Resource Detail

Questions for Isaiah 9:1-7

Key verses 9:6

TO US A CHILD IS BORN

1. What does the term “nevertheless” mean in the flow of this passage (1a)? In the midst of his nation’s dark situation, what hope from God did Isaiah see (1)? What insights does the contrast between “in the past” and “in the future” offer us?
2. What is the condition of “those who are walking in the darkness” and “living in the land of deep darkness” (2)? In what ways did God show grace to them? What is the significance of the present perfect tense used in verse 2?
3. Who do you think “you” and “they” refer to (3)? What does “the day of Midian’s defeat” refer to (4)? How will God restore His people (3-5)?
4. Through whom does God’s work of restoration come (6a)? What does the phrase “The government will be on his shoulders” mean (6b)? How will the child be called, and what could each name signify (6c)?
5. What are the characteristics of his reign (7a)? What will accomplish God’s plan (7b)? What Christmas message do you personally receive from this passage?

Jesus, light in the darkness
(The names of Jesus)

Passage: Isaiah 9:1-7 Key Verse: 9:2 & 6

Just before Thanksgiving Day, my wife and I attended a music concert of the famous a cappella group Pentatonix. A large crowd was gathered in Madison Square Garden, enjoying their music. They performed many Christian theme music like “Hallelujah”, “Mary did you know” very joyfully. Watching the audiences, everyone was celebrating Christmas in their own way. How do people prepare and celebrate the Christmas season generally? By setting up Christmas trees and decorations, shopping for gifts, having Christmas party, listening to Christmas carols, or watching classic movies like Home Alone as a tradition.

In this Christmas season, I really thank God for guiding our church members to prepare and celebrate for Christmas with His Word. Over the last two weeks, we’ve studied John 1 and Isaiah 7. Let’s briefly review each passage with Jesus’ name. In John 1, Jesus is called “the Word,” and in Isaiah 7, He is prophesied as “Immanuel.”. Today we will see four additional Jesus’ names that tell us who Jesus is.

In today’s passage, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”. Prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of Jesus Christ. His coming as a baby was the fulfillment of God’s promise as we learned in John 1:14 and Isaiah 7:14. He dwells us, and reveals Himself as Emmanuel, God with us (Isa 7:14). In today’s passage, Jesus also was described as the “light” shines in the darkness, and the incarnated born child as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. May God bless our worship service today, we may meet the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ in this Christmas time.

As we learned last week, during the time of King Ahaz in southern Judah, God sent the prophet Isaiah to deliver His message. Isaiah convinced King Ahaz that God had not abandoned him and encouraged him not to fear the threat from enemies’ invasion. However, He didn’t listen to Isaiah's message and rejected God’s sign, became unfaithful to the LORD. How did this wicked king impact the nation? In modern terms, this leader collapsed the whole national system – the sectors of spiritual, moral, political, economic, national security and safety of people.

Long story short, look at verse Isaiah chapter 8:22 “Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness. From the king to the entire nation, they followed worldly solutions and false guidance instead of trusting in God’s protection in the time of trouble. King Ahaz turned away from God, led the nation with an ungodly way. When people disregarded God’s Word, we can see the result was totally spiritual darkness, people were distressed.

Now look at verse 1-2. 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. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Today’s passage starts with “Nevertheless”. This conjunction contrasts the bright hope with the despair and distress in chapter 8. Verse 1-2 contrasts past and future conditions of the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali (past, gloom, distress, humbled, deep darkness VS future, honor, great light, dawn). Where is the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali (map). This is a part of northern Israel; they suffered greatly under Assyrian oppression in history. The King of Assyria took the land of Naphtali and deported the people to Assyria (2 Kings 15:29). This led to a time of gloom, fear, and despair for the people. They were humiliated by the loss of their identity, for example, this area was called “Galilee of the Gentiles” because Gentiles lived along with the Jewish population in this area. In the history, their darkness came from not only their political situations but also their spiritual separation from God, such as idol worshiping.

However, God spoke a promise to King Ahaz through the prophet Isaiah, which will happen about 700 years later. V2 says specifically this area will be glorified in the future. Though we don’t know where Zebulun, Naphtali are, but you might hear “Galilee” where Jesus began his ministry. Jesus mentioned Isaiah 9:1-2 in Matthew 4:12-17. When the prophecy was fulfilled, Naphtali and Zebulun would be the first witness of the Jesus’ earthly ministry, changed from gloomed city to blessed, honored city as the base camp of Jesus’ ministry.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned (2)” In his prophecy, the prophet Isaiah could see a glorious “Light” as a sign of hope and presence of God. His prophecy is God’s promise of salvation for people who living in darkness and distress in their life.

