Christmas Through the Eyes of Isaiah
Text: Isaiah 9:1-7
Core Idea: Christmas reminds us that God will not leave us in the dark but that He will shine His light upon us again – it tells us that He wants to dwell among us again. Then, this Christmas, let’s run to Christ, for He will give us a reason to hope again and a reason to rejoice again.
INTRODUCTION
Good morning, Lighthouse. It is delightful to see you. If you’re visiting us for the first time, we want to warmly welcome you. My prayer for all of you is that you won’t leave this place without experiencing God’s radical love for you and a sure hope that can only be found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, today is special in that we get to worship with our children and youths – which, by the way, happens every first Sunday of the month. If you’re in Tugboat or Anchor, I hope you know how grateful I am for each one of you. Thank you for joining us today. I’ve been praying that God will speak to you and show you how beautiful Jesus is because there’s really nothing more important in life than this – to know Christ and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Then, may this happen today as the Spirit opens your heart.
Well, as it was mentioned, today marks the beginning of Advent. For those of you who may not be familiar with this word, Advent means “arrival” – which means that this is a special season for Christians to celebrate the First Coming of Christ, when He came as a baby (Christmas), but also long for His Second Coming, when He will come as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Now, as is the case for many of you, this certainly is the most wonderful time of the year for my family. We decorate the tree as soon as we enter the month of November – and despite Alicia’s promptings, I do my best to keep it there as long as I can. My playlist gets filled with Christmas carols and hymns. And we keep ourselves busy preparing for all our gatherings with family and friends. All that to say, we really enjoy the season of Christmas – and I’m sure many of you are the same. But how many of us realize that we actually need Christmas? How many of us are truly grateful for Christmas? It certainly is the most wonderful time of the year, but if we’re not careful, the glitters and busyness of this season can cause us to forget the true meaning of Christmas – even worse, this could just cause you to be burdened and troubled during this season. Then, today, I want to remind us of the very reason why we shouldn’t just enjoy Christmas but be grateful for Christmas – and we’ll do so through the eyes of the prophet Isaiah. Most of us are familiar with the accounts of Jesus’ birth in the NT Gospels – but many of us are less familiar with the OT texts that prophesy the coming of our Savior. Now, nowhere do we find more Christmas texts in the OT than in the prophet Isaiah – which is why we’ll spend the next four weeks looking at various passages in the Book of Isaiah to think through Christmas from his perspective. Then, please open your Bibles to Isaiah 9:1-7. And I will invite Jin to the front so that he can read the passage for us.
1 Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past, He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future, He will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan – 2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. 4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. 5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of His government and peace, there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.
Thank you, Jin, for reading the passage for us. And children, I hope you enjoyed that video – a full picture of Jesus’ birth. Now, to better understand our passage, let me first share the context – a quick history lesson. At the time of Isaiah, there was a rising power in the Middle East called Assyria, led by a ruler named Tiglath-Pileser III. He was ambitious and eager to expand his empire to the south, which understandably made other nations incredibly anxious. So, Israel and Aram came together to form an alliance to defend themselves. (Just on a side note, remember that the nation of Israel was broken into two after Solomon died. The northern part was called Israel, and the southern part was named Judah. Isaiah was writing to Judah). Now, Israel and Aram wanted Ahaz, the king of Judah, to join their alliance, but he refused, which made them really angry. So, to display their power and make an example out of them, Israel and Aram decided to invade and destroy Judah. And Ahaz was absolutely terrified. Isaiah 7:2, “So the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.” Seeing this, God told Ahaz in Isaiah 7:4-9, “Keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart because… it will not take place; it will not happen… If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” He was basically saying, “Trust Me. Hide behind Me, and I will protect you.” But Ahaz wanted something more tangible, something he thought would for sure help him preserve his throne. So, he turned to Assyria – 2 Kings 16:7-8, “Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, ‘I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.’ And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.” Now, you would think that this would backfire on him – “How can you turn away from God and expect things to be good?” But in one sense, it did seem like everything was working out for them. Assyria destroyed the alliance, and there was peace in the kingdom. And Ahaz must have thought he had made the right choice – but this peace wouldn’t last long. Isaiah prophesied that because Ahaz refused to turn to God, God was going to let Judah have a taste of what life without Him was like by plunging them into darkness – in fact, He was going to use Assyria (the very nation they turned for help) to bring judgment against them. What’s the result? Isaiah 8:21-22, “Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.”
