A Child Will Be Born

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Isaiah prophesied in greater detail about the coming Messiah. God revealed vital information and essential characteristics about Jesus so the world could identify Him when He came.

6 For a child will be born for us,
a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
7 The dominion will be vast,
and its prosperity will never end.
He will reign on the throne of David
and over his kingdom,
to establish and sustain it
with justice and righteousness from now on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

A significant birth would take place to get our attention. There’s only one birth in history that originated from a virgin, so this detail reduces the field drastically. Isaiah also indicated that the child would be a baby boy (Isaiah 9:6). This fact also narrows our focus. This coming figure would rule and reign in a previously unseen way since “the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6). 

Isaiah then provided names by which we could better understand Him.

  • This Wonderful Counselor directs us to wise decisions in a world full of conflicting advice. Jesus’ incomparable guidance provides not only the truth we need to hear but also what we need to apply.
  • Isaiah also says that the prophesied individual would be the Mighty God. Jesus was not merely a godly man but the God-Man who came to us since we could not make it to Him. Throughout the life of Jesus, He repeatedly did things that supposedly only God could do.
  • Isaiah told us of Jesus’ heart by calling him our Everlasting Father. In tune with our needs, Jesus cared for the people of this world like a father caring for his children.
  • Isaiah’s last description was that Jesus would be our Prince of Peace. How reassuring to know that in a world where chaos abounds, Jesus can provide the serenity that our soul so desperately needs. No matter what happens in this world, a peaceful disciple of Jesus can acknowledge the trouble around without being overwhelmed by it due to the peace that our Savior brings.

Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. Through these names, we realize that He provides us with wisdom, power, care, and stability. Jesus’ reign would not end when his thirty-three years of earthly life were complete. “The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end” (Isaiah 9:7). We need Jesus now and forever.