Have you ever felt like you were walking in the darkness in your life when you faced failure or challenged situations? In my 3^rd semester of nursing school, after the final exam I found out I failed that semester because of only 0.X point. When I faced that situation, it felt like I was in total darkness. I became speechless and I became despairing. That night my wife encouraged me and took me to a nice dinner. It was an unexpected response from her. But then, a more unexpected thing happened the next day. I didn’t know why; I wanted to check my grade again without any hope, but I found my score had been changed to a passing grade. The school found errors in three questions and gave me additional credit. When I drove to school to confirm in the morning, I felt like I saw a great light in Grand Central Pkwy. Only by the grace of God, I passed the semester and was able to graduate on time. It reminded me of the power of God’s intervention as great light when I walked in the darkness without hope.

When I visited my home UBF church in Korea, one of my friends told me that he reminded me of whenever he heard Christmas message, Luke 1:78-79. “because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Yes, I was the one who walked in the darkness because of my broken family conditions, lustful, greedy, selfish sin problems. However, when I accepted Jesus as my rising sun in my life through deep bible study and reflection during Christmas season, I could feel Jesus shined on my darkness with great light and delivered me from the shadow of darkness. It was an unforgettable moment in my life. To be honest, it is true to say that I am where I am today because of rising sun Jesus.

Here are my personal reflections, we all have experienced moments of darkness in our life because of personal inner sin problems, insecurity of our life (job, financial issue), some unexpected accidents in our life (own/loved one’s health issue or accidents) even global crisis like economic depression, pandemic we experienced before. However, Isaiah’s prophecy gives us assurance of God’s promise, (have seen a great light , a light has dawned ), to people who are facing currently (now) darkness and suffering. I earnestly pray that we may seek for the light, our Lord Jesus Christ who can break through the power of darkness while we are walking/living in the darkness in our life.

Look at verse 3-5. In this contrast between past and future, Verse 3-5 explains “the future” status. Here, we can see God’s vision of restoration for people of Israel. God will change them with Joy, rejoice, day of Midian’s defeat (victory), break the yoke of burdens with freedom, burning of the instruments of war, meaning the end of war with peace.

How these Israel’s restoration with joy, victory, freedom and peace will come? Look at verse 6a “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” Isaiah prophesied Messiah as “Immanuel, God with us (Isa 7:14)”, and he prophesied the Messiah would come into the world as a human being, as a baby son. Jesus is Messiah, but he came as a humble baby in a manger not as a conquering king to demonstrate God’s love for everybody. Baby Jesus will bring perfect restoration of Israel with joy, victory and freedom and peace.

“And the government will be on his shoulders”, Isaiah prophesied the coming Messiah has authority, power and responsibility to rule this world with peace, justice and righteousness unlike earthly leader. Under King Ahaz’ leadership, people walked in the darkness without any hope. It is very important for people to have a righteous ruler, leader, king. Here, Isaiah prophesied four specific names of Jesus who came to this world to bring perfect restoration as the promised Messiah.

First, wonderful counselor. Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor who always provides us wisdom and best guidance while we faced confused, difficult decisions. We constantly face countless problems throughout our life, from the minor things to the very significant things (school, majors, job, marriage, spiritual life, relationship challenges, raising children). That’s why numerous counselors, lawyers, psychologists, mentors in the world assist us by providing advice and guidance using their expertise and experience.

But thank God, we have wonderful counselor Jesus. He knows our problems better than us and directs us according to God’s perfect guidance. How can we meet wonderful counselor Jesus? James 1:5 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. We should seek and ask God’s counselling through our prayers and God’s words, and the Holy Spirit guide us to decide right decisions with wonderful wisdom. Just as we depend on google map for a road trip, Jesus guides and directs our lives, providing the best path when we feel lost.

After our family moved from Toronto, Canada, to New York, we found that our son Ryan is autistic. At the time, we had no knowledge or experience in supporting a child with autism and didn’t know where to begin. However, New York State offers the best support programs for individuals with disabilities. Looking back, we see how Jesus, our Wonderful Counselor, guided our family to New York ahead of time, even before we knew about Ryan's diagnosis. Truly, He is a Wonderful Counselor, provide us the best direction for our problems.

Also, we all of us has struggled with the problem of sin before God because we live in a broken and sinful world. Our sin separates us from God, leading to spiritual death and broken relationship with God. But Jesus became our spiritual counselor for our sin problems by sacrificing himself and shedding his precious blood on the cross. Through his sacrificial love, his forgiveness, we can be set free from sin and live as a forgiven sinner.