Now, many of us have a difficult time understanding what it means to be in utter darkness because we’re constantly surrounded by lights. As a result, we don’t really feel the weightiness of this reality. But maybe this could help. Pastor Tim Keller gives us a glimpse of what this means when he said, “If you’re in utter darkness, you can’t even see your hand in front of your face. And to stay in utter darkness for an extended time can have a radically disorienting effect on you. In such deep darkness, you can’t see forward, so you don’t know where you’re going. You have no direction. You can’t even see yourself; you don’t know what you look like. You may as well have no identity. And you can’t tell whether there is anyone around you, friend or foe. You are isolated. Physical darkness brings disorientation, but according to the Bible, so does spiritual darkness.” Isaiah tells us that this is the kind of darkness the people in Judah were being thrust into – they were going to be without direction, identity, and community. But the most crushing truth about being in the dark lies in the words we read in verse 2 today. Here, we see the words “deep darkness,” which literally means “death shadow.” In other words, to be in darkness is to be under the shadow of death, which means that you’ll be living but not really living because you know that what lies at the end of your journey will be this deep darkness – death shadow. This was the state the people of God found themselves in – all because they chose to place their hope in something other than God. What a depressing picture to begin a Christmas message! But this may not be a bad place to be in because only when we recognize our hopelessness will we be grateful for the hope that’s coming – only when we are dead in transgressions will we long for life in Christ. Then, with that in mind, let me point out three things from this text:
· THE LIGHT
· THE JOY
· THE CHILD
1) THE LIGHT
Look at the way God speaks to these distressed and terrified people. Verse 1 – He starts with the word “Nevertheless.” It’s like God was saying, “Yes, you rejected Me and trusted in human power – and, yes, you deserve to be thrust into utter darkness. But I’m not going to leave you there because you are My people. I’m not going to give up on you because of My love for you. Yes, for the time being, I’m going to let you experience what it’s like for you to live without Me because that’s what you wanted – but that will only be temporary because what I want for you is to have life and life to the full. So, your darkness will end. You’ll be filled with hope again. And you’ll once again find yourself rejoicing in My presence.” Verse 1, “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past, He humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future, He will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan.” Zebulun and Naphtali were located in the very north of Israel, close to the Sea of Galilee (see map). And since Assyria was located even more north of Israel, their invasion started in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali – which means that they were the first to be demolished by the Assyrian invasion. Now, if that wasn’t bad enough, the Assyrians also took some of the people living there to their own land and brought their own people to live in Zebulun and Naphtali. Can you imagine how devastating of a blow this must have been for the people of God – how painful it must have been to be ripped away from your homes and be placed in a foreign land? But because of this, these two regions were completely mixed with the people from both nations – no wonder this region was called Galilee of the nations. The Jews living there intermarried with the Assyrians, and they began to embrace the culture and gods of Assyria – turning these two regions into a land of idolatry. People ignored God and despised His Word. So, God was going to thrust them into utter darkness, not because He hated them but because He wanted to humble them. Even then, He wasn’t going to leave them there – verse 2, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned.” As Isaiah peered into the future, he saw a light breaking into the very region that was first to experience the darkness of God’s judgment. He saw God breathing life into the place where death reigned.
Now, the truth is that we’re no different from Ahaz. Instead of turning to God, we’re constantly tempted to turn to people, power, or possessions to satisfy our needs. We continue to find ourselves placing our hope in the created things rather than the Creator. And I couldn’t help but ask, “Why? Why do we do this? Even though we know that God alone is the source of our joy, strength, and life, why aren’t we turning to Him? Even though we know that these things will ultimately disappoint us, why are we still chasing them to fill our hearts?” And I came to realize that it’s because we have been deceived by the promises of sin. Sin will never come to us with all its ugliness and darkness. No, it’ll always disguise itself with lies and false promises. No one is forced to sin. In the end, we all sin because we want to sin. We sin because we believe the lies that sin promises us. So, for example, we envy because we believe that if we only had what others have, we’d be content. We take pride in our accomplishments because it makes us feel better about ourselves – like we matter. We turn to beauty because we think that we’ll be loved more. We turn to power because we believe that we can be in control. We turn to wealth because we think that happiness comes from having plenty. But in the end, sin never makes good on its promises. Instead, it’ll always leave us dissatisfied and ashamed. Sin will always disappoint us. It will always bring destruction. And it will always thrust us into utter darkness. There’s no exception. Sin will always fail us. But the worst part of sin is that it leads to hostility with God – it causes us to be at war with God.
Then, is there any way out of this? Can we ever break out of the chains of sin? Isaiah tells us that a light is coming to expose the lies of sin, free us from the power of death, and shine the path to God so that we can make the journey back to the only One who can satisfy our hearts. This is Christmas according to Isaiah. It tells us that God wants to dwell with His people again. It’s an invitation to enter His life-giving presence. This is why Christmas is good news to us – on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned. Friends, if you are living under the weight of sin, if you feel like you are unworthy to enter God’s presence, if you think that you’ve gone too far, if you feel like your life is crumbling and falling apart, go to Him today, for you will find a reason to hope again. You don’t have to live in darkness. You don’t have to be anxious about your future. You don’t have to fear death – for the light of God is breaking through.
