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STUDY 15: CHRIST: THE CHILD BORN, THE SON GIVEN – ISAIAH 9

© Rosemary Bardsley 2024

Having spoken of the coming of the light and the joy that results from his victory (9:2, 3), Isaiah gives us a strong statement about the identity of the One who accomplishes this deliverance from darkness and defeat (9:6, 7).

Isaiah 9:6 is a well-known and well-loved verse, and with good reason. Every word in this verse speaks to us of our Lord Jesus Christ, describing many aspects of his person and his work.

A. A CHILD BORN ‘TO US’

‘To us …’ These words speak of the relationship and purpose of this birth.

He is ‘a child’ born ‘to us’ – unto us human beings, one of us. In the birth of Jesus Christ God’s long standing promises of a human Saviour are fulfilled – the offspring of the woman [Genesis 3:15], the seed of Abraham [Genesis 22:18], the prophet like Moses [Deuteronomy 18:15], the ‘branch’ of Jesse [Isaiah 11:1]. His essential humanity is here defined. He is not an angel. He is not a ‘superman’. He is not a ghost, an apparition, a pretend human. He is a child born ‘to us’ – a real human, flesh and blood child, subject to the same pressures and temptations as us, of the same family as us, our ‘brother’ [Hebrews 2:9-18]. He is the ‘last Adam’, the representative man [Romans 5:12-21; 1Corinthians 15:22, 45].

This ‘to us’ also teaches us that this child is born to bring to fulfilment the eternal purpose of God that God planned and determined before the beginning of time to save us. This birth is directed ‘to us’ - towards our salvation. We are the reason for this birth. We are the reason this child was born. The Scripture teaches:

This plan was ‘destined for our glory before time began’ [1Corinthians 2:7].

‘… when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under the law …’ [Galatians 4:4,5].

‘God chose us in him before the creation of the world …’ [Ephesians 1:4].

‘This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time’ [2Timothy 1:9].

The hope we have in Christ was ‘promised before the beginning of time …’ [Titus 1:2].

Jesus Christ is ‘the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world’ [Revelation 13:8].

This birth is not an ordinary or arbitrary birth. It is not an unplanned, unexpected birth. Here the eternal purpose of God breaks into human time and space. Here that which was hidden under the cover of prophetic symbolism breaks out into clear view. Here in this ‘to us a child is born’ God’s intentions towards us, intentions of mercy and grace, intentions involving an incredible substitutionary exchange, are irrevocably brought into tangible, visible reality. For us humans. For our salvation.

B. A SON GIVEN TO US

‘… to us a son is given.’ We might think at first that this is merely repeating the thought of the first line, and nothing more. But there is also a deeper truth here. Yes, this child is the son of Mary, this son is a human child. But a birth implies a father also. And here we learn that this ‘son’ who ‘is given’ is the Son of God.
Luke records the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary:

‘… you will … give birth to a son … He will … be called the Son of the Most High’ [Luke 1:32].

‘So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’ [Luke 1:35].

This birth, this Son of God, is given by God to us for our salvation:

‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son …’ [John 3:16].

‘… when the time had fully come, God sent his Son … to redeem those under the law …’ [Galatians 4:4,5].

‘This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. …he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins’ [1John 4:9,10].

‘The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world’ [1John 4:14].

This ‘to us a son is given’ speaks of the deliberate intention of God to save us through Jesus Christ, his Son. This Son existed in eternity with the Father, before ever he was ‘given to us’. But for our salvation, he was sent into the world; for our salvation, he came into the world. To us, for us, this Son is given:

He was sent by the Father not to condemn us, but to save us [John 3:17].
He came ‘to seek and to save the lost’ [Luke 19:10].
He came ‘to give his life as a ransom for many’ [Mark 19:45].
He came from the Father for the ‘hour’ of his death [John 12:27].

God has given his Son ‘to us’. In this Son is complete salvation; in his Son we have eternal life.

Jesus said to the Samaritan woman:

‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water’ [John 4:10].

If you knew the gift of God … This Son has been given to us: let us not despise or reject this gift. Let us rather with Paul express our awe and our gratitude: ‘Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!’ [2Corinthians 9:15].

C. THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS

When Isaiah speaks to us in 9:6 of the ‘child’ who is born, the ‘son’ who is given, we are not really prepared for his next words ‘and the government will be on his shoulders’. We are thinking in terms of a baby – weakness, dependence, vulnerability. We are not thinking in terms of power and authority. But had we taken notice of the little word ‘for’ we would perhaps have been prepared. This word ‘for’ connects this child, this son, to what Isaiah has already told us in this chapter:

That into the gloom, distress and darkness of our human world a ‘great light’ has come [9:1-2].
That our human despair has been replaced with exultant joy [9:3].
That God has shattered all that held us bound and captive [9:4].
That God has brought war and fighting to an end [9:5].

All of this has happened ‘for’ [meaning because] ‘to us a child is born, a son is given’. It is this child, this son, through whom all of this reversal of the human condition has occurred. All of this light, this joy, this release, this peace, happens because this child, this son, has ‘the government on his shoulders’.

Study these verses to understand this government, this authority, that is ‘on the shoulders’ of Jesus Christ:
Matthew 28:18

Mark 1:27

Mark 4:41

John 5:21, 26

John 5:22, 27

Romans 9:5

Ephesians 1:22

Philippians 2:9, 10

Colossians 2:15

Revelation 1:18

Revelation 19:16

Isaiah tells us that ‘Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever’ (9:7). Because of the reference to ‘David’s throne’ we are tempted to think that Isaiah is limiting the authority and reign of Jesus Christ to Israel, but, as we have seen previously, such an interpretation is not valid. Isaiah understands that all nations are involved in the redemption and rule established by Jesus Christ [see, for example, Isaiah 2:2; 25:7; 49:6; 52:10]. His rule, his kingdom, is without political, national, geographic or temporal limitation. His rule, his kingdom is one of which there is no limit – no end, no boundary. It is not entered because of national heritage, but by personal allegiance to the King. It commenced when he was ‘given’ to us, that is with the first coming of Jesus Christ, and it remains ‘from that time on and forever’.

Study these verses to discover what the Lord Jesus Christ said about his kingdom:
Matthew 4:17

Matthew 8:11

Matthew 18:3

Luke 16:16

John 3:7

John 18:36

All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ belong to this spiritual and eternal kingdom, and this kingdom belongs to them:

‘… the kingdom of God is within you’ [Luke 17:21].

‘(God) … has brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves’ [Colossians 1:13].

‘John, your companion in the suffering and kingdom … that are ours in Jesus’ [Revelation 1:9].

It is those who have seen and acknowledged Jesus, the Light of the world, who have escaped from the darkness and despair of ignorance of God [John 8:12]. It is those who have acknowledged Jesus, the King, who rejoice with indescribable joy [1Peter 1:8]. It is those who have acknowledged Jesus, the Saviour, the Redeemer, who know that they have been delivered for ever from the dark bondage in which Satan, sin and death held them captive [Romans 8:2; Hebrews 2:14,15]. It is those who approach God in the name of Jesus who rest in perfect peace in the presence of God [Matthew 11:29; Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20-22; Hebrews 3 and 4].

[Note: We have already looked at what Isaiah says about the judgement of God in Study 10. In Study 25 we will focus on the final judgement. In that study we will see that part of the authority and rule of Christ is the implementation of the final judgement.]