Who Is This Child? Part I (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: Jesus humbled Himself for us.
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 9:6-7
As I prepared our next lesson in Acts while at the hospital with baby Xander, I had these verses pop into my head, and they never left. Therefore, this morning we’re doing something unusual for me. We’re taking a break from our current study and spending the next few weeks walking through what has become a very famous “Christmas passage”. Let’s read Isaiah 9:6-7.
“6 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. 7 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.”
I love this beautiful passage and have grown-up reading it as a classic Christmas text. It wasn’t until recently, however, that I realize there’s a bit of controversy around it. Jewish rabbis teach that this passage has no reference to the future Messiah at all, but instead these were words spoken to the wicked king Ahaz about his son Hezekiah who would come as a good and Godly king. To be fair, you can definitely see how Hezekiah fulfills this… but only in part. This is something we see all throughout Scripture that is commonly referred to as dual-fulfillment. While Hezekiah would come and serve God faithfully in his reign, he wasn’t perfect and didn’t have a perfect or eternal reign, but Jesus does! So Hezekiah served more as glimpse of things to come, and this prophecy was then fully realized in Jesus. Furthermore, the New Testament, which we’ve demonstrated in the past (and I’d love to discuss further if you have any questions), has been proven to be the trustworthy Word of God, references passages within this section of Isaiah and applies them to Jesus. In fact, Matthew 4:16 even quotes the beginning of this chapter (Isaiah 9:2), “2 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.”, which demonstrates why the child needed to be born. Likewise, studying His life, we can also see how these descriptions apply to Jesus— and that’s what I want us to spend these next few weeks discussing.
As we move through what I truly consider the most wonderful time of the year ☺️, I want us to focus in on who this Child is who came to us in a manger. Here’s our gist for this morning: Jesus humbled Himself for us. Do you ever think about this? In considering that, I want to focus on just the first two lines of this passage and consider what is called the incarnation, Jesus coming as fully God and fully man. Let’s start by looking at→
I. THE GIFT OF THE INCARNATION
I want to focus in on the first phrase: “For to us a child is born.” What this points to is what is frequently referred to as Jesus’ humiliation. Why? Because Jesus is the eternal God. He didn’t begin to exist when He came as a baby in Bethlehem, but has always been since before the creation of the world. AND, He did not have to come and rescue us from the sin we’ve chosen. He chose to come, and He chose to take our place. That’s what the incarnation is all about. Like the author of Hebrews expresses in chapter 4:15-16, “15 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. 16 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.”
He humbled Himself and came to us in a way that should blow your mind. By definition, the incarnation is beyond our comprehension. Jesus did not cease to be God, but He took on humanity— true humanity. He went through life in the same way we do, just without messing up! He was fully God, but chose to live as fully man AND not just as any man. His life was the example of self-sacrifice. He faced more than any of us ever will. Not only did He encounter deep persecutions, but He also literally took on Hell, which He did not deserve. Why? Well, that leads us to our second point (already even! ☺️) →
II. THE PURPOSE OF THE INCARNATION
Look at this again. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…”. Why did He do this? For us. For you! Why did He come if He didn’t have to? Why did He suffer humiliation and shame and endure Hell though He’d lived perfectly? Because of His unfailing, unconditional love...for you! That’s the amazing grace we sing about! I don’t want to draw this out unnecessarily, but focus in on this as you consider Jesus this season as the baby in the manger: that baby came to save you from the sin you cling to that’s killing you— and He did this by giving everything because He loves you. This isn’t past tense. He loved you then, and He loves you still the same. No matter what you’re facing today, please hear that, which brings us, actually, to our last point→
III. THE HOPE OF THE INCARNATION
What do I mean by hope here? In closing, look at just at the last phrase in the verses we’ve been considering: “… and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” He’s God who came for you and died for you, but He didn’t just suffer— He rose again conquering death and defeating sin once and for all! He is and has always been completely sovereign over all. This truth should be so incredibly comforting. Especially as Providence Baptist Church, we need constantly to remember we serve the God who is in control of… EVERYTHING! Nothing— no power, no authority, no conflict, no crisis, no pain— is EVER out of His hands! That’s the hope of the incarnation. This child who came is more than a symbol of seasonal goodwill. He truly is the God who loves you and calls you to take up your cross and follow Him as He leads you exactly where you’re meant to be!
In closing, let’s consider a few quick→
TAKEAWAYS
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder”
1. Jesus humbled Himself for you.
2. He’s sovereign over the world– and your life!
3. Trust the Savior who came in the manger.
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