Characteristics of the Messiah

Transcript

GRM 1045
12/20/2009
Characteristics of the Messiah
Isaiah 9:6-7
Gil Rugh


I want to focus our attention for the rest of our time this evening on one of the great prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the birth of Jesus Christ, the character of the One who would be born at Bethlehem in Isaiah's prophecy, Isaiah 9. Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, perhaps the greatest of what we call the writing prophets. Elijah is often seen as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, but Elijah didn't write any books. Isaiah committed his prophecies to writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and some of the greatest prophecies of the Old Testament have to do with what Isaiah has brought to our attention. Isaiah is prophesying around 700 B.C. Really starts before that, maybe around 739 B.C. and then crosses into the 600s B.C. But we'll say around 700 B.C. He prophesied in the southern portion, the southern part of Israel. The northern kingdom is carried into captivity during the time that Isaiah is carrying on his ministry. The northern ten tribes were carried into captivity by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. We know very little about Isaiah personally, nothing. He comes on the scene, a great prophet who exercises his prophetic ministry in the court of the kings of Judah. And then he disappears from the scene. We are not told about his background, his life or the conclusion of his ministry. He just comes on as a bright light in the darkness of that decadent time.

You get an idea of what the condition of the southern kingdom, Judah, is like when you go to Isaiah 1. And what a way to start your prophecies. We'll just pick up with verse 2, listen oh heavens and hear oh earth. For the Lord speaks. Sons I have reared and brought up but they have revolted against me. An ox knows its owner, a donkey its master's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Alas sinful nation, people weighed down with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, sons who act corruptly. They have abandoned the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away from Him.

What a terrible condition. And this is the nation that God has chosen for Himself. And yet this has been their response to Him. This portion of the nation has seen the result of the sinfulness of the northern ten tribes as God brought judgment on them and the Assyrians swept down and carried them away into captivity. They are a people in rebellion against their God. Yet God is a God of great patience, great mercy. And so He offers to this rebellious people His salvation.

Isaiah 1:18, come now and let us reason together says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool. Who but the eternal God can bring that kind of cleansing and purification to people who are sinful. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, is Jeremiah's prophecy. And yet God says I can cleanse you within, make you pure, clean. Consider it, accept My offer of salvation.

Come over to Isaiah 7, we'll just stop at the verse we looked at in previous studies, for those of you who are here as part of our Sunday morning studies. Isaiah 7:14, the great virgin birth prophecy. The Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Immanuel, God with us. Matthew 1 tells us that Jesus Christ is the ultimate realization of this. Immanuel, God in the flesh.

Come over to Isaiah 9. Isaiah 9 starts out with a prophecy regarding the first coming of Jesus Christ. A prophecy that is referred to in Matthew 4, applied to Christ. You remember when Christ was born in Bethlehem, then taken into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. Then He returns from Egypt and settles in Galilee, the town of Nazareth and then in Capernaum, in the region of Galilee, up by the Sea of Galilee. And so Isaiah 9:1, but there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish. In earlier times he treated the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali with contempt. But later on he shall make it glorious by the way of the sea on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light, those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. And that's what happened when Jesus Christ came to Galilee. Raised there, carried on much of His earthly ministry in the region of Galilee. A great light, the Son of God bringing the revelation of God to the world in a fuller way than has ever before been given.

Now as we study the Old Testament we know that the Old Testament prophets talked about the first coming of Christ to earth to be born at Bethlehem, and His second coming to earth to bring judgment on His enemies and establish a kingdom right together. They did not see the period of time in which we live in their prophecies. That's true here. So we move right on in verse 3 to talk about what Messiah will do when He comes to earth. He'll multiply the nation, increase their gladness and so on, down through verse 5, as He brings judgment on His enemies and establishes a kingdom. And then the great description of this One who would be born, who would enable all the prophecies to come to fulfillment, the salvation that God would provide for all who would believe in Him, the kingdom that would be established by the power of this One.

