The King is Promised

This morning, I’d like to begin the Christmas season with a new series that focuses on the coming of King Jesus. As we’ve studied the Gospel of Mark, we’ve focused on the fact that the Gospel declares Jesus to be the King who is ushering in an everlasting kingdom through his death and resurrection. Keeping with that theme, I’d like to look at the story of Christmas from that same angle – the coming of the King. So, this season, we will consider the King Promised, the King Announced, the King Born, and the King over All. We begin with the King Promised, from Isaiah 9:1-7. Let’s read that together. From this passage, see three points: The Darkness of the Nations, the Divine King, and the Dominion of the Kingdom.

First, from verses 1-5, see the Darkness of the Nations. The context of Isaiah 8 and 9 is the darkness that God’s judgment will bring on Israel. Chapter 8 promises that God will cover Israel in darkness. Verses 21-22 say, “distress and darkness, gloom and anguish… thick darkness.” So, our text picks up on this theme, with verse 1 promising judgment on Zebulun and Naphtali. These two tribes were the northern most tribes of Israel, located in Samaria and Galilee. This location guaranteed two things. For one, it guaranteed that they would be influenced by the nations around Israel. They mingled in marriage with the nations and imported their idols. But, it also guaranteed that they would be the first to feel the force of God’s judgment. Assyria invaded Israel from the North, starting with Naphtali and Zebulun. So, the darkness that Isaiah sees in chapter 9 is first a covenant darkness. The people of Naphtali and Zebulun had the law and prophecies of God, but they rejected them and instead turned to the darkness of idols.

But, there is another darkness here. Isaiah promises that the glory of God will come first to “Galilee of the Nations.” Because of the unfaithfulness of the Northern Tribes, Galilee became a symbol for the Gentile world. Good Jews did not even consider this region to be truly Jewish. As such, the Jews viewed the Gentile world as a place of darkness. They lacked the wisdom of God. They did not have the law of God. They did not offer right sacrifices. As Paul says in Eph. 4:17, Gentiles were “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them.”

Yet, the promise of the coming glory of God in Isaiah 9 is given first to these very people. It is Zebulun and Naphtali (the most rebellious of the tribes of Israel) and Galilee of the Nations who will be the first to see the glory of God. They will be the first to be delivered from the judgment that God will bring. They will be the first to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom of God. This very thing came to pass with the ministry of Jesus. Jesus was a Galilean. His home was in Nazareth, and he based his ministry out of Capernaum, a major city of Galilee. The people of Galilee saw his victories over Satan, the great oppressor, as he cast out demons. These powers had kept the people of Galilee in darkness for centuries, but with the coming of Jesus, they were the first to see the light. 

This brings me to my second point: the Divine King, from verse 6. This promise of light in the darkness is wonderful, but how exactly will God accomplish it? Verse 6 tells us. It will be through a royal son. The glorious way of God will be seen in a divine prince. Isaiah gives us the royal name of this king. In English, we’ve divided this name into four parts, but in Hebrew this is one long name: “Wonderful Counselor-Mighty God-Everlasting Father-Prince of Peace”.  Let’s consider what each of these parts mean. First, Isaiah says that this king will be the “Wonderful Counselor”.  In the Hebrew, neither word means the way we take it today. The word “Wonderful” could also be understood as “miracle working” or “extraordinary”. The promised son will be unlike anyone who has ever been. He will be exceptional. The word “Counselor” is not the way we take it in our modern sense – as a psychologist or someone who comforts us when we are stressed. The word speaks more of the prince’s wisdom. This son will be the extraordinary, miracle-working Wiseman. Jesus Christ is this son. He is the very wisdom of God. As 1 Cor. 1:24 says, Christ is the wisdom of God, and our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Second, Isaiah says that this royal son will be “Mighty God”. In Hebrew, this is a common name given to God, “El Gibbor” – God, the Warrior. Deut. 10:17 says, “The Lord is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty.” But, here, it is used to speak of the promised son that will deliver his people from darkness. How can it be that the descendent of David will be the Mighty God? This can be because of what the angel Gabriel promises Mary in Luke 1:35, “The Spirit of God will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.” Jesus is the promised son of the line of David, and he is the Mighty God.

Third, this coming prince will be the “Everlasting Father.” In this phrase, we can run the risk of making a mistake. Some assume that what is being said here is that the son will be the Father – that Jesus is just a mode of existence for God, not a separate person of the Trinity. That view fails to understand what the Israelites would have heard in this title. This is a royal title that was given to kings throughout the ancient world. The King of a nation was considered its father. In the same way, God was the Father of the Nation of Israel. Psalm 103:13 says, “as a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to us.” In the same way, Jesus is fatherly towards his people. He acts as the good shepherd who cares for his sheep. In John 14:18 he promises, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Finally, this royal son will be the “Prince of Peace”. In Hebrew, this title might best be understood as the “Ruler who brings shalom.” For the Jew, Shalom was more than just an end of war. Shalom represents completion, wholeness, putting things in their right order. The world, in its corruption of sin, is disordered. We see that disorder among nations, as nation rises against nation over resources and pride. We see that disorder within our families, as husband and wife act selfishly, pursuing their own desires rather than the good of the other. We see that disorder even within ourselves, as we struggle to know our own identity. But, Jesus brings shalom. He has come to set the world right. As the hymn, “Joy to the World” says, “He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found.” Eph. 2:14-17 says that Christ is our peace.

With that, consider my last point, “The Dominion of His Kingdom”, from verse 7. Isaiah’s prophecy ends with a description of the coming kingdom of this royal son. There are three attributes of this kingdom given here. First, the kingdom will increase without end. This prince of peace will usher in an ever-increasing kingdom. As Jesus promised in the Parables of the Mustard Seed and Leaven from Matt. 13, the kingdom of God will start small, but then it will grow until it fills the whole earth. And, there will be no end to this expansion. Satan cannot stop it. Governments cannot resist it. The kingdom will expand without end.

Second, this kingdom will be forever. The reign of the prince of peace will be from this time forth and forevermore. I am of the generation known as “Generation X”. I came of age in the 90s, and one of the major cultural shifts that happened in that decade was the denial of a “happily ever after.” That decade saw the rise of  “alternative” music that was a rejection of the happy, youthful style of 80s rock. Our stories rejected the Disney paradigm of “happily ever after” as well. Instead, our heroes came from broken homes and the end of the story wasn’t always so neat. This reaction against “happily ever after” was understandable, because the world cannot give you a happy ending. But, Jesus can and will. The reign of Jesus Christ has no end.

Finally, this promised son and his kingdom will not be brought by human will or power. This son is brought by the zeal of the Lord. This is certainly the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Born to a peasant teenager from a backwoods town and her carpenter fiancé. His birth was not proclaimed with a trumpet from the walls of the royal palace. It was announced to shepherds. It was not honored by the royal elite of Israel, but by foreign wisemen. No human could claim credit for the beginnings of the kingdom of God. It is only by the zeal of the Lord that it came to be. And, it is only by the power of God that Christ’s kingdom still goes forth. As Romans 1:16 says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God to all who believe.” The Kingdom of Christ will expand into all the world, but it will not be done by force or war. It will be done by the simple and foolish proclamation of the Gospel. So, may we go in the power of God and proclaim the coming of the Prince of Peace.