From Prophecy to Promise- Beyond A Simplified Christmas Story

Isaiah 9:6 (KJV) "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The might God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

I am sure we are all familiar with this verse and have heard it, have seen it, and read it at some point this time of year.... at least once. A prophecy of THE King, THE Messiah, OUR Lord and Saviour. It's one that fills our hearts with joy, peace, and hope year after year. Especially during the Christmas season. If you are like me, there is a chance that you may have only looked at this verse in the simplicity of it and its base message. The birth of Jesus. But what if there is a larger reality that we have to take seriously when we read and look at this verse.

A quick side note... I could never even begin to share these thoughts with you without the AMAZING teachers and preachers that I am exposed to in my local church body. To have a group of leaders who have a real passion to study, learn, and seek truth... there simply are no words to express the value of this and what it means to me. Even more so to have them follow that up with the passion to share it. I can never ever stress enough how important it is to find a local, Bible loving, Bible teaching church, and get into it. Repent of your sin, accept the gift of salvation, get baptized into Christ's Kingdom, and watch the Lord move. You will NOT be sorry!

Now back to Isaiah. As we have said, we know the simplicity of the first part. "A child is born". The base thought when we think of Christmas. A gift that we are given in the birth of our Saviour. The only hope that the people of Isreal had and looked forward to then and that we are now grafted into today. What a wonderful gift right? Precious, wonderful, simple.

How about the next part...."unto us a son is given".... God gave His son at the banks of the Jordan river. We read this in Matthew 3 and Mark 1 when the voice of the Father says, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Even before Jesus was crucified on the tree the ultimate sacrifice is in motion. It says so right here in Isaiah. We aren't just looking at a simple gift anymore, are we?

Next, "and the government shall be upon his shoulder:" Do you remember what we have learned when we see the word "shall" in the Bible? It is a promise, and this promise is the promise of Christ's Kingdom. The Gospel message that Christ preached during His earthy ministry was about His Kingdom, His Government, and how WE can have a part in it.

In this prophecy in Isaiah 9, God covers Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. He does this on purpose, as he does with all things. This goes beyond the simplicity of a gift under (or in this case on) a tree. From being wrapped in swaddling cloth as a baby (Luke 2) to wrapped in burial linen at death (John 19), brought myrrh at birth (Matthew 2) and again to be anointed with, and in ritual for death (John 12, John 19, Mark 16), then finally from being placed in the manger (Luke 2) to placed on the cross (Luke 23, John 19).

Putting this into perspective the entire Gospel message is in the nativity scene. Each element we see there foreshadows his death and resurrection. This proves you cannot have the gift without the curse. No matter how hard we try to simplify Christmas the TRUTH will always remain. When we simplify the birth, we miss the entirety of the Gospel of Christ.

The last piece I want to mention in what I have learned this last week, that I will never be able to "unhear", is that the enemy will ALWAYS try to diminish Christ, His goodness and His Truth. Satan cannot get rid of Christ completely, but He will always simplify, twist, and smudge the TRUTH just enough to blind and distract us. If I can convey anything out of this post, I pray it is that we all are DILIGENT in fighting for truth and never simplify Christmas or our Lord and Saviour now that we have been enlightened this way.

Again, a special thank you to the amazing Pastors and teachers in my life. None of this would be possible without your wisdom, knowledge and love to share truth.

To God Be the Glory,

Goodies and the Gospel