So we're told in verse 6, for a child will be born to us. And that's why these things will happen. A child will be born, a son will be given to us. This is the child, the baby born at Bethlehem, the Son of God who is now born into the human race. So we have this One at Bethlehem who is both God and man. The government will rest on His shoulders. So you see we are carried to that time, it has not yet happened, when Jesus Christ will be on the earth and rule and reign. In the accounts in Matthew and in Luke we are reminded that this One who is born is the King of the Jews, the One who will fulfill the promises given to David that His descendant would sit on the throne in Jerusalem and rule endlessly. That's not happening now. We have a world in turmoil, we have a world in confusion, we have a world in rebellion against God. But here we're told this child that will be born, the son that would be given would have the government rest on his shoulders. He would be the ruler.

He goes on to describe this son with a series of descriptive statements about Him. He is never called by these names. It says His name will be called, these are names that describe His character, reveal Him as He is rather than personal names by which He is addressed. Although we can address Him as this, but they are the unfolding of the character of this baby that is born. We learn who He is, what He is like.

His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Really four descriptions or descriptive names of this baby born at Bethlehem that mark Him out as totally unique. Why we honor Him, worship Him and recognize Him as the Savior.

He is called the Wonderful Counselor. Some translations have this wonderful, this is fixed in our minds because of the message in music—wonderful, counselor, taken from this passage. But they probably go together. You'll note these are pairs—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. You come to the same place if you take wonderful and counselor separately because the Wonderful Counselor is the One who is wonderful and who is a counselor. He's the Wonderful Counselor.

That word wonderful, a wonder. It describes Him as the supernatural One, the One who can't be described with fullness. He's beyond description in that sense. He's a miraculous person. It's a word that is used by the psalmist in Psalm 78 to refer to the miracles, the wonders that God did through Moses to deliver His people out of Egypt. They come from the same basic word. Those miracles, they go beyond human description, how could this come about, the power of God manifested. So Jesus Christ is the One who is wonderful.

Back up to Judges 13:18. Now here is the Angel of the Lord who is a manifestation of Christ before His incarnation. So in the Old Testament, the One called the Angel or Messenger of the Lord is the preincarnate Christ. He appears here to the mother of Samson, and then the father of Samson. And they want to know His name. He has described the birth of this son and his uniqueness and down in verse 17, Manoah, the one who would be the father of this baby boy ...... Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, what is your name so that when your words come to pass we may honor you. But the Angel of the Lord said to him, why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful? Incomprehensible, beyond description. Now you are familiar that the names in the Bible are to be a revelation of the person, often. And here, you want to know my name, my name is wonderful. I am the miraculous one, the supernatural one, the incomprehensible one because He is God. That's the point.

Stop at Psalm 139. The psalmist opens up, oh Lord you have searched me and known me, you know when I sit down and when I rise up, you understand my thoughts from afar. You scrutinize my path, my lying down, are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold oh Lord you know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before and laid your hand upon me. Note this, such knowledge is too wonderful for me. There is our word. Too wonderful for me. What does that mean? It is too high, I can't attain it. It goes beyond as I contemplate the vastness of your knowledge, the completeness of your knowledge. How can I understand a God who has infinite knowledge. Even before I open my mouth to say something, He knows what it is I will say. And all the details of my life. Such knowledge is too wonderful.

And Jesus Christ is described as the Wonderful Counselor, the One who counsels, the One who from His infinite wisdom and knowledge can give counsel, advice, make known what we need to know.

Turn over to the New Testament, we'll go to Romans 11 quotes from Isaiah 40. Instead of going to Isaiah 40 we'll just look at Romans 11. Verse 33, oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways. He is wonderful, incomprehensible. Who has known, and here is the quote from Isaiah 40. Who has known the mind of the Lord or who become His counselor? No one, because He is the Wonderful Counselor. No one can give Him counsel. Who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? Does God owe anyone? Has God learned anything from anyone? No, He is the Wonderful Counselor. This applies to Jesus Christ as well.

Turn over to I Corinthians 1:23, we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, to Gentiles foolishness. But to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God contained in Jesus Christ. An awesome statement. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the One in whom is found all wisdom.

