Amen. Let us turn to the reading of God's Word. Isaiah Chapter 9, page 729, and the Bible's under the seats. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. We've looked at Isaiah 7 and 8 the last couple Sunday mornings for those who were here. And it is a time of darkness. It is a time of destruction. There is gloom and there is thick darkness coming. And then Isaiah chapter 9 speaks into the gloom. It is a word that, yes, speaks hope to the situation of the earth, but it is very much a spiritual promise. And let us hear the promise, the promise of the coming special son whom Israel needs. Isaiah chapter 9, we'll read verses 1 to 7. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, But in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end. On the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. So far the reading, the grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our Lord stands forever. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ever since that time of our first parents, the only people on earth who were not born in the womb, ever since the days of our first parents, Adam and Eve, there has been the need for the child. That is the first gospel promise, the promise of the seed of the woman who had crushed the head of the serpent. But how long How long will we wait? And how long will we need to continue hearing promises? That must have been on the hearts and minds of God's people. For there are more details that come as God's people exist. There are more details that this will be a special son from Abraham. There will be a special son. And then from Abraham's descendant, David. We have more promises of there will be a special son of David. But then we have not only the line being traced through the genealogy. This is not just the special son of Adam and Eve, the special son of Abraham, the special son of David. No, what is he going to be like? What will his rule be like? What will his character be like? Who is he? Who is this child? How will we know him? How will we recognize him? Brothers and sisters, this is where Isaiah, so long after Adam and Eve and still yet centuries before that latter time when things will be made glorious, still centuries before that child would come, Isaiah is given the privilege of being the voice of the Lord to fill out those details. Who will this son be? What will he look like? What is his character? what is His kingdom. And so Isaiah teaches us about the special child and in so doing teaches us about Jesus Christ. For Jesus Christ is the long-awaited child of peace. He is the only one who could and does fulfill this prophecy. That's our That's our theme then. Jesus Christ is the long-awaited Child of Peace. And we'll look first at the Son's perfect character, and then second, at the Son's spiritual blessings, and third, at the Son's eternal kingdom. Well, we begin with His perfect character, and for this, brothers and sisters, we're looking especially at verse 6, and especially at the four names which are given to the Child there. We hear the word name, we usually think of a person's personal name. His name is this, her name is this. It is always good for us to remember that a name is tied to the character of a person, especially in Old Testament thought, in Hebrew thought. We still do this a little bit. We still have one saying in English which gets at this idea of name being tied to character more than just what is that person's name. We still have this a little bit when we use the expression, he has a good name, or she has a good name. What do we mean when we say that? Do you mean that you really like the way that person's name sounds? You really like the way their personal name rolls off your tongue? No, that's not what you mean. You mean that person has a good character. He has a good name. She has a good name. She has a good reputation, a good character. Well, here is the name. above all names. He shall be called, for these names speak to His character. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Wonderful Counselor. This is the same root word in Hebrew wonderful as we have for the wonders that God displayed in Egypt in the time of that deliverance. It's a word that used dozens of times in the Old Testament. It's almost always a direct reference to the supernatural work of God. In other words, this child is not just an ordinary child. This is a supernatural counselor. He gives perfect counsel, supernatural wisdom. And indeed that supernatural nature of the child is spelled out without any doubt in the next name, Mighty God. Mighty God. Now the Hebrew word for God is El, and in the plural Elohim, It is true that there's some variety of meaning when that word appears in the plural in the Old Testament. You can talk about a false Elohim, a group of false gods. You can also, that word, it has some variety of meaning. Once in a while, in the plural, it's used to refer to angels, even to the non-fallen angels. They are on occasion called gods with that plural Hebrew word. And so, some who might try to get around the birth of a divine child, they would say, well, see, once in a while, that Hebrew word for God, it can have some different meanings. But when it is in the singular, that is not true. There is no variety, there is no space of meaning when you say El in the singular. All throughout the Bible, the name in the singular, God, El, it only refers to the one true God. This child, for us, a child is born, to us a son is given. He is God. He is God. There are names in the Old Testament that are a child named about the character of God. You might think of the name Elisha, El, Elisha. What does that name mean? It means God is my salvation. And if you start thinking through Old Testament names, you think, well, there's other names like that. And certainly there are. Elkanah would be just one more example. El. What does that mean? It means God is creator. But this name is different. It's not just that it has God in the name because it's a name that talks about God's character. God is this, God is that. No. This child is God. The very structure of the name is different. Almighty God. This child is divine. And this special child is called Everlasting Father. We'll come back to Father in a moment, but Everlasting. There we have another marker of divinity. Only God is truly eternal, without beginning, without end. Everlasting. And this son is called the Prince of Peace, for his kingship is marked by peace. And people of God This child is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only supernatural counselor. He is perfect wisdom, perfect truth. He is