For Us and To Us

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given…

I would guess that by now some of us have sent or received Christmas cards with one of Isaiah’s prophecies inscribed upon it. Your pastor has already or may preach on one of the texts. We will sing carols that have put the words of the prophet to music. We will be reminded, once again, of the incredibly beautiful promise that a Child would be born. Not just any child, but God’s long-awaited Messiah. Mind you, the promise that God made through Isaiah would take another seven centuries or so before this Prince of Peace would arrive, but now, he has come. The prophecy has been fulfilled.

The argument could be made that the entirety of the Old Testament points forward. Jesus said that himself.

Luke 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

That phase, “Moses and all the Prophets,” is the equivalent of the phrase, “all the Scriptures.” In Jesus’ day, that was the Old Testament. I am sure that after reading parts of the Old Testament you, like me, have a sinking feeling, like something is missing. We are left longing for more and for better. We want better priests, better sacrifices, a better king, better worship, and better relationships. We hope for better news than we get from prophets like Malachi. Listen to the last sentence in the Old Testament.

Malachi 4:6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

The King James Version uses the word, “curse,” where the ESV uses, “utter destruction.” Either way, the Old Testament ends with the warning of impending doom. Not good news!

No wonder the news of a “newborn King” created such a buzz in Jerusalem. Could this baby be the longed for and better King? The Old Testament ends with bad news, the New Testament begins with the best news.

Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

The angel, Gabriel was the first to share this good news. He informs Mary that she will give birth to God’s Messiah. Gabriel then calms Joseph’s fears with good news about Mary’s mysterious pregnancy. On the night of Jesus’ birth, an unnamed angel declares the news to the Bethlehem shepherds. On that particular visit, the angel actually says,

Luke 2:10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

In New Testament language the phrase, “good news,” is our word, “Gospel.” The angel is preaching the Gospel to the shepherds. The shepherds, after their journey to the manger and seeing with their own eyes the truth of what God’s messengers had described, became Gospel preachers themselves (Luke 2:17).

For Us

The first paragraph in Isaiah chapter nine introduces a righteous king that would be a descendent of King David. This king would bring a time of light and peace to God’s people. This prophecy cannot be about King Ahaz, who was on the throne at the time. The reign of Ahaz was marred by struggle and conflict. Certainly not a time of peace or light. This must be a future king.

We now know this prophecy is about King Jesus! He is the better King, the better Priest, the better Sacrifice, and the better Prophet the Old Testament left us longing for and looking for. Jesus will never leave us longing for anything more than more of Himself. He is the best news! This makes the first part of Isaiah’s prophecy even more glorious.

Isaiah 9:6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us… (CSB)

Why? That’s the logical question, right? Why was this Son given for us? To help us find the answer, we need a little bit of a history lesson. The lesson relates to the events described in Isaiah chapters seven and eight. Ahaz is king in Judah. The kings of Israel and Syria are in league together and are trying to force Ahaz to join with them in battle against Assyria. We know from other texts that Ahaz is a wicked idolator. Simply put, Judah is in imminent danger. Death and destruction rule the day. If Judah is to be saved, God must do it. God must send a Rescuer.

These events picture an even more dangerous battle, a spiritual one, in which every human is already a captive, already condemned to death.

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

If any are to be rescued, God must do it.

Some may object to the idea that God is the only One who can recuse captive souls. Surely, there must be another way of escaping condemnation. Interestingly enough, that is what Ahaz thought. So, this foolish tyrant schemed with the Assyrians to attack his enemies and save Judah. Before Ahaz entered this deal with the Assyrians, Isaiah approached him with an offer of protection. That protection would come from God (Isaiah 7:3-11). God’s offer was piously refused (v.12). Ahaz tried to arrange his own rescue, but it failed miserably. In the battle against Israel, 120,000 soldiers are slaughtered. Two hundred thousand citizens are taken captive (2 Chronicles 28:6-8).

Just like God offered to rescue Ahaz and the people of Judah, God offers to rescue sinners who are in danger of eternal condemnation. We need a Rescuer. God provided the way for all to be rescued. “For us a Child is born.”

Just so that there is no confusion about the identity of the “Son,” God has, in the Gospels, given us direct parallels to this prophecy. In chronological order, the first is found in the words of Zechariah following the birth of his son, John.

Luke 1:76–79 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The second is found in Matthew 4. In this passage, Jesus has just heard of the arrest of his cousin, John, and is ready to begin his brief, earthly ministry.

Matthew 4:12–17 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

These passages make very clear that the Child born for us is Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph who was born in Bethlehem.

To Us

This second part of the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6, reminds us of an earlier promise made to Ahaz and his people.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

There is so much packed into this prophecy. To me, one of the most glorious facts about this declaration is that, even though, Ahaz is refusing God’s offer for rescue, God makes the promise that the Rescuer will come. God will send him. He takes the initiative to rescue those who refuse to acknowledge their desperate condition. It’s a good thing too, otherwise we would all be left to suffer the hell we deserve.

This Son, Emmanuel, has been given to us. I am sure you know the meaning of his name, Emmanuel - “God with us.” This is why we have Christmas. God, in his infinite, abundant grace has given us a Savior. God sent him to us as one of us. The mystery and miracle of the incarnation should put us on our faces before God and cause our hearts to shout with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest!”

I Need Christmas!

There are so many reasons that I love Christmas. I love being with family. I love celebrating with my church. I love the nativity story and what it means for my soul. I love that God sent Jesus for us and to us. This year, though, I need Christmas. The world needs Christmas. The whole world is shadowed in the valley of death. At a time when “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men,” we need a Savior to bring light and peace. We need a Rescuer to walk with us in the dark times. He is here! God sent him for and to us. His name is Jesus.

Merry Christmas.