Of all the great Old Testament texts that point to the Messiah-to-come, maybe the simplest and most powerful is found in Isaiah 9:6…
For unto Us a Child is born, unto Us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
On the one hand, you’re given a series of compound-descriptions (adjective+noun) that illustrate the greatness of God: He is the “wonderful counsellor.” He is the awe-inspiring soother of our hurts. He is the “mighty God.” He is the miracle-working Being that redeemed Israel from Egypt, rescued Jerusalem from Assyria, broke the walls of Jericho, toppled the statue of Dagon, and brought Nebuchadnezzar to his knees. He is the “everlasting Father.” He is the eternal one, who has been and ever shall be, the first and the last, the one who breathed life into dirt and made a man, who spoke all things and made them so. He is the “Peace-bringing Prince.” He is the one who calms storms, steadies hearts, and mends the rift that our iniquities cause.
God is amazing, and if you don’t think so, this text lays out four big reasons why.
But then there’s the beginning of the verse: A CHILD is born. A SON is given. God is the subject matter of Isaiah 9:6. He has to be. No one else in existence can own so many divine descriptions. And yet, God says those descriptions belong to a child… to a son.
Jesus inhabits those descriptions. The text looks back on the greatness of God, and also looks forward to the day when that greatness will be incarnate, when all the fullness of the greatness of the Godhead will reside, bodily, in the man, Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:9).
Praise be to God, for being so wonderful, so mighty, so everlasting, and so peaceful, and praise be to Jesus, who brought those divine qualities down to earth, so that we could experience them up close and personal.
~Matthew