6 For a child
has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests
upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
John 9:6
I can’t hear this passage and not hum the Hallelujah Chorus in my head!
I hope that’s true for you too!
Therefore, with the strains of Handel’s majestic masterpiece lifting our praise, what does this passage foretell about the Messiah?
· First, he was come as a “child.” Indeed, Mary, we are told, “brought forth her first born child and laid him in a manger.”
· Second, the one who will be “born” will be “for us.” Most of us live for ourselves. The Messiah will live for others. Indeed, he lives “for us” – for you and for me and, indeed, for “all people,” as the angels proclaimed on the holy night when the Christ child was born.
· Third, this “son” has been “given” “to us.” “For God so loved the world,” says John 3:16, “that he gave his one and only Son.”
· Fourth, what does it mean “authority rests upon his shoulders.” Wait … upon whose shoulders? On his shoulders even when he was a child. What does that mean? It means eternal and sovereign authority was part of his innate being. It’s not based on anything he did – yet (he’s just a babe) – it’s based on who He is! (Which leads to the next point …)
· Read the titles of the coming Messiah in this passage. This is Trinitarian! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each God. They are three, yet one. They are coequal and yet distinct. They’ve existed together eternally (in fact, you can’t call God “love” if he didn’t have anyone to love. Thus, love existed within and defines the bonds of the Trinity.
It’s easy to see in this passage that “God” is the Father and Jesus (the coming Messiah) is the Son. It’s easy to envision that the Father is the King, and the Son is the Prince (Prince of Peace). But where is the Spirit?
When Jesus is called the Wonderful Counselor, this points forward to Jesus’ final teaching to his disciples before his arrest. In John 14:16, the Son says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another comforting Counselor like me, the Spirit of Truth, to be with you forever.” Depending on how you translate that Greek word, parakletos), the Holy Spirit – as a primary role – is the Counselor, the Comforter, the Helper, the Advocate.
We like to assign a role to each person of the Trinity. That’s the way our simple minds work. We’re most comfortable when we can put the right peg in the right hole. Thus we say, God the Father is the Creator, Jesus the Son is the Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. Three pegs. Three holes. Right?!
But with God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the roles are fluid.
Yes, the Father is the Creator … but Son and Spirit were part of creating too!
Yes, the Son redeems … but Father and Spirit are redeeming too!
Yes, the Spirit sanctifies … but Father and Son make us holy too!
Yes, Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor of Isaiah 9 and Handel’s Messiah … but the Holy Spirit is “another comforting Counselor” too!
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who’s singing,
“Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Hal - le - - lu - jah!”
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