Turn over to Colossians 2. And Paul refers in verse 2 to the fact that Christ is God's mystery, the truth that has not before been revealed is not fully made known in Christ. And Christ is the One, verse 3, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Jesus Christ. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge because verse 9 says, in Him, in Christ all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. Remarkable thing about the incarnation is the Son of God who was Himself fully God is born into the human race and now is fully man without giving up anything related to His deity. He is fully God and fully man, the God/Man. And in Him are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Come back to Isaiah 9. He is the Wonderful Counselor. You know the world spends great and vast sums of money for counselors. Jeremiah 8 says, they have rejected you the living God. What kind of wisdom do they have? They have no wisdom if they do not know the living God. And so you go to Psalm 119 and the psalmist says that it is God's Word that is his counselor. Turn to God for our wisdom and in Christ is the fullness of God's wisdom and particularly the wisdom regarding salvation. Where do we learn the plan of God for His redemption? In His fullness in Jesus Christ who is the wisdom of God.

Back in Isaiah 9. He is the Wonderful Counselor, He's the Mighty God. The Mighty God. Clear declaration of the deity of Jesus Christ. A child will be born to us, a son will be given to us. His name will be called the Mighty God, the awesome God. There are three persons that comprise the one God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Son will be the Mighty God.

Turn over to Isaiah 10:21, talking about that coming day when the Messiah comes and establishes the kingdom. Verse 21, a remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob to the Mighty God. The Messiah, the One born at Bethlehem is the Mighty God. That's why John's gospel begins, in the beginning was the Word, referring to Jesus Christ. Why is He called the Word? He is the very expression of God. Our words express what is in our hearts and minds. Jesus Christ comes as the very expression of God, the manifestation of God in a fuller way than has ever been given. Hebrews starts out, God who spoke in many portions and many ways in previous days, in these last days has spoken to us in a Son. Superior, fuller revelation than has ever been given. So in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He is the Mighty God. Isaiah has already referred to this in Isaiah 7:14, a virgin shall conceive. And what will be the baby's name? Immanuel, God with us.

Turn over to Hebrews 1:8, we'll go to the New Testament again to read a quote from the Old Testament. That way you get to see the New Testament identification of it as it draws from the Old Testament. Quote here from Psalm 45 by the writer to the Hebrews in Hebrews 1:8. Pick up with verse 5, you are my Son, today I have begotten you. Come down to verse 8, but of the Son he said, your throne oh God is forever and ever. God the Father addressing God the Son. Your throne oh God is forever and ever. And that's the Davidic throne promised to David in II Samuel 7 by God and now God the Father declares to His Son, your throne oh God is forever and ever.

He's the Mighty God. Do I understand it? No, I don't. I don't think we can understand the marvel of that. How can I grasp the fact that that baby born in Bethlehem to a virgin who experienced conception through the work of God and His Spirit and now a baby is born. Not two persons in one body, but One who is both God and man without sacrificing anything in His deity or being any less than complete humanity. I can't understand it. It's true, it doesn't surprise me because I am not wonderful, you are not wonderful, we are not incomprehensible. But He is the incomprehensible God. How will I understand the wonder of that? I know it's true. He is the God/Man, we call it theologically the theoanthropic union from God and man. Theoanthropic union, the God/Man union. What do I compare it to? Nothing because there is nothing else like it that has ever happened or ever will happen. This is a totally unique phenomenon that the Son of God, the Mighty God is born of a human mother so now He is God and man. What do I relate that to? Nothing because there is nothing like it. It's unique. He is the Mighty God.

He is called Eternal Father. We say wait a minute, I thought God the Father was the Father and Jesus Christ was God the Son. That's right. And He's the Eternal Father __________________ get the idea eternally a Father. So He's not being called God the Father but He has the character, this One born at Bethlehem, of being a Father to those who come to trust in Him. He is eternally a Father. It is relationship to His people as he functions in His care, watching over, providing. He treats them as a Father.

Turn over to Isaiah 61. We get back to the last part of Isaiah, we have some of those glorious chapters that carry us into the time when Jesus Christ will come again and reign on this earth. And we have some of these passages that bring together His first coming and His second coming again. Isaiah 61 opens up, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted and so on. That's a passage that is applied to Christ in His first coming and His ministry during His first coming.

Go to Isaiah 63:16. These closing chapters of Isaiah, some of the most glorious sections of the prophetic word. Verse 16, for you are our Father, you oh Lord are our Father, our redeemer of old is your name. You see God's role in caring for them, watching over them.