Second, Mighty God. Here, the word "Mighty" (Hebrew: Gibbor) can also mean "strong" or "warrior." Mighty God Jesus, our Warrior, always fights on our behalf in spiritual battles. While we are weak, but he is strong, and Mighty God Jesus demonstrated spiritual victory over sin and death through the cross. When we depend on Mighty God’s strength, he gives us his strength and increases our spiritual strength to win the victory in our spiritual battles

Third, Everlasting Father. Jesus is our everlasting, eternal father. His love is unchanging. Jesus cares for us as his children, he provides us our needs and protects us from harm and danger. Jesus powerfully demonstrated his fatherly love for us through his sacrifice on the cross, where he willingly bore of our sins, endured suffering in our place. Many people, including myself, experienced or continue to experience deep pain from broken family situations. My father abandoned me when I was very young, so I don’t have any good memories with my father. He discouraged me until his life ended tragically by suicide a couple of years ago. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, his gracious fatherly love became very special to me, as he became my eternal heavenly Father. It changed my life and motivated me to share his love with others.

I strive to be a good father to my children, Ryan and Sophie, and My prayer is that they may understand God's love and build a strong foundation of faith through human father’s love because I never had good human father. However, it's not easy. I often feel that my love for them fluctuates, rising and falling depending on my own emotions, stress, their behavior, and other circumstances. However, Jesus is our everlasting, his love endures forever. His love does not fluctuate. May God help all of us to accept Jesus as our everlasting father. May God bless our CBF, BBF children to understand Jesus’ unchanging love from their young age and grow up with right relations with everlasting father Jesus.

Fourth, Prince of Peace. Sometimes I worked in the chemical dependency unit of our hospital, and I saw many patients suffered from severe anxiety(panic, social anxiety, many phobia). Their anxiety was so intense that they were so distressed and even couldn’t sleep and asked for a series of medications to relieve their anxiety. However, medications only provided them with temporary relief and led them to another addiction problem.

However, Jesus is bringing true inner peace, offering peace with God. The peace he provides is not temporary or dependent on our situations. This peace is not just the absence of conflict (no worry, no stress) but the restoration of peace between God and us, peace with God. As per reference, the Hebrew word for peace is “shalom”, and it refers to a spiritual harmony that comes from being restored with God.

We don’t have inner peace because of many worries in our life (health, job security, future security, love relationship) though the intensity or level differs for each of us. But Jesus is Prince of Peace. We can experience inner peace from Jesus when we bring our anxieties and worries to him through our prayer.

Also, many wars raged due to political, social, and religious conflicts around the world. We heard heartbreaking news about people who suffered from the war. They lost their loved ones, their homes, and often their lives. We hear news about the suffering of Ukraine, Israel - suffering from fear, anxiety and oppression under the power of death. They need our prayer that only Prince of Peace Jesus can heal their wounded hearts and restore broken relationship from divided ideas and nations and bring true peace to the world.

Do you know the story “Christmas Truce”. During World War I, on Christmas Eve of 1914, one soldier began to sing Christmas carols like “Silent Night, Holy Night “. (https://youtu.be/6KHoVBK2EVE?si=FMdi5co1Bam849LN)

These Christmas carols moved their hearts. Soldiers from both sides, British and German, declared an unofficial Christmas truce. Even Christmas carol had power to bring the moment of peace in the middle of the war, but as we know, it was temporary peace.

What about our Messiah, Prince of Peace Jesus? He brings eternal peace among people and nations because He reconciled both of them as one body to God through the cross, Jesus put to death hostility (Ephesians 2:16) Jesus has power to make us peace with others, healing broken relationships through his love and grace he showed on the cross.

Lastly, verse 7 tells us about God’s promise. Jesus governs his eternal kingdom with true peace, justice, and righteousness with zeal unlike the corrupted kingdoms of the world.

Conclusion: What does Christmas mean to you? Just say Happy Holiday? No!! It is time for you to celebrate God’s love for us through the birth of Jesus.

So far, we have thought the names of Jesus in Isaiah’s prophecy. Which of Jesus' names means the most to you? Because we each face different circumstances and struggle in the different situations, each name of Jesus may mean to us in different ways. While I looked back on my life through today’s sermon, I thank God his intervention in my life journey in many ways, sometimes was shining beyond my imagination.

Let’s welcome and accept Jesus into our life, so that he can be involved in every aspect of our life journey as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace in this Christmas time. May God help us to Invite Jesus into our life if you walk / live in the spiritually dark places. So that you may experience that Jesus may shines on your life. As we celebrate Christmas, May God Help us to meet Jesus - Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace this Christmas time ( not next year like movie title” Meet me next Christmas “) with a great joy.