Isaiah 9:1-7 | The Hope of Christmas
Let’s open the Bible now to Isaiah 9:1-7, a prophecy about Jesus and one of the great Christmas passages in all the Bible.
9 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 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.
7 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.
Introduction
One of the things so remarkable about Christmas is that there is no other season for which we have an entire genre of music. Culturally, it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal in our home too. We start listening to Christmas music around October 1st. Maybe you’re one of those people who wait until after Thanksgiving. That’s fine, my last sermon was about how to disagree well, so we can still be friends.
Of course, there are all types of Christmas songs. There are the classic Christmas carols about Jesus, and then there are what I call seasonal cultural songs—songs like Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, and All I Want for Christmas. And then there’s this one, What Christmas Means to Me. Do you know that one?
Candles burning low
Lots of mistletoe
Lots of snow and ice
Everywhere we go
Choir singing carols
Right outside my door
It’s all about the feel-good nature of Christmas—the snow and the mistletoe and the carols. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, but by the end of the song, you realize what Christmas means to the singer has nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with a feeling. It’s happy, upbeat, very Instagrammable. It’s the Christmas card with the family, even the dog, in the Santa hat in front of the barn on the farm you don’t live on but visited sometime in October when it was still so hot the sweater you wore lived up to the name. You had to bribe the kids with ice cream afterward in return for a half-decent smile. That’s what Christmas means to so many. It’s a feeling. It’s not supernatural. It’s all very natural. Earthy, even.
But what if the meaning of Christmas is actually much darker? What if Christmas isn’t to highlight the joys of life but to shine light on the darkness of it? In the Bible, Christmas comes not on the triumphant shoulders of our put-together life but shines into the gloom of the darkness we can’t get ourselves out of. What Christmas means to our Christmasy culture can actually be quite different than what it means in the Bible.
Just like our music, Christmas is split between two groups of people. There are those that enjoy it because, I mean, what’s not to enjoy about it? And there are those who need it because it speaks of a hope beyond this world that came into this world to change this world. It’s the difference, ultimately, in where our hope lies: in ourselves and our feelings or in God and his promises.
What does Christmas mean to you?
To the prophet Isaiah, it meant hope—the hope of a child shining light in the darkness.
We can summarize the passage this way.
The hope of Christmas described (vv. 1-3)
The hope of Christmas explained (vv. 4-7)
The Hope of Christmas Described (vv. 1-3)
The context of the light of Isaiah 9:1-7 is the darkness of the circumstances of God’s people. They were facing judgment. You see in verse 1, Isaiah talks about gloom and anguish and contempt. What is that about? Well, God’s people were in trouble. The great nation of Assyria was threating to invade. These were not nice people. They were like the ISIS of their day, known for their brutality. They were coming, ultimately, as God’s judgment on the nation for their unfaithfulness.
But even in the midst of judgment, Isaiah had a word from God to the faithful remnant that remained inside the largely unfaithful nation. That word was about a light coming in the darkness. Not all was lost. Circumstances weren’t good but no need to wring their hands in worry. God was at work.
This chapter opens with the word “But.” “But” is a great word in the Bible. It always comes in just the right places. When God tells us about something awful, usually because of our own sin, he often follows it with a “but” of the gospel. That’s just how his heart works. We are unfaithful, but God is faithful. We are sinful, but God saves sinners. We are in darkness, but light is coming. In the former time, there was gloom. But in the latter time is glory. From gloom to glory. That’s the gospel.
But God’s people in Isaiah’s day had to wait. However, what’s interesting in this passage is that it is written as if it has already come. This is a prophecy, meaning it’s talking about something to come in the future, but the future is written as something which has already happened. This isn’t a “maybe” from God. This is an assurance. God is saying to them—and to us—that their hopeful future in Christ is already complete. The victory is already won.
God isn’t asking them for anything; He’s telling them what’s coming. All they had to do was see it by faith. The eye of faith sees what God is doing behind the present bitter circumstances; it sees the light in the darkness. We have two options, even today. We can look at our world and, seeing the darkness, find only hopelessness and shattered dreams and conclude that God has forgotten us. Or we can look at our present darkness and remember God’s past mercies, his present grace, and his future promises. Yes, there is real darkness. But the darkness isn’t the realest reality. Behind even the darkest of nights stands the bright light of Jesus Christ.
Verse 2 describes the light. “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.” Notice, they’re walking in darkness. They don’t just see the darkness, they’re walking inside it. They feel it.
Who are these people walking in darkness? Verse 1 says it’s those in “the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.” Geography lesson. Israel was hemmed in on the east and west by the sea and the mountains so whenever foreign armies attacked Israel, they went first to Galilee in the north. The nations entered there. Galileans didn’t just have a tough day, they had a tough life. They knew what it was to suffer. Isaiah is saying hope would come first to those who suffered most. Those who took the brunt of every invasion would be the first to see the light dawning out ahead. And as we look to the New Testament, where is it that Jesus begins his ministry? Galilee (Matthew 4:12-17). Those walking in darkness found themselves ushered into the light of Christ. Jesus went to Galilee first, Matthew says, so that this prophecy would be fulfilled. Jesus was saying that he is the light of Isaiah 9.
