Advent 3: The Infant Father
Notes
Transcript
Everlasting Father: The Infant Father
Everlasting Father: The Infant Father
6 For unto us a child is born, unto 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. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.
The Infant Father
The Infant Father
Anybody else think that it’s odd to call an infant “father”? That’s rather jarring, isn’t it? A newborn referred to as a father when he hasn’t even grown up yet? How does a baby have any of the characteristics of a father, let alone the wherewithal to act like one?
On top of that, how do you throw the entire government of the world, the running of all human society, on the shoulders of an infant who cannot speak, act, or think as anything other than a child? In case you think I’m making more of this than there is, in the text, The Message gives little room for doubt about Isaiah’s intention at this point. It reads, “He’ll take over the running of the world.” As I read that and thought of the implications, I’m forced to consider the question, “Is this good news?” that a newborn child will be responsible for running the whole world? Granted, we have a lot of adults acting like children who run political, business, and social institutions, but is that something you want as a model for how the kingdom of God will be run? It makes me scratch my head and wonder if it is a good thing that a newborn is called an “Everlasting Father,” who runs the world.
Having said that, the “Everlasting” part seems easier to reconcile, doesn’t it? After all, if Jesus is, indeed, God in the flesh, then He is an eternal being. He came from eternity, and if we can look forward in the scriptures to the Ascension in Acts 1, He returns to eternity/the heavens right in front of the Disciples. At first, I thought that reconciling the idea of Jesus as “Everlasting” would be easier than dealing with Him as an infant-father… but then I looked deeper into the text.
The Hebrew Word for “Everlasting”: Ad
The Hebrew Word for “Everlasting”: Ad
The Hebrew word for “Everlasting” is a basic, elemental Jewish word. “Ad” is a primary word in Hebrew, and it means different things depending on what you are referring to. The basic meaning is “to pass over.” Not Passover, mind you, but to pass over. The concept refers to passing over something in space; it means to progress beyond something orsome object. When you hit a ball over the fence, you “ad” it – you pass it over the fence. Driving in a car, we might use this word to describe what happens when we pass a slower car on the road. We “ad” it or pass beyond the pace and place where the car was. However, doesn’t that seem too limiting a definition of what we mean by “Everlasting?” If this definition was the only understanding of “ad,” it might lead us to some erroneous conclusions, such as believing that everlasting simply means to go beyond someone else or to supersede those who have gone before.
In addition to passing over space “ad” can also mean to pass by in terms of time; it means to pass by the duration of things. “Ad” is not a term of distance (such as, “I outlasted the other runner”) but a term of duration (meaning, “I spent more time than you did on the project”). But again, if that is all the term means, then it can lead to further difficulties. For instance, we might come to understand the Messiah much as we do an octogenarian who has outlived most of their contemporaries. Just because they have exceeded the duration of the age of their contemporaries doesn’t mean they have reached eternal life. Even those beyond 80+ years still have people older than they are. And none of us would claim that if you outlived all your contemporaries, you would become eternal. That sounds more like Greek Mythology than Christian doctrine.
Research indicates that the oldest person ever was a woman named Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days. The oldest man ever was Jiroemon Kimura of Japan. He just died in 2013, having been born in 1897. He lived to the age of 116 years, 54 days. But living to 122 or 116 doesn’t make you eternal. Simply to outlast anyone else in terms of years is not what is meant by the Hebrew term “ad.” There must be more to the term than mere duration – merely outlasting others.
The Hebrew term for “Everlasting” describes God in very important and specific terms. It refers to Him as ancient (which denotes time past); it refers to God as forever (which signifies time future); and it refers to the continuous existence of God (which indicates a being who has existed for all time, eternity). This is what Isaiah has in mind when he attributes these qualities to a new newborn child. This specially born child, prophesied by Isaiah, will come as one newly born as well as ancient and of old; He will come as an infant who has always been and will grow into an adult who will always be; He will be born in a manger but has continuously existed in all the past forms of time and will continue to exist beyond all the future forms of time. In other words, He will be from everlasting to everlasting. For when Jesus is born, He is eternal – and being an eternal being means that eternity goes in both ways, forwards and backwards. Jesus has always been. Jesus will always be.
This is precisely why we proclaim the Virgin Birth. Finite human beings cannot create an “Everlasting” God. Only God, through the Holy Spirit, could have placed eternity into the womb of Mary. In the same way, Jesus could not be killed by crucifixion. Human beings cannot kill God, which is why Jesus “gives up” His spirit on the cross and chooses to die for the sins of the world. Jesus could only die voluntarily in the same way that Jesus could only be born by voluntarily entering into human form and being born through a virgin.
Because this is true, Isaiah, in his prophecy, clearly establishes that this child will not be bound by space or time. How could He? He is God, and God is beyond space and spans beyond our understanding of time. Today a scientist might say that Jesus was born in a time and in a place but that, at the same time, He exists outside of time and independent of space. The child of Isaiah 9 is an eternal being who has no concept or need of time and has always existed in a different plane of reality than we do.
The greatness of God can be seen in the Incarnation of Christ that Isaiah refers to here. This God, this savior, the Messiah, the infant who does not need or live in time, breaks into our world – into a world constructed and based upon time; a world that tracks things like night and day, months and weeks, years and centuries as a way to measure everything. This eternal God, the “Everlasting Father” meets us in a place where we exist (which is in time) rather than requiring us to adjust to an existence where we have no knowledge or understanding (which is in eternity). This means that we are saved by this Messiah-child in time rather than saved after we die, which is outside of time.
