Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace: Seeing Jesus in Isaiah’s Prophecy

Kelli Baker

Advent Series 2023

Introduction

What are you waiting on? Our lives are marked by seasons of waiting. Whether you’re waiting for orders to your next duty station, waiting to return from a deployment, or waiting for the right guy to marry. We are always waiting for something. What if I told you that it’s all part of God’s plan?

I want to remind you of the hope we have this Christmas season as we wait for the birth of our Lord and Savior. Ultimately, it prepares us for when Jesus returns to take us to glory. In the meantime, we are called to wait for him. How do we wait well?

Waiting

Do you wait well? I believe it is important for Christians to understand what it means and why we should observe the Advent season.

What is advent? Advent is the season of expectant waiting for both the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas as well as Christ’s return at the Second Coming. As we wait to celebrate Jesus' birth, we are ultimately preparing for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the meantime, we have the promise of the Holy Spirit to be with us in the waiting. We celebrate advent in remembrance of Jesus’ birth, but also remind ourselves that he is coming back.

Waiting for the Messiah

During this advent season, I would like to take a different approach and encourage you to come along with me. The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 9:6 about the coming Messiah,

“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.”

We recite this common verse each year during the Christmas season. I’ve written it on Christmas cards for years. However, do we truly know what the prophet Isaiah meant when he wrote about the coming Messiah? When Isaiah prophesied about the Savior, Israel was in desperate need. Their lack of faith in God led them to put their trust in worldly powers. As they joined forces with the surrounding nations, their hearts drifted farther and farther away from God. Because of their disobedience, they fell under Assyrian control. The Israelites experience great oppression from Assyria.

Isaiah spoke these words of a Savior who would ultimately deliver them. However, unfortunately for them, Jesus would not come for nearly 700 more years. They would wait for their redeemer.

Hope in the Waiting

Just as we wait for our redeemer to return and take us to glory, we can rely on him with expectant hope in all areas of our lives. We will unpack how Jesus fulfilled each of the roles leading up to Christmas. We will examine how Jesus fulfills each of them in our lives still today. Do we rely on Jesus with our cares and concerns as Wonderful Counselor? Do we believe Jesus is Mighty God? Do we rest in Jesus’ arms as the Everlasting Father? And do we come to Jesus as Prince of Peace in times of turmoil?

We have many distractions that vie for our attention, but what would happen if we laid those distractions aside this advent season and looked to Jesus as we wait with anticipation to celebrate his birth? Might those around us see a difference in our countenance if we looked to Jesus to fulfill our every need rather than worldly things?

So what?

Despite what the world tells us we must do this Christmas season, I encourage you to hit the pause button and look to Jesus as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to save our souls. Help us to lay aside our agendas this advent season and look upon your face instead. May we be reminded of the truth that you are all we need. In your name, Amen.