Come Thou Long Expected Better King and Government

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.

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.

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NKJV)

The five major religions of the world are Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Only three of them—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—make claims to a universal, clear source(s) of authority; that is, the kind that answers our most challenging questions like:

  • Origin: Where did we come from?
  • Meaning: What are we here for?
  • Morality: What is good and what is evil?
  • Destiny: Is there an afterlife and, if so, what will it be like? 

Interestingly, these same three—again, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—all claim allegiance to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But who is the “Child” spoken of in the famous passage above expressed so beautifully in Handel’s Messiah? Only Christianity provides an answer that is “rationally and intellectually credible… [and] emotionally and existentially true and satisfying.”[1]

When you study the early chapters of Isaiah—a book written long before Jesus was born—“the repetition of birth and the close connection in the meaning of the three signs [7:14, 8:3, and 9:6] argues that all three are expressions of Immanuel.”[2] And, in all three cases, the birth of a child is an event filled with great expectation:

  • “In 7:14 the child’s birth was a sign that it was unnecessary for Judah to trust in Assyria for deliverance…”
  • “In 8:3 the child’s birth was a sign of the same thing, but also that the misplaced trust was going to result in disaster for the nation of Judah.” (BTW, this “misplaced trust” has application for Republicans, Independents, Democrats, or any of us who put our primary hope in human power.)
  • 9:6 carries “the message another step forward. Out of the disaster God will yet bring final victory… Maher-Shalal-Baz [expectant parents, how’s that for a baby name?!!] was the immediate fulfillment of the sign…” But the description of this “Child” clearly shows that a greater and complete fulfillment was yet to come.

And who is the “Child” associated with that ultimate fulfillment? The Lord Jesus Christ—the incarnate Son of God (see Matt. 1:23)! Why? “No Israelite or Judean king was ever identified as ‘Mighty God’… Furthermore, the government… he will produce will be eternal.”[3]

Old Testament scholar John Oswalt summarizes the case well: “It is hard to think of another way in which the apparent contradictions of Isaiah 9:1-7 could have been resolved than in the way in which they actually were in Jesus Christ.”[4]

This is good news that should be shared with all who will listen! As Jesus said:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matt. 28:19-20, NLT)

I’ve written elsewhere that “making life disciples is more than going through a class. It takes lots of perseverance and patience to partner with God in offering compassion, hope, and help.” Here’s a case in point. On September 21, 2018, we shared a story about how Making Life Disciples (MLD)[5] helped mobilize a church to show Christ’s love to an immigrant family in need:

“A Muslim client… had come to America with her husband and child only a year and a half before we met her. She was faced with a tough pregnancy decision and came to our… center… Due to her language barrier, she faced many disadvantages, and to add to an already seemingly impossible situation, her husband lost his job. We reached out to our network of supporting churches. One of the churches recently started a Making Life Disciples program and… responded IMMEDIATELY, wholeheartedly thanking me for reaching out with this opportunity to love and serve a family in need.”

On November 27th of this year, I got this update:

“Regarding the family we did the blog [about]… a year ago, [The MLD church]… has been ministering to/friending… [and] praying for this… family and they are the sweetest couple ever… I am beyond excited that the family is planning to attend church services on Sunday…!!!” One of the MLD team members said, “Sunday [the mom] is going to come to my house before the service so I can help her with an online job search, then we will go to church together.”

It’s so exciting to see these seeds of Christian discipleship growing!

Is the Child-King over the government of your life? If not, may the “passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies… make it happen!”[6] And if you’re a Christian, please join me in praying that the family above would continue to feel God’s “gentle care”[7] and embrace the incarnate Son of God whom we celebrate this season!

Merry Christmas!

[1] Tim Keller uses this language here: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/timothy-kellers-moral-universe/603001/

[2] John N. Oswalt, NIV Application Commentary: Isaiah (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 160.

[3] Ibid., 160-161.

[4] Ibid., 162.

[5] This is the ministry resource I promote through Care Net. See makinglifedisciples.com

[6] Isaiah 9:7 (NLT).

[7] See Isaiah 8:6 (NLT).