Christmas announces God's victory

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned...

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.  For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.  Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:2-7).

The prophet Isaiah spoke many wonderful things about the coming of our Lord Jesus, but this passage is perhaps one of the most beautiful.  In just six verses, Isaiah sums up what Christmas is all about.   So let us consider the true meaning of Christmas according to Isaiah the prophet of God.

He begins, The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  Right away, we think of the opening verses of the Gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.  Both Isaiah and John use the imagery of darkness to describe man’s lost and hopeless condition.  Light gives life; a houseplant near a sunny window will grow, while a plant in a dark basement shrivels and dies.  Anything forced to live in perpetual darkness will gradually curl up and perish.  In the Bible, darkness represents ignorance of Jesus and His saving love; to live in spiritual darkness is to slowly wither in the shadow of death.  In the 23rd Psalm, David picks up this imagery when he writes Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for Thou art with me.  David hoped in the deliverance of the Lord, the same deliverance Isaiah speaks of when he writes, on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.  David, Isaiah and John all find hope in the light of life that God reveals to believers through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.   Isaiah intends us to think, not of an earthly harvest, but the spiritual harvest that the angels of the Lord gather as saints are brought into heaven.  It is the people of the world, who are hungry for the light of God’s love, that Jesus speaks of when He says, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field (Matthew 9:37).  The nation of God rejoices as the harvest is brought in, as sinners see the light and are saved. Jesus said, I tell you that…there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (Luke 15:7). 

Heaven also rejoices as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.  Our Lord Jesus has been fighting a war with Satan since Adam and Eve fell into sin.  But when Jesus died on the cross He won the victory over sin, death and Satan.  By paying the blood-price for our sins, Jesus freed us from the grasp of darkness so He could take us to heaven as His treasures of war.  The kingdom of God rejoices because we have been liberated from the devil’s control.

For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.  Midian was the mighty country that Gideon faced with a much smaller army.  Any general would have said that Gideon faced impossible odds; but with God on his side, his small force of 300 men killed 120,000 of the enemy and freed God’s people from oppression.  Isaiah predicted that in the same way God would provide a Savior who, though appearing vastly outnumbered and overpowered, would shatter the yoke that oppressed God’s people.  That yoke was the yoke of sin.  Think of the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol; remember Marley’s ghost?  He was forever burdened by the weight of the money that he lusted after in life; his sins of greed were a constant yoke that held him back.  All sin is a burden.  That is why Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).  The yoke of Jesus is a life that rejects sinful pleasures and follows Him, eager to serve.  The reason that His yoke is easy is because He bears it with us; He walks at our side every day, shouldering most of the burden for us.

Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.  Because of Jesus’ victory over sin and death, the war with Satan is nearly over.  When Jesus died in your place, He destroyed the only weapon that Satan could actually harm you with—guilt.  With your sins forgiven, the devil can no longer go to God and say, “He is a sinner! He deserves to be in hell with me.”  As soon as Satan tries to accuse a believer of anything, God replies, “it is true that he has sinned, but I have forgiven those sins at my Son’s request.”  With our guilt off the table, the only weapon Satan has left is temptation, and Scripture assures us, God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:13).  James tells us, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you (4:7-8).  Satan has lost the war, and very soon Jesus will return to send our wicked foe to a place where he can never tempt us again; when that day comes, the clothing soiled by war will be taken off and burned because we will never have to struggle against the enemy again.

Isaiah goes on to identify the person who will do these wonderful things for us. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  Our Savior will come as a lowly child.  The government will be on His shoulders; the responsibility of governing heaven and earth will be His.

He will be called Wonderful Counselor.  Every human king needs a few counselors he can turn to for help in making wise decisions; every president needs the officials of his Cabinet.  But the Savior who comes as a child doesn’t need counselors, because He is the Wonderful Counselor—He is the Wisdom from on High, who shines the light of truth to dispel the darkness of lies and ignorance.  His wisdom is beyond our comprehension.  Only He understands the universe, only He understands the human heart; He alone can rule wisely. And so we pray to this Wonderful Counselor for good sense when making decisions, because only He can see clearly the best path to take.  The Wonderful Counselor cares deeply about each and every one of us, and He is happy to share His wisdom through the words of Holy Scripture. 

He will be called Mighty God.  Although an ordinary-looking child, the Savior is actually God’s all-powerful Son. This child will tell storms to be quiet, command fevers to leave the sick, and call the dead from their graves.  This child will feed a crowd of more than 5,000 people from five loaves of bread and two fish, and He will feed believers everywhere with His own body and blood through the miracle of Holy Communion.  This promised child will endure the torments of hell for the sake of fallen humanity, and rise from the grave that our countless sins buried Him in.  This child is our Mighty God.

He will be called Everlasting Father.  The Savior of mankind is much more than a prophet—He is the equal of His Father in every way. Jesus said, I and the Father are one (John 10:30).  Like the Father, Jesus is everlasting; He was with God in the beginning (John 1:2).  Christ shared in the work of creation with His Father; through him all things were made (John 1:3).  God forgives our sins at Jesus’ request, and the Son of God has been given authority to judge us when He returns at the end of time.  And Jesus shall reign over all creation forever; of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  This means that we can put our trust in Him, because Jesus isn’t going anywhere; our Savior will always be here to help us.

He will be called Prince of Peace.  Without faith in Jesus, we are allies of Satan and enemies of God; but when Jesus puts faith in our hearts, He frees us from Satan’s domination and brings us into the army of heaven.  We are no longer at war with God; as a result, we have a peace that no one else has.  Because we are at peace with God, we know that our guilt is removed.  Because we are at peace with God, we can let go of lingering grudges and be at peace with those who have hurt us in the past.  Because we are at peace with God, we know that death, as unpleasant as it is, is no worse than the pain of childbirth; death is a pain that leads to glorious, unending life with God.  The Prince of Peace makes it possible for us to live in confidence, not fear.

He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  God made David king over the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people.  And God promised David that one of his descendants would rule God’s people forever.  Jesus is that child.  Through His human parentage, Jesus was a descendant of King David, heir to the throne over God’s people.  But today God’s people are found all over the world; they are the members of His Church.  Christ’s eternal reign has already begun, and it is based on justice and righteousness.  It is our Lord’s justice that demands that all wrongs be redressed; those who refuse to repent and believe in Jesus as their king will be condemned forever.  It is our Lord’s righteousness that led Him to the cross to redeem us, so those who trust in His mercy and submit to His will might be saved. 

Isaiah concludes, The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.  God’s love for us is not a passive love, not a quiet love.  Our God loves us fervently, actively.  God did not wait for us to come to Him; Paul writes, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  When we were still enemies of God, He loved us and He did something about that love—He sent His Son to be born a baby and cradled in a manger, so that the sins that kept us away from God might be forgiven and we could love Him in return.  God’s love reached out to us in Bethlehem and it continues to reach out to us today.  A zealot is passionate in pursuing the thing he loves, and our God loves us that way—it was this zeal of the Lord Almighty, this passionate love, that rescued us from our sins and promises us peace in heaven.