In this clear Messianic passage, we find a rapid-fire description of the coming Christ.
While all Scripture has significant meaning, it seems that, every so often, we run across a passage where every word is bursting with insights about our Lord. Isaiah chapter 9 contains one of those passages.
This chapter seems an unlikely passage to find such insights. Just as the preceding chapter, this one starts off describing Israel’s impending persecution by the Assyrians. Then, the subject abruptly shifts to the coming Messiah. It tells how those suffering in darkness will see a great light. What is interesting about this, besides the fact that Jesus is that light, is that verse 1 tells of how Galilee was suffering in darkness. When Christ came, those in Galilee were the first to experience the light of His miracles and ministry.
Chapter 9 continues by describing armor from a battle being used as fuel for a fire. This was a common symbol of victory in ancient times. But here it is also a symbol of peace because it shows the battle is finally and decisively over, with the victor burning the armor of the enemy. As we move into verse six, we see who this Victor is:
For 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.
In this clear Messianic passage, we find a rapid-fire description of the coming Christ. Like many prophecies in the Old Testament, this passage gives a complete description of the Messiah and does not differentiate between His first and second comings. This makes sense in that God does not change His character or His plans between the two earthly appearances, nor is He bound by time, often speaking of His plans as if they are already completed.
Careful consideration of the first part of this verse shows it to be a veiled reference to Christ’s deity and virgin birth. As a child He was born of a woman, but as a son His was given. Compare this with Galatians 4:4-5: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
Modern science has determined that the gender of a baby is determined by the father. We see here that it is far more than His gender that was given by God the Father. He sent His eternal Son into this world to become a man. The vehicle He used to bring Him into this world was the virgin birth. Thus He was both a baby born and the given Son.
Shoulder vs. Shoulders
I have often heard the comparison between verse six and the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. It is pointed out that we, the lost sheep, are carried on the Good Shepherd’s shoulders (plural), pointing out that we are more secure and given more effort than the government of this world. While there is some merit to this illustration, the picture here is of the symbol of a government being born on the shoulder. This is the common place for such a symbol, whether it is an emblem, a sash, or a sword.
This speaks of the Lord’s coming kingdom. Christ has already secured the victory with His triumph at Calvary and His resurrection from the dead. At His return, the rest of these prophecies will be fulfilled. We will see Him completely destroy His earthly foes and thereby usher in an era of unprecedented peace. He will establish a government on earth and will reign for a thousand years.
The last half of the verse lists different descriptive names of this coming conqueror. These names give us marvelous insights into the attributes of the Son of God. Let’s consider them one by one.
Wonderful Counselor
Scholars differ on whether this one name or two separate descriptions. Either way, it is consistent with what we know Christ to be. Matthew Henry says, “Wonderful, for he is both God and man. His love is the wonder of angels and glorified saints. He is the Counselor, for He knew the counsels of God from eternity; and He gives counsel to men, in which He consults our welfare. He is the Wonderful Counselor; none teaches like Him.”1 He is the ultimate counselor for there is no one that can give Him advice. Isaiah 40:13 says, “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselor hath taught Him?”
Mighty God
This affirms Christ’s deity and shows His power. He is not like the gods the nations around Israel worshipped. He is the omnipotent Creator of the universe. The phrase in the Hebrew can be translated “the conquering God.” This does not just refer to His second coming, but also to the fact that He has conquered sin once and for all.
Everlasting Father
Critics say that this title is contradictory. Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God. Here it clearly refers to Christ being the everlasting Father. Another rendering of this phrase is Father of Eternity, which would speak of Christ as the source of eternity. Furthermore, He is the originator of a new generation of people in that He has brought them eternal life through His conquest of sin, death, and the grave. Lastly, this title also links Him to God and testifies to His equality with the Father.
Prince of Peace
This is the culmination of all the names. As Alexander Maclaren puts it, “The name pierces to the heart of Christ’s work.”2 His power is sufficient to end all war and usher in lasting peace. More to the point, the Lord Jesus is the only One who can calm the inner storm that sin has caused. He has conquered sin once and for all and brought us eternal life. In times of distress He counsels us and assures us that He is in control. That road to true peace lies through submission to Him.
Verses 7 and 8 assure us that His is a perpetual reign. His earthly line to the throne runs through David. It is fascinating to see in Matthew how the kingly line is traced to Joseph, Jesus’ adopted earthly father. However, this poses a problem for us since we read in Jeremiah 22:30 that that line had been cursed as punishment for King Jeconiah’s wickedness. “Thus saith the Lord, ‘Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.’”
But Jesus was not Joseph’s seed! What’s more, not only is Christ in the line of David through Joseph, He is in the line of David through Mary. Luke chapter 3 gives us a different genealogy, that of Mary. We find it diverges at David. Instead of following the kingly line through Solomon that was ultimately cursed, it follows the line through David’s son Nathan, thus escaping the curse on Jeconiah. And so we see He is still the rightful heir to the throne of David.
Isn’t that just like our God? No detail is overlooked. He ensured that there was no question when it came to His Son’s qualifications to reign. Verse 7 ends with a guarantee: the same power that set all these things in motion will bring them to pass. God’s purposes cannot be stopped. We have seen part of this prophecy fulfilled in the first advent of our Lord. We look with yearning hearts to see the rest of it fulfilled by the power of God.
Endnotes
1 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (McLean, VA: MacDonald Publishing, n.d.).
2 Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1984).