Now, Isaiah says that light spreads. Verse 3: “You have multiplied the nation…” This remnant, in God’s care, grows and grows until we see in Revelation that it’s “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages … crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Way back in Genesis 17:5, God promised Abraham that he would multiply his children into a nation of people. From Abraham to all tribes and peoples and tongues. God is keeping his promise. God takes a suffering remnant and grows it into a global party.
No wonder that as the light spreads, so does the joy. As the light spreads, the gloom and the darkness is replaced by joy and rejoicing. “You have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.” What is this joy? Isaiah uses two metaphors. First, the joy of farmers at harvest, a big payout for all the toil—like a Christmas bonus you never imagined. Second, the joy of soldiers dividing the spoil, the joy of victory after battle. And—this is important—they didn’t do anything to achieve this. They didn’t accomplish it through their hard work. In fact, they didn’t have a hand in it at all. Notice the first two phrases of verse 3 begin with “You”—“You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy.” All the activity is on God’s side. God does it, and his people rejoice. God plants, and his people harvest. God fights, and his people get the spoils. God in grace wins the prize for them.
God’s people walked in darkness. But the hope of Christmas shines bright beyond their circumstances.
How does that hope come? Verses 4-7 explain.
The Hope of Christmas Explained (vv. 4-7)
Verses 4, 5, and 6 begin with the word “For.” In other words, here’s how the hope just described is coming.
Look at verse 4. “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.” What does that mean? God wants to illustrate the kind of surprising victory he’s going to achieve. Remember Gideon? He was an unlikely hero, wasn’t he? Gideon was a Judge in Israel during the time when the nation of Midian ruled over them. Judges were to fight on Israel’s behalf, but Gideon didn’t want the job. We first see him beating out wheat in the winepress to hide from the Midianites (Judges 6:11). The angel of the Lord came to him and said, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” It’s laughable. Mighty men of valor don’t hide from their enemies. When Gideon finally got around to obeying God’s command to fight, God first scaled his army back from 32,000 to only 300 men. Why? To prove this was the Lord’s battle; he can win against impossible odds. Gideon shouldn’t have won, but his little army in God’s mighty hands caused such a panic that the Midianites killed each other! That’s the kind of miraculous victory God will work for his people again.
But he won’t stop there. Look at verse 5. “For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.” God will not only win the war for us, he will end war itself. The warrior will no longer need his battle boots. There will be no more garments rolled in blood. It will be put to an end. How will it be put to an end? Not by Israel’s strength, but by God’s. This victory is not their accomplishment, nor is it ours. It is God’s. We step onto the battlefield after the victory is won. We celebrate his victory as if it is our victory because in Christ, by grace, it is.
Now, verse 6 is the climax. What we find, finally, is the answer to all that has ever made us afraid. Every anxiety we’ve carried, every fear we’ve nursed, every difficulty we’ve faced is answered in one single person: a child. Look at verse 6. “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.”
This is not what we expect, is it? There is nothing in this world weaker than a human child. Animal offspring are more self-sufficient. Think of the baby sea turtles. They hatch on the beach and immediately are thrust into a life and death race to the waters. Before they even have time to look around the world, they’re off and running. But a human child? It lays in a crib, crying for milk, sleeping twenty hours a day (of course, not in a row because that would be too convenient). It’s utterly vulnerable. Anything could happen and it would have no defense. How is it that when God waged war on this world he sent a baby? In what universe does that make any sense at all?
What is God doing? He’s overturning our expectations. God has ordered the world such that weakness overcomes power, foolishness overcomes wisdom, a child defeats all evil. It’s an unlikely, improbable, incredible story. When everything else in this world fails, when all our best plans are found wanting, when we’ve reached the very end of what we can do, unto us a child is born. There is a baby in a manger to set it all right again. We like to think we’re strong and mighty, capable of conquering it all on our own, or at least collectively, but it turns out God doesn’t need us at all; we need him. And in this child, we have him: the baby born in a manger 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ our Savior.
Isaiah says the government shall be upon his shoulder. What does that mean? It means, first, that the government of this world doesn’t ultimately land on us but on Jesus. Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. He rules and reigns over all.
But, of course, anytime power is centralized, we become suspicious. Can we trust the leader? Can we trust Jesus? What kind of government will he bring? Isiah tells us. Jesus will be a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Jesus governs with wisdom. We aren’t his counselor; he is ours.
Jesus governs with strength. He’s not just any child; he’s also almighty God.
Jesus governs as a father. He cares for us with the affection of a tender father.