supernatural in every way. He is mighty God. He is everlasting Father. Now you say, wait a second, We usually speak of Jesus Christ as the Son, and this verse says, to us a son is given, and now we're calling him Father. Well, what are we doing? Well, sometimes we need to remember that God the Father and God the Son, the Holy Trinity, Trinity in Unity, together with the Holy Spirit, they are all one in essence. So that's part of what's going on. Jesus can say, and he does in John 10 verse 30, I and the Father are one. But we can also think about the title here, Everlasting Father, it relates to the perfect care of Jesus Christ. The perfect care of Jesus Christ. Jesus gives the perfect care, the perfect protection, the perfect love that no earthly father can give. He is Everlasting Father. And Jesus alone is the Prince of Peace. Jesus alone is the one who brings peace, who brings the very forgiveness of sin. And so that leads into, we've seen His character, His name there in verse 6, and now we'll come to the Son's spiritual blessings. For this, brothers and sisters, look back at verse 1. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time He brought into contempt the land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea." Now, if you've been with us the last two Sunday mornings, again, we dug into the darkness of the destruction and the unbelief in Israel and Judah in these days. And we talked about how Assyria is coming, they're coming soon, The spoil is coming speedily and ties to the name of Isaiah's second son and all those prophecies. It's the darkness of the days, the coming destruction of the days. Well, Zebulon and Naphtali, they were the two tribes that were actually destroyed already. There was a sense in which the northern ten tribes were already down to eight tribes. Because Zebulon and Naphtali on the northern edge, they'd really been destroyed already about 20 years earlier. And so to use those two tribes is to emphasize not just all the coming destruction and gloom of darkness that's prophesied, that Isaiah says is imminent in the last two chapters. No, it's to speak about there's even gloom already. Where is Zebulun? Where is Naphtali? Well, with this in mind, brothers and sisters, let's turn to Matthew 4. Matthew chapter 4. And here's a word about where Jesus begins His earthly ministry. So this is just after the baptism of Jesus in the middle of chapter 3, which is in essence Jesus' ordination for the beginning of His earthly ministry. And then there is the temptation of Jesus in the start of Matthew 4. And then we come to the ministry of Jesus actually beginning. And where does Jesus start? Matthew 4, beginning at verse 12. Now when he, that is Jesus, 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, by 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 of the 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. Now there is certainly physical darkness and gloom as part of all that is going on in the days of Isaiah, but ultimately what is this text about and how is this text fulfilled? Ultimately it all comes together in Jesus Christ. Ultimately it's language about spiritual gloom, for which we need spiritual light. And so the application comes directly to every single person who has ever lived, because we have not all faced the armies of Assyria and everything else that was going on in the days of Isaiah, but every single person has a soul. And so Jesus, when he begins his earthly ministry, intentionally goes to this place, the territory of where Zebulon and Naphtali used to be, as Jesus is intentionally fulfilling this prophecy. And how is the darkness broken? How is the darkness broken? Repentance. So Jesus began to preach, saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And in Isaiah's day, the spiritual element was already there. Because Isaiah is giving promises, not only for the future, but for everybody who believes in that day. And you say, their earthly circumstances are going to be a mess. Everybody's going to suffer. Assyria is coming. Destruction. Zebulon and Naphtali are already destroyed. There's going to be all kinds of destruction in the coming. It's all a physical gloom and darkness for everybody. But there's spiritual light for who? For everybody who believes. Who repents and believes. That is the promise of deliverance from darkness. It's the deliverance from sin for all who repent. And that is the understanding that Jesus had Himself as He intentionally fulfilled this prophecy. By physically going to that place and beginning the preaching of repentance for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand in that place. And so light is in Christ. In the preaching, the Gospel has two basic parts. Repent of your sins. That's the gloom and the darkness. And trust in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. And there's the salvation. The spiritual blessing of His Kingdom. And then, brothers and sisters, the following verses detail some more what these blessings look like. We come out of darkness and into light, verse 2. And is this not something in which we should rejoice again and again? Wouldn't it be very strange if a person came to us and said, you know what, I like the light of the sun, I don't ever want to see the sun again. That's totally fine. Bury me in a hole. Turn off the lights. I like the sun, but I don't ever need to see it again. That's fine. Who would ever say such a thing? No sane person would ever say such a thing. Brothers and sisters, it's a picture of the joy, of the repeated joy, which we are to have in the light of the gospel, in the light of the good news. We want to see the light of the sun every day because we are sane. We want to rejoice in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ every day. He is the light who brings us out of the darkness. And He multiplies the joy of His people. Verse 3, you've multiplied the nation. You have increased its joy. Notice specifically what the joy is here. It's the joy of seeing God's people multiplied. It's the joy of seeing God's church increase. What a joy it is, brothers and sisters, when we see repentance. When the preaching of repentance is followed by the fruit of the harvest, as with joy at the harvest, verse 3 continues, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. And so the dividing of spoil for a victorious army becomes a picture of the spiritual joy that we as God's people have whenever we see anyone repent, whenever we see anyone come out of darkness and into light. Praise the Lord! There is another saved sinner. And so we together rejoice as the nation, as