2) THE JOY
Verse 3 again, “You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before You as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, You have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.” Here, Isaiah describes the coming of light using four different metaphors. First, he likens it to the joy of seeing God’s people multiply. The word “enlarged” in Hebrew also means “multiplied or become many.” And this makes sense because, at that time, there were very few people who truly believed and loved the Lord. But when light breaks through the darkness, Isaiah tells us that there will be a dramatic increase in the number of God’s people. In fact, not just the Jews but also Gentiles from the nations will become a people of faith and delight in the light of His presence. Second, he likens it to the joy of a farmer after a bountiful harvest. I don’t know anything about farming, but this must feel like your fatigue and frustration from your labor are completely being washed away. Think about receiving a sizable bonus from your job that you didn’t expect at the end of the year. That’s what it feels like to receive the light of God. Thirdly, he likens it to the joy of an army that has just won a battle. You can now go home to your family and friends. You can tell them that they don’t have to be afraid anymore, for the enemy has been defeated. Can you imagine how excited you must be? Lastly, he likens it to the joy of being delivered from the bondage of slavery. He has shattered the yoke that burdened you, taken away the bar that you had to carry on your shoulders, and freed you from the rod of your oppressor. You no longer have to live in fear. “You’re free to go” – those words of liberation would’ve filled your heart with this indescribable joy. Now, you’ll notice that these are all different images, but the response is the same – joy. In other words, when the light of God shines, the people of God rejoice.
Then, let me ask you, “What is dictating your joy today? Is the presence of God in your life enough to produce this unshakable joy in your heart – or is your joy still conditioned by a host of far more insignificant factors? In fact, if you’re a Christian, would joy be one of the marks people use to describe you?” Now, I understand that this is not always easy to do because life is sometimes hard. It’s tiring and burdensome – which is why even though you want Christmas to be the most wonderful time of the year, the reality is that, for some of you, this might be the most challenging time of the year – because you’re still dealing with many painful circumstances in life. For some, this may be the first Christmas without your loved one. For others, it could be that you’ve been crushed by events outside of your control. And others, it could be that you’re grieving over your broken marriage, burdened by parenting, frustrated in your singleness, confused by your job situation, or worried over your finances. All that to say, all these unexpected trials are robbing you of your joy. If this is you, listen to what David Mathis said, “Christmas doesn’t ignore our pains; neither does it bid us wallow in them. Christmas takes them seriously and reminds us that our God has seen our pain and heard our cries for help, and He Himself has come to deliver us.” Friends, the darkness of Christmas reminds us that we don’t have to pretend like everything is okay. We don’t even have to hide our grief. But we should draw near to God, for our joy is found in Him. Brothers and sisters, we can be joyful in all circumstances because we know that we were forgiven of our sins, because we know that we were delivered from the slavery of sin, because we know that we can dwell in the presence of God the Father without condemnation, and because we know that the One who created us knows us and loves us. Then, tell Him how you feel today. Pour out your hearts to Him. But remain in His presence. In fact, intentionally, consistently place your joy in God because if you don’t, you will be swept away by life. The hardship of life will rob you of your joy. The busyness of life will rob you of your joy. The worldly ambitions of your heart will rob you of your joy. And the distractions of this world will keep you away from the true source of your joy. So, seek God today. Turn to Him. Depend on Him. Remain in Him, for He will comfort you and give you a reason to rejoice again.
3) THE CHILD
How will God rescue His undeserving people? Verse 6, “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Even though the people of God have refused to trust God, even though they were justly plunged into darkness for their sins, God was not about to leave them in darkness. No, He was going to graciously shine His light upon them through a child who was to be born to them. Now, this child is no ordinary child because this verse clearly shows us that He is both human and divine. Let me explain. First of all, Isaiah tells us that this figure will be born to us as a babe – which means that He’s a human being. He is just like us. But Isaiah tells us that He will also be given titles that only belong to God. I don’t have the time to go through each of them in detail but let me still give you a broad understanding of what these titles mean.
First, He will be called Wonderful Counselor. The word that’s translated as “wonderful” in Hebrew literally means “wonder or extraordinary,” which means that this figure will have wisdom that is beyond human understanding. He’ll rule with counsel people can trust – and unlike Ahaz, this figure will lead people to life, for He will lead us to know God, the Giver of life. He is the source of all wisdom.
