Isaiah 9:6 (Gift Of Life)
COME THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS…
“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” (Isaiah 9:6).
Christmas is uniquely special because it not only celebrates the birth of our Savior, but sets in motion God’s redemptive plan of salvation which foreshadows Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins.
While it may seem counterintuitive to think about death during a season of joy and celebration, Christmas can mean far more than we expect when we appreciate it from the perspective of Calvary and the empty tomb.
Christmas can also help us appreciate how sovereign God truly is when we consider the names the prophet Isaiah associated with the Messiah, which helps us understand Jesus' role as Lord and Savior of our lives.
“Wonderful Counselor” - He is the fountain of wisdom by whom all knowledge and understanding flow.
“Mighty God” - He is the sovereign ruler over mankind who maintains order and justice in the world.
“Everlasting Father” - He encourages, instructs, admonishes, and disciplines His children to guide and protect them.
“Prince of Peace” - He is the bridge between heaven and earth who personally gave His life to save mankind from their sins.
Keep in mind, Jesus did not leave the glory of His heavenly throne for any reason other than unconditional love for us. Therefore, our response to His precious gift of saving grace this holiday season is to recognize how intertwined the cradle and cross truly are so we can avoid forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
EMPATHY:
Jesus’ birth as foretold in Isaiah 9:6 reassures us that He was far more than a baby lying in a manger. Rather, He was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy—our long-awaited Savior who came down from heaven to rule the nations and set us free.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:11–12).
In many ways, it is difficult to reconcile how an innocent baby could be king at the same time. Logically, it just doesn’t make sense, yet that is the reality of what we celebrate every Christmas when we sing our favorite carols and church hymns to commemorate the nativity story.
However, it begs the question, “Why a baby?” Couldn’t Jesus have stepped down from heaven at any moment and immediately began His ministry to the lost and broken? What purpose did it serve waiting 30+ years rather than just hitting the ground running on Day #1?
Keep in mind, Jesus was all about empathy. He could relate to the struggles people were facing because He saw life from their vantage point. Therefore, He understood how difficult it was for mankind to resist sin and temptation because He felt the same fleshly pull when He was tempted.
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14–16).
What that means for us is Jesus willingly took on the challenge of not only saving us from our sins, but enduring 30+ years of life as we know it in a fallen world so He could empathize with the ebb and flow of living for righteousness firsthand—not for His benefit, but so we could relate to Him better.
Again, He could have foregone the entire process, but God the Father deemed it necessary for Him to share in our weaknesses. Therefore, when we choose to place faith in Jesus for our salvation, we can esteem Him that much more because He walked in our shoes for no other reason but to empathize with us in our time of need.
“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).
EXPECTANT HOPE:
There are many carols we love to sing at Christmas but one in particular, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” beautifully captures the meaning of Christmas not merely through the lens of Easter, but rather Jesus’ second coming.
It is a hymn we don’t necessarily hear sung very often but rather a powerful reminder of the true meaning of this precious season, pointing us to the expectant day when we’ll spend eternity in heaven forevermore.
LYRICS: “Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art, dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever, now thy gracious kingdom bring. By thine own eternal spirit, rule in all our hearts O’ Lord; by thine all sufficient merit, raise us to thy glorious throne.”
BRIDGE: “You draw the hearts of shepherds. You draw the hearts of kings. Even as a baby, You were changing everything. You called me to Your Kingdom before Your lips could speak, and even as a baby, You were reaching out for me. And now we are awaiting the day of Your return when every eye will see You as heaven comes to earth. Until the sky is opened, until the trumpet sounds, the bride is getting ready, the church is singing out.”
If you’ve never heard of it, I highly recommend you listen and watch the attached video as Meredith Andrews does a fantastic job conveying the poetic meaning of this beautiful song. I particularly enjoy the contemporary bridge she included which emphasizes our connection to Jesus as personal Lord and Savior of our lives, even as a baby.
It is a song of expectant hope whereby the king of kings will reign in glory and bring much needed peace to this broken and wretched world. Keep in mind, it is not a song of wishing the Messiah would come. Rather, it affirms Christ has already come to save us from our sins. However, it shifts our attention on Jesus’ second coming when our bridegroom will return.
“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27–28).
SOBERING REALITY:
When Charles Wesley originally wrote, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” his mind was consumed with the reality of life here on earth. He looked around and saw poverty, class divide, chronic hunger, and illness, and lamented when the Savior would come again.
Wesley’s personal reflection, written 278-years ago, is eerily no different than our own today. We too see the world engrossed in military conflict, economic upheaval, and moral degradation and wonder how much worse this world must get before Christ returns.
“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:16–17).
However, rather than consume our minds in frustration with the dysfunction surrounding us, we are encouraged to rest in the knowledge that God is sovereign and His saving work on the cross has already been accomplished, for Jesus rose from the grave, ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of God almighty!
Therefore, we wait in anticipation for His triumphant return, knowing our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace will bring order to the chaos of this world and rescue us from pain, despair, and brokenness once and for all.
Granted, that day of reckoning might not come as quickly as we would prefer, but it will inevitably be a reality at some point. And when it finally comes, the culmination of Christmas will come to a climactic ending because the divine baby lying in a manger will have finally brought us home to live with Him forever.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4).
BOTTOM-LINE:
Therefore, may we seriously consider the words of this precious, Christmas hymn and reflect upon the glory which awaits all those who place their faith, hope, and trust in the saving grace of Christ Jesus.
For one day we will return home and our heavenly Father will embrace us like little children with open arms—not because we love Him, but because He loved us first and sent His Son to die in our place so we could be reunited with Him forever.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16–17).
For that is the Good News of the Gospel we celebrate each blessed Christmas season, because “to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” Therefore, may we grasp the enormity of the “gift of new life” Christ not only represents, but made possible through His death, burial, and ressurection for our sins.
To God be the glory! Amen.
