Sermon Tone Analysis

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

[1]

“His Name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

With this glorious prophecy of the Messiah, Isaiah speaks of Him Who brings hope and joy for all who know Him as Master of life.

I contend that Isaiah has revealed so much more than a mere name for the Messiah—we are given the very nature of God with us.

Fathers provided the name during the Jewish naming rite.

However, Messiah appears to receive these names from the people that knew Him, thought this is by no means certain.

We do know that the Name given Messiah was Immanuel [see ISAIAH 7:14].

It was in fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy that He was called Jesus.

After Joseph had considered quietly divorcing Mary, the angel of the Lord appeared to him and instructed him, “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” [MATTHEW 1:21].

The divine text continues with this explanation.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)” [MATTHEW 1:22, 23].

The titles Isaiah provides carry the thought that the child is worthy to bear them as Names because they are accurate descriptions of His being and character.

The names announced are actually titles.

It is uncertain whether He shall receive these Names from the Father who appoints Him to the reign over all the earth, or whether those who receive His reign will call Him by these Names.

However, that particular issue is immaterial since the truth conveyed through these Names nevertheless remains.

Rabbim of ancient days were not at all reticent in ascribing these titles to Messiah.

“The ancient (first century B.C.) Aramaic Targum Jonathan paraphrased this passage:

And there was called His name from of old,

Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, He who

Lives for ever, the Messiah in whose days

Peace shall increase.”

[2]

Reacting to the growth of the Christian Faith, more recent Jewish commentators and translators of the Bible recognise that if these Names are accurately translated, it is a tacit confession that this is not solely a Messianic passage, but that Isaiah has included a Christological passage that has now been fulfilled.

Since the birth of the Son of God, Jewish commentators have attempted to avoid the implications of Isaiah’s prophecy.

The medieval Jewish commentator Kimchi rendered the passage, “The God who is called and who is Wonder, Counsellor, the mighty God, the eternal Father, calls his name the Prince of Peace.”

[3] David Luzzatto attempted to avoid the meaning of Isaiah’s prophecy by taking the titles together and treating them as one word which would translate into the following name, “A wonderful thing is counselling he who is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.”

[4] Even if we were to credit this suggestion, such a sesquipedalian name would be impossible to pronounce in one breath.

The extent of embarrassment for Jewish commentators becomes apparent with more recent efforts to explain Isaiah.

Slotki refused to translate the Hebrew, instead transliterating Isaiah’s words to read, Pele-joetz-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom.

[5]

What Isaiah seems to have intended readers to understand is that the child who was to be born, who is also the son who was to be given, bears these regal names because He is worthy to do so.

I am quite confident that the One whose birth is commemorated during this Holy Season is the child that was to be ever after known as “Immanuel,” and He is for us the “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.”

Focus, with me, on the Name of Jesus as we remember His birth at this time.

*WHAT THE NAMES REVEAL ABOUT JESUS* — Obviously, the names that are applied to the coming Messiah are important.

They speak of His character, of His fitness to assume the reign of all creation, of His very essence.

In older versions of the Bible, the Names that God gave to the child that was to be born were presented as five in number—“Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”

More recently, translations have understood that four names were presented in Isaiah’s prophecy.

In this contemporary view, translators consider that whereas older versions presented five names, the first two should read as one title, “Wonderful Counsellor.”

The underlying reason for this change lies in the Hebrew language in which the text is written.

The accenting of the Masoretic text supports division into four names.

Also, if we allow that Isaiah intended to present four names, a remarkable symmetry becomes apparent.

Finally, if four names are presented, one of the two words always describes the earthly side and the other the “metaphysical side of the government.

In the first two names, the divine aspect of the child is presented first, whereas in the last two names, it is the second word that points to the Son’s deity.

This point becomes apparent if we emphasise the divine aspect of the One to be born, so that we read (in Hebrew): /PELE/ yo’etz, /‘EL/ gibbor, ‘avi /‘AD/, sar /SHALOM/.

[6]

Therefore, the first Name or Title ascribed to the Messiah is “Wonderful Counsellor.”

Normally, the Hebrew would be translated as “Wonder,” but to make the English translation read more smoothly, we use the adjective “Wonderful.”

However, the concrete “Wonder,” used in the original language, is actually the stronger word.

When the Angel of the Lord identified Himself to Manoah, the father of Samson, He said His Name was “Wonderful”—Pele [JUDGES 13:18].

To us, this is not as apparent as it was to Manoah (who heard the angel speak) or to those first readers of the account in the Hebrew tongue, for the Angel of the Lord was identifying Himself as Divine, a theophany, as most theologians accept.

