Unto Us: Celebrating the Arrival of JesusSample

Unto Us a Child Is Born

In the Bible, prophets were people who heard from God and then gave that message to the people. Isaiah is the first of the major prophets in the Old Testament. Being a major prophet doesn’t mean his works were more important—it simply means that what the prophet wrote couldn’t fit on one scroll, while the works of a minor prophet could. 

He prophesied to Judah for approximately 80 years, and his book is full of various prophecies.  In addition to the prophecies about God’s judgment upon His people because they turned from Him, it’s also about God’s redemption and salvation through a Savior, Jesus Christ. We find the most thorough picture of Jesus in the entire Old Testament through prophecies (or predictions) in this book. 

In Isaiah 7, he prophesied that the birth of this child would represent God’s presence. The child would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Two chapters later in Isaiah 9 we find one of the most amazing prophecies about this child, Jesus, who is the Messiah. Specifically, verse 6 points out who He will be:

For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NASB

Isaiah sent this birth announcement about Christ 700 years before Jesus would enter the world. Isn’t that amazing? He was given a word from God seven centuries before it would come to pass! Not only that, but this child would be the ruler of the world, and He would have the names that are only attributed to God—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

In the rest of this Plan, we’ll learn more about the names given to Jesus in Isaiah 9. And we’ll see that they’re more than just names—they’re actually descriptions of His character! Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world, is truly our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.