Back up to Psalm 103. The context is of God providing forgiveness and those who are forgiven by Him become part of His family. Those who become part of His family now become the objects of His love and attention and care. So he talks about, verse 8, that God is compassionate and gracious. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, He bestowed His lovingkindness on us in His salvation. Come down to verse 12, as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. He knows our frame, He is mindful that we are but dust. You see the care of a father in His love and His protection. Be careful here. We're talking about those who belong to Him, those who have turned from their sin and placed their faith in Him. We are weak, we are frail and He is an understanding Father. He cares for us, He loves us. Understand those who don't turn to Him for salvation become the objects of His wrath and judgment.

So Jesus Christ who Himself is deity also had that character as a Father. He is not God the Father but He is eternally a Father to His people in His care for them, in His provision for them, His compassion for them. Eternally a Father.

We have to go to one other verse for this before we move on. Micah the prophet, Micah 5:2, a verse we have referred to in our study in Matthew 1 and Matthew 2. But as for you Bethlehem Ephratha, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you one will go forth from me to be a ruler in Israel. This is talking about where the Messiah would be born. In Bethlehem Ephratha, Bethlehem of Judah, distinguished from Bethlehem up in Galilee, as we referred to in a previous study. This one will go forth to be a ruler in Israel. Note this, His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Isn't that remarkable? I mean, what did Micah think as he wrote that? That this One to be born in Bethlehem, a little nothing of a town has dwelt in eternity. Now He is born at Bethlehem to be the ruler of Israel. Remarkable. He is eternally a Father because He is eternal in His very being.

Come back to Isaiah. He is the Eternal Father, He is the Prince of Peace. He is the One who will bring peace. He's the One who brings peace to the hearts of an individual, He's the One who will bring peace to this earth. All the movements, all the meeting of nations, all the plans and schemings of man, there will never be peace on the earth until the Prince of Peace returns to the earth to establish His kingdom. What He did at His first coming through His suffering and death on the cross was to provide salvation, to bring personal peace between men and women who are at enmity with God. Therefore we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1 says. Until we come to faith in Jesus Christ we are in a relationship of hostility with God, we are the enemies of God. He has demonstrated His love by providing His Son. But the scripture is clear, we are under the wrath of God until we turn from our sin and place our faith in His Son. He that has the Son has life, he who has not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God continues to abide on Him, John 3.

The Prince of Peace. James 4 tells us where wars come from, they come from the unsettledness of our own hearts and minds. James 4:1-2, where do wars and fightings come from? They come from your own inner turmoil and battle and so on. Christ resolves that. When we come into a relationship of peace with God we then can experience the peace of God. So Philippians 4 says the peace of God will stand guard in your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Inner peace, tranquility of heart and mind. Where will I find that? I find that in Jesus Christ. He is the Prince of Peace in every way, but ultimately He is the Prince who will bring peace to this earth. And there will not be peace until He comes again. That's find if the nations want to work on treaties and all of that. We've read the last chapter, the book of Revelation. The world is not going to get better, the world is not going to get more peaceful. It is a delusion. But there will be peace when all is said and done. When the Prince of Peace comes He will bring judgment on all His enemies and He will establish a kingdom and there will be no end to that kingdom.

So he moves on in verse 7, there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace. On the throne of David and over His kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. How are we going to get that done in this world of turmoil and fighting? What kind of laws? What kind of politicians could do it? What kind of rulers could do it? None. Read the last statement. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this. It's something God will accomplish by the direct intervention with the return of His Son from heaven. And He will establish a kingdom and there will be peace.

Back up to Isaiah 2:2, now it will come about in the last days. That refers to the end times. The mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it. The kingdom will center in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion and all the kingdoms of the world will be subject to the kingdom that Christ will establish. Many peoples will come and say, come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us concerning His ways, that we may walk in His paths. For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations, will render decisions for many people. The Wonderful Counselor, the One who has perfect and complete knowledge. They will hammer their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. Remarkable. People love to quote this verse and ignore the context. That's something we ought to be working on getting done today. You know when that will happen? When the One that Isaiah said is Immanuel returns to this earth and establishes His kingdom.