The root of this Title is also used in PSALM 78:12 where we read that God “performed wonders” in the sight of the fathers of the nation of Israel.

Elsewhere in this same prophecy, the prophet Isaiah writes of the mercy that comes from the LORD of hosts, and then he states of Him that He is “wonderful in counsel” [ISAIAH 28:29].

Thus, the first Name of the Child reveals His divine character.

Consider the revelation of the wisdom of our Lord.

Upon Him, “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding” is said to rest, as is “the Spirit of counsel and might” and “the Spirit of knowledge” [ISAIAH 11:2].

The ruler of the people was assumed to be, or at least hoped to be, an individual characterised by wisdom, hence Micah uses counsellor as a synonym for the king [MICAH 4:9].

This was also the reason that a human king would surround himself with counsellors, so that he would be advised as to the best course of action and thus exercise wisdom in his rule.

Jesus, our Lord, does not need to surround Himself with advisors, since in Him are hidden “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” [COLOSSIANS 2:3].

To those who are called, Christ has become “the wisdom of God” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:24, 30].

Isaiah says that the Messiah will be El Gibbor—“Mighty God.” Indeed, some individuals are uncomfortable with acknowledging that the Hebrew should be translated as “Mighty God.”

Such scruples have less to do with translation than with theological implications, for if the Messiah is indeed God with us, we are obligated to submit to Him as very God.

That this Name points to Yahweh, the Lord God, becomes apparent when we remember the words of Isaiah in another verse.

In ISAIAH 10:21, we learn, “A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God”—to El Gibbor.

Likewise, Jeremiah insists that the LORD of Hosts is El Gibbor—“Mighty God” [JEREMIAH 32:18].

Jeremiah also identifies Messiah as “the LORD … our righteousness” [JEREMIAH 23:6].

Through Him and in His day, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell secure, for He is the righteous Branch from David, who is appointed to reign as King and to deal wisely, even as He executes justice righteousness and righteousness.

The New Testament lays stress upon the power of Jesus, the Messiah.

Remember the words our Lord spoke, which are recorded for our encouragement in John’s Gospel.

“In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart; I have overcome the world” [JOHN 16:33].

When the Master issued the Great Commission, He was not merely saying some words.

He said, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me” [MATTHEW 28:18].

What a blessed confidence is ours, that “In [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” [COLOSSIANS 1:19].

Though Isaiah cannot be said to have given us a full revelation of Trinitarian doctrine, it is apparent that we have an adumbration of the doctrine in this Name.

Clearly, the Name that Isaiah gave by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit anticipates the full revelation of that precious doctrine, for the child that is born is also identified fully with the LORD God of Hosts.

I must pause at this point to say that since the child that is born—and whose birth we observe at this Holy Season—is Mighty God, we may be assured that “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him” [HEBREWS 7:25].

Messiah is also called the “Everlasting Father,” or more literally, “Father of Eternity.”

When I read this Name or Title in the original language, I discover that it has a surprisingly contemporary ring to it.

Somewhat literally, the Child’s Name is “Father until.”

In other words, the Child that is born is seen as Father of the people for whom He is born and of the people for whom He is given.

In ISAIAH 63:16, the Prophet addresses the LORD on behalf of the people.

“You, O LORD, are our Father,

our Redeemer from of old is your name.”

That final phrase is translated in the ASV; “our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name.”

[7] The Psalmist provides insight into the character of Messiah when he writes:

“He delivers the needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and precious is their blood in his sight.”

[PSALM 72:12-14]

It is Messiah who is revealed as having compassion on His people—compassion compared to “a Father [who] shows compassion to His children” [see PSALM 103:13].

Jesus our Saviour and Lord is identified as the Good Shepherd [see JOHN 10:11-18].

As the Good Shepherd, He guards His people and He supplies their need.

Messiah is also identified as “Prince of Peace.”

If, as Isaiah states, Messiah is the “Wonderful Counsellor,” the “Mighty God” and the “Father of Eternity,” it must follow that He will also be the “Prince of Peace.”

He will employ His might and His wisdom to remove all peace-disturbing nations in the Day of His reign throughout the Millennium.

However, the peace that is in view is not merely the cessation of hostility between nations; it includes prosperity, well being, harmony within and without, peace in one’s heart and peace with God.

The peace that is envisioned is the perfect state for mankind.

Though we do not now see that perfect state, we who know the Saviour have discovered that in Him is peace in our own heart and peace with God.

Jesus promised, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

Not as the world gives do I give to you” [JOHN 14:27].