Isaiah 7:14 tells us that Messiah will be born of a virgin, he continues to give more information as to
who the Messiah is.
1) Not everyone will get Him. Israel will completely miss the point
Isaiah 8:11-15
For the LORD spoke thus to me with a strong hand, and instructed me that I should not walk in the
way of this people, saying: 12 “ Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ Concerning all that this people call a
conspiracy, Nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. 13 The LORD of hosts, Him you shall
hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. 14 He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of
stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem. 15 And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and
taken.”
Instead of fearing men, fear God. Don’t get freaked out by news reports, fear God. God is either a
sanctuary of help and refuge or causes people to stumble, there’s no middle ground. Israel will trip
and be broken by Him.
2) While Israel misses Him, Gentile heathens in the dark totally get Him!
Isaiah 9:2,3
The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the
shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation And increased its
joy; They rejoice before You According to the joy of harvest, As men rejoice when they divide the
spoil.
People who walk in darkness--Gentiles, no special revelation, clueless people. Quoted in Matthew 4:
16--Aftetr the temptation in the wilderness Jesus goes to the land of Gentiles to preach repent for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Point is reaffirmed in Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold,
the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the
brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 42:6
I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give
You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,
Isaiah 49:6
Indeed He says, ‘ It is too small a thing (Messiah deserves a much bigger mission!) that You should
be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also
give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.
The Light refers to the Messiah, a person, and also to Israel the nation when they respond to the
Messiah. Where the Messiah is, glows. This passage refers to a deliverance from Assyria as well as a
future full deliverance during the Millennial kingdom when Gentiles would flock to Israel.
3) This is the Light! He will be an incredible person, God Himself who will reign forever
Isaiah 9:6-7
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and
over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward,
even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
These names, or titles, of the Messiah stress His divinity.
Wonderful Counselor--a Wonder of a Counselor, He does not need anyone to counsel Him, He is His
own group decision.
Judges 13:18
And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?”
Mighty God--A God of infinite power.
Isaiah 10:20,21
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house
of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the
Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty
God.
God is the one they come to, this child will be God.
Everlasting Father--The Messiah will be an eternal being. Could be translated “The Father of
Eternity.” Father stresses care and protection. Also neat Trinitarian ideas swirling about here,
knowing that the Father and the Son are one.
Prince of Peace--He will be a peaceful prince, not a warmonger. True peace exists when true justice
and righteousness are present, he does not give peace the way the world does.
--God will accomplish all this. In order for all this to happen, for justice and righteousness to reign,
sin must be dealt with. Messiah comes first, born of a virgin, to deal with sin. Not the Messiah they
expected, causing them to stumble. But Gentiles will see the light of God’s love present in Christ and
flock to Him. At some point, God will set things right and reveal Himself for who he is and reign and
a remnant of Israel will respond.
The Mighty God
Isaiah 40:25,26
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by
number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power;
not one faileth (is missing).
Psalm 50:1
The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto
the going down thereof.
Jesus Christ is God, the Mighty God, the creator and sustainer of all life and creation. The one who
holds it together and holds it in His hand. Just to be made like unto sinful flesh, to leave the perfect
delights of heaven for earth, was a huge step down, huge with no scale! We’re proud to be us, He is
humbled to be us. If we did ONE of His miracles we’d be a proud jerk, He remained humbled.
BUT THEN HE DIED FOR US, TOOK THE WRATH WE DESERVED
The wages of sin is death--Christ, the perfect, sinless ruler of humanity submitted to His own rules
and died, taking our sin on Himself. This makes no sense.
1 Corinthians 1:23-25
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom
of God. 25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger
than men.
If we knew who it was who died for us we’d think twice about sin, be more willing to fight against
it. There are at least two primary responses to knowing the God died for your sin:
1)Shame--I speak this to your shame, godly sorrow leads people to repentance
2) Joy--You know you can trust God’s love, grace, mercy, goodness, kindness if He was willing to
give His Son for you.
Remembering dead friends or relatives is not supposed to be always happy and it’s not always sad. It’
s a mix of both. Christ’s death is no different.