Second, He will be called Mighty God. In other words, this child not only brings the perfect wisdom of God but also the power of God. He will come to deliver His people and rescue them from danger, not Assyria. In fact, He is truly mighty to save because He alone can save us from our deepest bondage – the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and the very presence of sin.
Third, He will be called Everlasting Father. He’s not only wise and powerful, but He also desires an intimate relationship with us. He wants us to know Him and be known by Him. He wants to protect us and love us as a father would do for his child. And amazingly, this relationship is not short-lived, but eternal and everlasting.
Lastly, He will be called Prince of Peace. Isaiah tells them that, unlike Ahaz, this figure would bring peace. I’m sure this would’ve brought great relief to the original audience, considering that war was impending. But this peace would be greater than any other peace, for He was going to resolve the hostility between God and us. All those who trust in Him will be reconciled to God – all those who trust in Him will have peace with God. In fact, Isaiah describes for us how this would be accomplished later in the book – Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” Because He paid the penalty for our sins, we were forgiven. Because He was condemned on our behalf, we were set free.
All that to say, this figure is truly and fully man, for He is a child – but also truly and fully God as revealed by His names. He is God incarnate – God becoming flesh. Pastor H.B. Charles said it this way, “God became a fetus. The Creator of life was created. He, who is larger than the universe, became an embryo. The omnipotent One made Himself breakable. He who had been spirit became pierceable. The One who sustains the world with a word chose to become dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl.” Now, I’m sure Isaiah and his audience must have asked themselves, “Who is this mysterious figure? How can anyone be fully God and fully man?” They had no idea who this was – but we do. In fact, Matthew 4:12-17 makes it clear for us that Jesus is the One we have been waiting for – the child that will be born to us. It says, “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, He went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles – the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.’ From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” It’s no coincidence that Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, of all places. It’s no coincidence that the very first area where Assyria would invade Israel was where Jesus first preached the gospel. He was fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah. In other words, Jesus is the child born to us, the Son given to us, the light of God sent out for us to break away our darkness and deliver us from the death shadow. And just as it was prophesied in Isaiah 53, Jesus Christ became sin for us and died for us on the cross so that we can be forgiven and be reconciled to God. He was rejected so that we could be accepted. He bore the fullness of God’s wrath so that we can receive the fullness of God’s love. He died so that we can have life and life to the full. Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor who points us to the Father. He is the Mighty God who saves us from the power of sin. He is the Everlasting Father who loves us with grace and mercy. And He is the Prince of Peace who reconciles us with God once again. Jesus Christ didn’t come to be crowned but to be cursed. He didn’t come to bring judgment but to bear judgment so that we wouldn’t have to.
Friends, this surely is the most wonderful time of the year because this is the day when this child was born to us. He is the promised Messiah that we’ve all been waiting for and that we all need. Then, let me ask you, “Do you know Him today? Not just know about Him, but do you truly know Him as your Lord and Savior?” If not, ask Him to reveal Himself to you so that you might understand and experience the true meaning of Christmas and be filled with hope for your life. Ask Him to shine His light upon you, for He will come and give you peace that this world cannot offer. Align yourself with Him – flee to Christ, for He will break through your darkness and satisfy your hearts. You no longer have to live in fear. You don’t have to be distressed, for the King has come. Trust Him for the forgiveness of your sins.
If you’re a Christian, I want to draw your attention to a word that can make all the difference – it’s the word “us” in verse 6. For to us, a child is born. For to us, a Son is given. I want to draw your attention to this word because you won’t feel His love unless you realize how personal this message is. So, today, I want to invite you to personalize this by reading it this way throughout this Advent season and for the rest of your life – “For to me, this child is born. For to me, a Son is given.” Believe that the Son of God left His exalted place in heaven to be born for the purpose of dying for you and for your sins. He is your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
CONCLUSION
Lighthouse family, Christmas reminds us that God will not leave us in the dark but that He will shine His light upon us again – it tells us that He wants to dwell among us again. Then, this Christmas, let’s run to Christ, for He will give us a reason to hope again and a reason to rejoice again.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Why is recognizing our spiritual darkness a necessary step toward understanding the hope of Christ? How does the imagery of light breaking into darkness resonate with your own spiritual journey or struggles?
2) What is dictating your joy today? Is the presence of God in your life enough to produce this unshakable joy in your heart – or is your joy still conditioned by a host of far more insignificant factors? How can the joy described in Isaiah 9:3 shape your attitude toward difficult circumstances this Christmas season?
3) Which title of Jesus mentioned in Isaiah 9:6 (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace) resonates with you most, and why? How do these titles collectively reveal the nature and mission of Christ?