For unto us a child is born,
Isaiah 9:6
unto us a son is given,
and the government shall be upon his shoulder.
And his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (, MEV)
This text is a portion of Handel’s Messiah. That’s how I have it memorized, complete with the music, and how it Is sung. In the composer’s mind, Wonderful is a standalone name of Jesus Christ. As is Counselor.
I don’t think there is really any argument that this text is referring to Jesus Christ. He is called God’s Son. He is Unique in nature. I think that will become very clear.
There are many who get confused about how God portrays Himself in His Word. Technically, the Word is Him, too. By John 1, that is made clear.
He also says of Himself that there is none like Him. Meaning there is no frame of reference for comparison.
Isaiah 9:6 portrays God, specifically Jesus Christ. Oddly, the Child given, the Son born, He is called Eternal Father. How can the Son of God be the Eternal Father God?
That seems confusing. Buckle up!
This also comes from the Lord of Hosts,
Isaiah 28:29
who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.
It seems that Isaiah, writing God’s words, is drawing attention with those two words again. The Lord of Hosts is wonderful in counsel. The Lord of Hosts is Jehovah Sabaoth.
If you’re not picking up what God is telling of Himself… Jesus is Jehovah God. He is the Jehovah of Hosts. The One Who commands the armies of Heaven. The One Who goes to war. Of course, the idea that comes to mind may be this:
I saw heaven opened. And there was a white horse. He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written, that no one knows but He Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of God. The armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
Revelation 19:11–14
There is a whole prophetic panorama to which this is a part. Jesus is prophesied to come as a newborn human baby, the Son given by God. He is obviously highly esteemed even in the Godhead. He is also called the Prince of Peace. This seems to an opposing idea to the Lord of Hosts. The passage in Revelation above speaks of a time of great judgment that comes on the people of the Earth when Jesus returns. He will handily vanquish His enemies, having the evidence clearly presented on His white robe.
There is far more than just this… Yet there is enough given for a foundation toward understanding… Jesus is God. Which brings this around to the age-old supposed gotcha question, “But did Jesus ever say He is God?”
Personally, being familiar with many passages in the Tanakh, understanding the audience He spoke to, and considering the phrases and words He used… It is a resounding “Yes!”
The casual reader may not ever pick that out. So why is that important?
Consider this passage:
Again, Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and you will die in your sins. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
John 8:21–30
So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself? For He said, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ ”
He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
They said to Him, “Who are You?
Jesus said to them, “Just who I have been telling you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true. So I tell the world what I heard from Him.”
They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing of Myself. But I speak these things as My Father taught Me. He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.
Look at that last sentence. What was said in this passage that caused many to get saved?
What does it mean they believed in Him?
Working backwards, some clues can help make it clear. Many then didn’t know that Jesus was speaking of the Father. Who is the God of the Israelis. It is John’s additional contextual clues that demand attention.
It came from a question; the people present wanted to know Who He is. They asked, “Who are you?” This came, even after He had told them exactly Who He is.
“For unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” The English is a factual translation. The word He is added to make correct English. What Jesus really said is, “For unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”
Either way, there were some present with Jesus who knew that Jesus was saying to them, unless one believes I am (Jehovah), they die in their sins.
I’m always fascinated by this stuff. I can understand the skepticism and confusion of some in the crowd. Yet not the same consideration is extended to the skeptics of today. It seems to come from the idea of how could Jehovah be a man?
It is hard to consider, even presently. The Bible says that Jesus, Jehovah God, did something unique.
Let this mind be in you all, which was also in Christ Jesus,
Philippians 2:5–11
who, being in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
But He emptied Himself,
taking upon Himself the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in the form of a man,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God highly exalted Him
and gave Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
This text tries to capture the high-level view, while drilling down into some details that must be considered. I think the many names ascribed to Jesus are from the Father, Who is obviously well-pleased with His Son. He humbled Himself to die. It was not just any death. The text mentions the cross, as death is the ultimate humility.
I have really big and deep thoughts here. Ones that are hard to explain. Suffice it to say, this Jesus suffered the ultimate humility, not just death alone… But a shameful one.
Yes, Jehovah died.
I know how unsettling that thought is! A proper understanding of what death is and is not helps here. Death is not non-existence. Death is what happens to physical human bodies. When Jesus died, He did not cease existing. That is a key foundation to hold.
I think it is one of those really deep things that the God I know suffered the humility of death. He has been there and defeated it.
Yet, He had to die.
Paul writes a long treatise on the greatest victory ever. It is in 1 Corinthians 15. That victory is the resurrection! That one event is the greatest victory, ever, anywhere! He could not have risen again, unless He died first. That can only happen to a physical human body.
It was a war on death itself.
In this mountain the Lord of Hosts shall prepare
Isaiah 25:6–8
for all people a lavish feast,
a feast of aged wines,
choice pieces full of marrow, and refined, aged wines.
He will destroy in this mountain
the covering which is over all peoples,
even the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death for all time,
and the Lord God will wipe away tears
from all faces;
and the reproach of His people He shall take away
from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken it.
For the reformers who embrace limited atonement, this passage eliminates that idea. The victory is over the thing that affects all peoples and all nations. That thing is death. Who is it that swallows up death for all peoples and all nations for all time?
It is Jehovah of Hosts… Jesus Christ.
As an aside, when I read this passage, there are precise details here that may be missed. It is Jesus Who goes to war. It is the Holy Spirit that ministers to people, wiping away their tears. It is the Father declaring the plan.
Jehovah had to be a Man to conquer God’s enemy… Death. The Bible clearly states that the last enemy to be defeated will be death.
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:26
I find it fitting that there is one prophet who laid this all out beforehand. Knowing Jesus is the Right Hand of Jehovah and that death is the real enemy, this song of Moses and Israel comes to new life. Israel faced certain death, walled in on a beach with Pharaoh’s army quickly approaching. Who is the One Who wars against death?
Jesus.
This is that. When Moses says Jehovah is a man of war, it is true and prophetic, because only a Man can die. And only a Man can wage war on death. Only a Man can defeat death by resurrection. All hail King Jesus!
Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord and spoke, saying:
Exodus 15:1–18
“I will sing to the Lord,
for He has triumphed gloriously!
He has thrown the horse and his rider
into the sea!
The Lord is my strength and song,
and He has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The Lord is a man of war;
the Lord is His name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has thrown into the sea;
his chosen captains also
are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;
they sank to the bottom like a stone.
“Your right hand, O Lord,
is glorious in power.
Your right hand, O Lord,
shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of Your excellence,
You overthrow those who rise up against You.
You send out Your wrath;
it consumes them like stubble.
With the blast of Your nostrils
the waters were gathered together.
The flowing waters stood upright as a heap;
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
“The enemy said,
‘I will pursue. I will overtake.
I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them.
I will draw my sword,
my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with Your wind,
and the sea covered them;
they sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You,
glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises,
doing wonders?
You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
“In Your mercy You have led
the people whom You have redeemed;
You have guided them by Your strength
to Your holy dwelling.
The peoples have heard and are afraid;
sorrow has taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom were amazed;
the mighty men of Moab, trembling takes hold of them;
all the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away.
Fear and dread fall upon them;
by the greatness of Your arm
they are as still as a stone,
until Your people pass over, O Lord,
until the people whom You have purchased pass over.
You shall bring them in, and plant them
on the mountain of Your inheritance,
in the place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.
The Lord will reign
forever and ever.”
Master's Crumbs 