God's kingdom, as God's church is multiplied. There is an increase to our joy. Then in verse 4, the picture is continued and we get further joy by being reminded of what salvation is. It's not just from darkness into light, it's from slavery into freedom. And so verse 4 uses the image of the broken a burden of slavery. And the picture used is that of Midian. And if you hear Midian, you might think, wait, what is Midian? But if I say Gideon, maybe that's a little more familiar. Gideon, who was used by God to defeat Midian, who was doing what in those days? They were enslaving the people of God. It was the Day of Judges when there was severe oppressive slavery. The Midianites didn't allow the Israelites to keep their own harvest or anything else. So Gideon is trying to do his harvest work in secret and just to be able to feed himself and all those things. It's a mess of a situation but not by human strength with that small army God, by His divine power, breaks the yoke of slavery in a single day and the Midianites are defeated and Israel is free. Well, what is this? It's a picture of our salvation. We're brought from the darkness of sin into the light of salvation by the special Son, by the special Child. We're brought out of the bondage of slavery. and into the freedom of being Christ's subject through the work of this special Son. So these are some of the pictures of the spiritual blessings that are all again centered around who? The child who is born, the Son who is given, Jesus Christ, the only Savior. And so the blessings begin in the heart, begin with the response to the preaching of repentance and the blessings for God's people are many. And we have many pictures to celebrate this joy that the Prince of Peace brings. Is this Is this the way that we think about Christmas? Repenting of our sins. Do we tie repentance and the coming of the child together very closely? And then the joy of Christmas being the joy of being delivered from sin? That is the heart of the Christmas joy that God calls us to. And certainly the Son has an eternal kingdom. The Son has an eternal kingdom. He is God, as is so clearly seen from His name, the four names in verse 6. But He is also man. He is a child. He is a baby boy who will be born at a certain time. And we now know in that time was, and he's a baby boy who is a descendant of David, and so he has every right to the throne of David. And so we come into verse 7, "...of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom." He is son of God, and yet he is true man, the true king of David. And so what does his increased kingdom look like? Well, it is, brothers and sisters, the kingdom of perfect peace. So before we look at verse 7, let's go back one more time to the earlier verses and now look with me at verse 5. For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. All of the bloody mess of war, which is, in Isaiah's day, that was the first trial on everyone's mind, because they're seeing that firsthand. The destruction is coming. The blood is coming. The turmoil of warfare will be upon the land. So, brothers and sisters, there are many promises about Jesus Christ. Isaiah is just picking and focusing on certain ones, and we understand why he focuses on this one. This was the trial that the people were facing in that day. And he says, what is the kingdom of Christ when we're trusting in Him? What will this King bring? Well, all of that bloody mess, all of the materials of war will be rolled up together and burned as fuel for the fire. It's a vivid picture of the turmoil of war being wrapped up and done away with. And this also, brothers and sisters, reminds us that When we think about Jesus Christ, we have to always think about not just the manger, but we have to think about everything that he does. Because some of these promises are not fulfilled even after the first coming. Now some are fulfilled already at the first coming. Think again about verse 3 and the multiplied increased joy as the people of God are increased. The gospel can be preached so clearly and God's kingdom has increased and here we are as part of that increased number all around the world. But there are other things here which will not come until after the second coming of this special son because The believers in the days of Isaiah, they saw garments rolled in blood, and they were not burned yet for the fire. And we, though, we can rejoice that many of us have not seen war. We know there are still wars and rumors of war, and all of that blood and all that turmoil, and it will continue. When? Until Christ comes again. And then we can also say, brothers and sisters, we can move from this trial all kinds of trials. Isaiah focuses on war in verse 5 because that's the trial that that immediate audience was facing. But we can move from that to all kinds of other trials that are still going, just like there are still wars and rumors of wars. But finally this king is not only the one who comes onto this earth, Emmanuel, God with us, who preaches repentance, who accomplishes salvation by that first coming, ultimately He fulfills all of these promises. For at His second coming, anything not seen yet will be done. All of the garments rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. And His throne, that throne of David, will be established and He will uphold it, verse 7, with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. For that baby in the manger is King of Kings. And finally, He fulfills every promise forever. Brothers and sisters, there is only one king who has this character, who fulfills these promises, who did all of this, not as the king who leads from the back and tells his subjects to go out. No, he did it all leading from the front. He accomplished that salvation himself. He did it all willingly. He did it all by His own zeal for His own glory. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. The leaders of this earth can have all kinds of promises. I'd almost say that no ruler of this earth even gives promises like this, but sometimes it's It's so outlandish that rulers of this earth, they even start to give God-like promises, don't they? And so maybe there are kings on this earth where we can say, you know what, they even tried to give promises along these kinds of lines. But Jesus Christ is the King who gives promises, who gives eternal promises, who leads from the front, who fulfills them Himself. He is the King of Kings. He is the Prince of Peace. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, our Lord, for Your willing work of salvation, for your eternal rule. Oh, by repentance and faith