*This is the first post of a four-part Christmas series.
“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.” Isaiah 9:6 NKJV
It’s the time of year again where we celebrate the birth of our Savior. So, in the next four weeks, I will be doing a deep dive into one of the most popular scriptures of the Bible – Isaiah 9:6. Isaiah offers arguably the most complete prophecy concerning Jesus in the Old Testament, which always amazes me considering he was prophesying over 700 years before Christ was born. The book of Isaiah covers the birth, life and death of Jesus. And this verse is one of the most quoted.
In Isaiah 9, Isaiah prophesies about the birth of Jesus. In verse 6, he uses several adjectives to describe Jesus. The first that he uses is WONDERFUL. The Hebrew word used here that translates into the English word wonderful is pele. When I looked this word up, I noted two definitions. The first says that pele means “an astonishing, hard to understand thing.” The second definition says pele describes “a great work as an act of intercession.” As I think about what the birth of Jesus means to me and everyone in the world, I don’t think Isaiah could’ve selected a more appropriate word to begin his list of adjectives.
I will never understand the grace of God, in that He sent His only Son to die for a world that truly didn’t deserve such an act. As Paul says in Romans 5:8, “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The world was mired in sin and had no hope of redemption. And God knew long before He sent His Son that we would need saving (Isaiah 46:9-10). So Jesus was born, lived and died in the greatest act of intercession the world has ever known. And now salvation is available to all who confess and believe in Him (Romans 10:9).
It’s so hard to describe what God did for us. As Isaiah said, the birth of Jesus, and Jesus Himself, is wonderful.