Turn over to Isaiah 11. Starts out by talking about Christ and the first part of this would relate to Him in His first coming, in His earthly ministry. Then you come to verse 3, He will delight in the fear of the Lord, He will not judge by what His eyes see nor make a decision by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He will judge the poor, decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be the belt about His loins, faithfulness the belt about His waist. What will that kingdom be like? The wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together. And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the ox, the nursing child will play by the holy of the cobra, the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den. They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. A mountain is a symbol of a kingdom in Old Testament prophecy. For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

He is the Prince of Peace and in His first coming He brought peace through the salvation He provided with His death and resurrection. He is returning again and he will establish a kingdom on this earth and will be a kingdom characterized by peace. There will be no need for weapons of war, there won't be any fighting, there won't be any conflicts. Jesus Christ will rule and reign, He is the Prince of Peace.

The government will rest on His shoulders. What a fitting One that should rule and reign—the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace. He is the One to rule as a perfect ruler, the Wonderful Counselor, the One who has incomprehensible wisdom and knowledge, the One who is the Mighty God, all powerful so He can carry out what is right. He is eternally a Father, the One who will care for His people, provide for them, keep them in every way. The Prince of Peace, the One who brings peace, the One who brings peace to the heart and mind of those who will believe in Him, the One who will bring peace ultimately to this earth.

Any wonder we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ? You know salvation doesn't come by knowing about Jesus Christ. Many people know about Jesus Christ. We sing the hymns, we sing the carols, they have manger scenes. But you know, knowing about Jesus Christ doesn't bring salvation. You must know about Jesus Christ to be saved, but knowing about Jesus Christ does not save you. You must come to recognize your sin and guilt before God. This is the humbling part of it, that I have to come to recognize that I am a sinner, guilty before a holy God. And recognize that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, that His coming to earth was so that He could be a Savior, could be called Jesus for He will save His people from their sins. As He said during His earthly ministry, the Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many, to pay the penalty for our sin which is death. An understanding of that, God, I'm turning from my sin, letting go of everything and everyone and taking hold of Jesus Christ, believing in Him as the One who loved me and died for me. The Bible tells us that that good news about Jesus Christ is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes. I can't explain it. I can tell you about it, but how can it be that this truth concerning Jesus Christ, when you believe it in your heart and mind, the power of God is loosed in you to a degree that you will be washed clean from the defilement of your sin. In the sight of a holy God you are viewed as white as snow because your sins have been cleansed, the penalty has been paid, you are totally forgiven, you are born again.

We talk about the kingdom Christ will establish. Remember when the religious teacher in Israel, Nicodemus in John 3, came to see Jesus? What did Jesus tell him? Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom of God. Can't be part of it unless you are born again. Nicodemus taught the Old Testament, he taught scripture, he knew about a coming Messiah, the coming kingdom. But he had to be born again. Unless you are born again you will never see the kingdom, you won't be part of that. You must be born again. How are you born again? By the living and abiding word of God, the Bible tells us. The good news concerning Jesus Christ is God's power for salvation. There is no other way to be saved. I have to come and stop and say, what God says about me is true. I am a sinner, I am defiled before Him. I like to think of myself as self-righteous, good, whatever. But I can't stop there. I have to say God's plan is the only plan. I want to turn from my sin and place my faith in this Son of God, born at Bethlehem but crucified on the cross so that He could bear the penalty for my sin, take my place so that when I believe in Him God can say your penalty is paid. You are forgiven. He makes me new on the inside, I become His child. And I anticipate His return again. I look forward to the time when His kingdom will be established and every person who has experienced the salvation that Christ has provided will be part of that great kingdom.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your Son, the awesome One, Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace, the One born as a baby some 2000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem, the One who came from the realms of eternity to be born in time and into the human race, to be the God/Man, to go to the cross to be the Savior of mankind so that by His death He could pay the penalty that falls upon us for our sin. And so that you as the holy and righteous God could give cleansing and forgiveness, could cause sinners to be born again when they place their faith in your Son and His death for them. We praise you for the message of this Christmas season, that your Son has been born, that He walked this earth, and Lord, He suffered and died and there is salvation for all who believe in Him. And some day He will come again in power and great glory and He will establish a kingdom that will have no end, a kingdom of glory, a kingdom of peace. Thank you for our wonderful Savior in whose name we pray, amen.