possible to the Kingdom of God. Jesus said:

John 10:27-30 (KJV) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and [my] Father are one.

There is perfect agreement between God the Father and God the Son and God the Spirit. If you call on the name of Jesus, you shall be saved. If you repent, turn, and come to Christ, your salvation is assured. Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince Of Peace

The fourth part of Christ’s fourfold name is Prince of Peace. You cannot have Peace with God unless you have an ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible declares:

Romans 5:1 (KJV) Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Philippians 4:7 (KJV) … the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

and one of my favorite verses:

1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV)  For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Where there is turmoil and confusion, Christ is not. But where Christ is, there is peace: peace with God, peace with men. When the Angels announced the birth of Christ into this world they declared:

Luke 2:10-14 (KJV)  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  [11]  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  [12]  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  [13]  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  [14]  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Christ came that we might have peace with God. I pray that this Christmas that you surrender to the joy of Christ, that you accept this greatest Present of all into your life. Our text ends with:

The Zeal Of The Lord Of Hosts Will Perform This