Jesus governs in peace. Peace at every level—vertically with God, horizontally with others.
I love the succinctness of Ray Ortlund. “As the Wonderful Counselor, he has the best ideas and strategies. Let’s follow him. As the Mighty God, he defeats his enemies easily. Let’s hide behind him. As the Everlasting Father, he loves us endlessly. Let’s enjoy him. As the Prince of Peace, he reconciles us while we are still his enemies. Let’s welcome his dominion.”
Isaiah 9:1-7 is the story of how God wins our salvation for us. Our lives are hard—really hard. Our sin is great—really great. Our need is immense—so immense. But God’s grace in Christ is greater still. There is no end to his supply for our need. That’s why Isaiah says in verse 7, “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.” Do you know what that means? Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. The reign of Christ will not come and be; it will come and increase. He will not rule only Israel—some no account little nation in the Ancient Near East. He will rule the world, the galaxy, the cosmos! And his rule will not be like that of the Assyrians, war after war after war. Once he conquers all evil, it will be one of peace. His kingdom spreads through peace, and of that peace there will be no end. There will be no pockets of rebellion. His victory will be total and complete. His kingdom has no end. It fulfills all promises. When established, it’s upheld. It’s just and righteous. It will last forever.
This is really good news especially to those living in oppression and injustice. All that evil is coming to an end in Christ. So, beware, all workers of injustice in this world. The light has shone, and your time is running out.
Jesus is the perfect King. A king of justice and peace without end. If we accept Jesus as our great King, we have nothing to fear in him. He will always be for us, no matter how great or small we are. In fact, the smaller, the better. The needier the better. The more humble, the better. Jesus is the King and Savior to all who need him.
We will never reach the limit of Jesus’s strength. We will never exhaust his storehouses of grace. We will never out-sin his patience. We will never run so far that he can’t find us. We will never fail so hard that he can’t redeem us. We will never fall so deep he can’t rescue us. His empire of grace will expand and expand and expand and expand until the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). Every single moment with Jesus is and will forever be better than the moment before. He will increase, and we will be with him enjoying his increase.
But how can we be sure this will happen? I mean, it’s a big world. History is long and messy. Doesn’t even God’s patience run out? Here’s the amazing thing about these verses: God’s people are not the subject of any of the verbs; God is. God is doing this. He’s doing it without their help, and he’s doing it for their good. They couldn’t do it if they tried. This is the kind of thing that only God can do. Christmas is a time to remember God loves to do for his people what they cannot do for themselves. His own mighty heart will accomplish this because it’s what his own massive love wants.
Look at the end of verse 7. Here is the seal of the promise. “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” Do you know what that means? It means that God’s passion for his own glory is driving this. He isn’t getting tired of saving. He’s just getting started. The more he has to triumph over evil, the more his grace is seen and known. The needier you and I are for his mercy, the greater his desire is to provide. Like a father with a child, who loves for no other reason than because he loves, the All-Holy, Eternal, Everlasting Father God loves you with all of his massive heart. That’s why he gave his child, and that’s why the child went to the cross. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Conclusion
So here’s what Christmas ultimately means: the promise of a light shining in the darkness, a child given to us.
In the end, there are only two groups of people in this world. There are those who need this child and those who don’t. If you’re doing just fine on your own; if you win victory after victory with no trouble at all; if you don’t even see the darkness because your future is so bright you need shades, maybe the gospel isn’t yet for you. Maybe you need to first experience the darkness.
But if you feel the darkness; if you are weary and need rest; if you mourn and long for comfort; if you feel worthless and wonder if God even cares; if you fail and desire strength; if you sin and need a savior; this light is for you.
We don’t deserve the light. We just receive the light. Here’s how we do that. When Jesus came to Galilee so long ago to fulfill this promise, he opened his ministry saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That was an invitation to all who have a heap broken dreams, unkept promises, shattered hopes, disordered desires, and a pile of sins you can’t believe you committed. The entry into his glorious kingdom, into his marvelous light, is as simple as needing Jesus. You might be an absolute mess, especially in this hard year of 2020, but you can be Jesus’s mess. He would love that.
By coming to us in Christ, God has put his salvation so low that anyone can reach it. There’s really just one catch. You have to forsake self-assurance. You have to lay aside the pride that won’t accept being saved by a baby in a manger.
Maybe this Christmas, more than ever before, we need to accept with the empty hands of faith the overwhelming grace of God. Maybe this Christmas you need to stop trying so hard to save yourself and instead let your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace do it for you. But you say, “I’ve been unfaithful, and I’m just not sure God can accept me back yet again. My repentance never seems to last. My sins never seem to end. My wandering heart never seems to rest.” Well, come anyway. God’s not asking you to deserve Jesus. He’s asking you to receive him. For to you a child is born, to you a son is given.
Let’s pray.
