The Savior’s Name
Isaiah 9:6,7
6For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Prayer
Lord God Almighty, we thank you for revealing to us through your Word the identity and disposition of your dear Son, our Savior, that we might be comforted by his mercy and confident in our hope of salvation. Grant us a hearty and confident trust in this Prince of Peace, who was born and given for us. Amen.
Dear children in the Prince of Peace’s kingdom,
You cannot exhaust the wisdom of Scripture. It’s God’s inspired Word. It was written for us. The Bible teaches, rebukes, comforts, and directs us. While the Scriptures contain great mysteries, the Bible is simple enough for a child to know and believe. Yet, no matter how much you study the Scriptures, you will never stop learning from them. A theologian in the early church described Scripture in this way: “The Bible is shallow enough for a child to wade across, yet deep enough for an elephant to swim.” The Bible is God’s handiwork.
Over the years I have read different tips or suggestions for things to pay special attention to when you read your Bible. One of the most insightful suggestions that I’ve come across is from Martin Luther, who in his commentaries on Scripture highlights again and again the importance of paying attention to the pronouns in Scripture. As we study our Bible, underline or highlight those little words—for they are often filled with great comfort. Consider our lesson today, which expands upon Isaiah’s prophecy about the virgin who would conceive and bear a Son which we studied last Wednesday. Isaiah writes, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given.”
This is the same message concerning the birth of Christ that the angel announced in Luke 2, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” When the angels told the shepherds about the birth of the Savior they didn’t say “born unto us.” They said, “unto you.” The angel could not say “us,” because the Messiah did not come to save the angels—he came to save the mankind. When Isaiah writes about this Child, born of the virgin, he says, “us.” The child who would be born of a virgin, called “Immanuel,” was born for “us.” The promised Messiah, who would crush Satan’s head, and was foretold by the prophet Isaiah was for us! A plan before the foundation of the world, unfolded throughout the history of the world, was for “us!”
The Lord had Isaiah write these two and three letter words, to give us comfort. The promised Messiah was for us, for me and for you. Before Isaiah goes on to tell us about this Child, he lays before us the comfort—that whoever this Child is—he is for us.
“The government will be upon His shoulder.” This Child would establish a different type of kingdom and government. The government of earthly kings is laid on the shoulders of its citizens, who pay taxes to carry the load of the kingdom. But not this kingdom. The government of Christ is on his shoulders. Yet, it had to be this way. We had become so deep in debt to the Law and helpless against our sin that we were obligated to pay for it with our souls. But our King would be born so that he could rescue us from our debt of sin. He came to take away the burden from us. Luther wrote, “In the kingdom of the world the prince or king alone is free, all others are servants. But in Christ’s kingdom Christ alone is a servant, and we are free” (LW 16:100). As Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
“And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” These wondrous names describe the Messiah as to what he truly is and what he can be for all men whom he brings under his rule.
Isaiah describes him, “Wonderful, Counselor.” Isaiah uses the word “wonder,” which is stronger than “wonderful.” This Child would be a wonder in his own person because he is God. A person who gives counsel must possess wisdom. The one who sits on the throne of David would need wisdom—but not wisdom that is found in mere man. He would have all the wisdom needed to carry out man’s redemption and salvation. This Child and Son continues to counsel his believers throughout the centuries through his Word.
He is called “Mighty God.” A Child is called “Mighty God.” This is certainly beyond our human reason, that a Child who would be fed and rocked by his virgin mother, would be called “Mighty God.” Yet, in the arms of Mary, was the Lord of heaven and earth. Mary’s Son and Savior. And what a joy this is! The one who has come for us, who seeks to comfort and save us, is also the almighty God of heaven and earth. The One who comes for us, on a mission to save our souls from death and free us from Satan’s kingdom is Mighty God! Hope from within our lost condition is no longer impossible, “For with God, all things are possible.”
He is called “Everlasting Father.” This does not mean to say that the Child, the Son, is the same Person as God the Father. God the Father and God the Son are two distinct persons in the Godhead. Rather, with this title, the Lord wants us to see our Redeemer as being that of a father. As the Psalmist writes, “As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him” (Psalm 103:13). The Holy Child would act toward us as a father cares for his children. In all the changes of life Jesus will prove an everlasting, unchanging Father to his people. His love and mercy toward us does would not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” A great comfort indeed!
He is called the “Prince of Peace.” Jesus is different from every earthly king. He wouldn’t be like most kings who establish their power and greatness through wars. This royal prince would pursue peace. But this peace, like the rest of his kingdom, would be different from what we might expect. He wouldn’t come to cause a short-term ceasefire between two nations or people. He didn’t come to give us temporary relief from the effects of sin on this world. Although, that is what we often want. We long for the wrong kind of peace when we only want the death and destruction of war to cease—when we only want short-term peace. Jesus did not come to give us temporary peace.
Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came to restore peace with God. He came to remove what caused all discord, strife, and war—sin. And this is a peace greater than anything we could imagine. It is beyond anything that anyone else could have achieved. This peace became a reality when the angel proclaimed, “peace, goodwill toward men” at our Savior’s birth. Yet, while Jesus has accomplished our peace, we will never experience perfect peace in this life. But we will. When he returns and removes our sin to replace it with perfect peace with him forever in heaven. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
The birth of every child is a miracle. The announcement of a birth and a child’s name is a joyous time. But the announcement of this Holy Child, the Son of God, brings joy to the whole world. The One who would be called: “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” was born for “us.” These words give us an incomprehensible comfort which we will never fully realize in this life. God became Man. He became our Brother. He came to establish a kingdom that will never end. Our salvation was accomplished by his “zeal,” his love, for me and you. His name says it all. Our Savior would be called Jesus, “for He will save His people from their sins.” And so, we rightly sing,
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In a believer’s ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away all fear.
ELH 155:1