Isaiah 7, 9
Hundreds of years before His birth, prophets were teaching about the circumstances of Christ’s entry into the world.
“The Lord himself shall give you a sign,” Isaiah said. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa 7:14).
And he further gloried of the deliverance of Israel, saying, “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, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6).
Filled with promises of power and deliverance, the prophecies were misunderstood by a vast majority of those who heard them; the Jews expected the uprising of a mighty king, who would blast the chains of bondage to pieces and propel the Jewish nation to freedom.
When Christ would come, He would deliver Israel, but not from the oppression of the sword; instead, He would deliver them from the chains of death, hell, and of the devil.
There would be no heroic display of glorious triumph - at least not yet - but instead, a silent and humble birth to a virgin mother, beneath the watchful eye of the stars, and a meek and quiet suffering - alone, in a garden - and subsequent death upon the cross of a thief.
Is this the same man of whom Isaiah spoke, calling him Immanuel? Even wonderful, mighty, everlasting, and prince?
The magnificence of the Christ is not found in His battle array, but in His mastery of the human condition and triumph over death and hell thereby. Truly, He is wonderful, mighty, and everlasting.
This Christmas, may we all look to Him and his birth, and remember that deliverance is found only in and through His atonement, to the end that we may master our own human condition and follow in His silent, humble footsteps.
Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
- Taylor, a dead missionary
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