This is precisely why Paul writes to the Galatians to try and help them understand the concept of time as it relates to the birth of Christ. Paul writes,
4 But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Or in another translation,
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” (Gal. 4:4)
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” (Gal. 4:4)
Think of it, He who does not need time to exist, who is eternal in every sense, comes to the world from outside of time (and here is the amazing point) at just the right time, what Paul calls “the set time,” so as to be placed into time at the perfect moment of time. What an incredible paradox!
But there’s more…
Although Jesus was born in a place called Bethlehem and laid in a physical spot called a manger, this Isaiah 9 child was beyond the physical. Even as Mary nurses her newborn child, this infant is more than just a physical presence – He is greater than that (as the terms Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince to Peace denote), and He is greater than the physical. In his Gospel, John tries to help us understand this truth. He begins by writing a parody on Genesis 1 in the opening verses of his Gospel. Instead of defining creation as Genesis does, John defines the eternalness of Jesus’ birth. He writes,
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.
Or, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” (John 1:4)
The key is that life is in him. Life exists in Jesus in the womb not because He is in a particular space, but because Jesus exists beyond mere space and time. Jesus can no more be contained by a manger than the grown Jesus could be contained by a tomb. He is life… but He is beyond life – He is the creator of life, the giver of life, and the sustainer of life…. He is timeless. He is born at the right time and, at the same time, beyond time - He has always been and will always be; He is everlasting, timeless.
But don’t stop there. As important as “ad” is to help us conceive of a perpetual God, it is the term “father” that remains the key to understanding Isaiah’s meaning.
The Hebrew Word for “Father”: Av
The Hebrew Word for “Father”: Av
nother foundational word in Hebrew – the word for father (“av” in the Hebrew) - is used most frequently throughout the scriptures in its generic sense – such as Abraham being the father of Isaac and Isaac being the father of Jacob. But when one explores the Old Testament and looks for references to God as “av” (as father), you find that it is a relatively unusual concept. Throughout its pages, the word “av” is rarely attributed to God. To be fair, there are some well-known passages where God is said to act as if He was the father of the nation or viewed by the Israelites as a kind of father of their nation. But to use the word as a reference for God himself was too pedestrian for Old Testament writers. After all, the very name of God (Yahweh) was too holy for anyone to utter. They came up with other words (Adonai, Lord, Elohim, Son of Man) to refer to God, for a Jewish priest to call God by such an ordinary name as “av”/as father was beneath the glory and majesty of Yahweh.
Which leads us back to our initial question – how can Isaiah refer to this Messiah child as, of all things, the humdrum, uninspired, unimaginative name of “av/father?” And, if I can jump ahead a bit, how can Jesus during His public ministry refer to God as “Our Father” in the model prayer He teaches His disciples? How could Jesus cry out from the cross in agony, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit?” when the term is too common to call such a supreme being at such a pivotal moment? What is it about the simple word father (this “av” in the Hebrew) that makes an ordinary term extraordinary when Isaiah prophecies about the coming Messiah?
4. Aha (The Key to Resolution)
The key to understanding Isaiah’s term “Everlasting Father” is not found in the age of the child. His age is a red herring. It is not His beginning minutes or hours that make Jesus the “Everlasting Father” Isaiah speaks of. Instead, it is the nature of the baby Jesus at birth that makes Him so. The baby Jesus is not fully grown, but the baby Jesus possesses the fully developed nature of God at His birth. Jesus is father not in the same sense that Abraham or David are pro-creators of a tribal line. No, Jesus is the originator of all lines. As “Everlasting Father,” Jesus is the one who created Adam since all things that were made were made through Jesus. Again, John 1 is important here.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 This one was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him, all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3)
With God in the Beginning: “Everlasting”; Through Him all things were created: “Father”
With God in the Beginning: “Everlasting”; Through Him all things were created: “Father”
When John notes that Jesus was with God in the beginning, he is acknowledging that Jesus is “Everlasting.” When he notes that through Him all things were created, John is acknowledging that Jesus is “Father” of all, of everything that has been made.
When Jesus arrives in Bethlehem, he arrives to a world that He created, more properly, a world that was created through Him. Throughout His public ministry this creative, fatherly nature can be seen in Jesus’ actions; in the creation of new eyes where only blind ones were; in the development of new limbs where only paralyzed ones were; in the new wine at the wedding feast where only ritual water was; in the new skin of the ten lepers where only diseased membranes were before; in the new life of Jesus’ friend where only Lazarus’ mummified remains were; and a new race of people who find life in Jesus’ work on the cross and in the empty tomb. Behold, Paul notes in I Corinthians 5:17 that we are “new creations.”
How? Because Jesus is an “Everlasting Father.” What does this mean for us as we try and understand the very nature, the very essence of who Jesus is?
9. Whee (Experiencing the Gospel)
First, Jesus did not become God when He began His public ministry. Jesus did not become God when He went to the cross and died for our sins. Jesus did not become God when He was resurrected from the dead. Jesus did not become God when He was born in a manger. Jesus did not grow into the role or realize who He really was at an older age. The reality is that the fullness of God has been present in Jesus from before time existed. He has always been God, and He will always be God. This is important for our understanding of Christmas. Christmas does not signal the beginning of Jesus’ life any more than Good Friday signifies the end of His life. Jesus has always possessed life for life is in Him and emanates from Him.
>>>If all that is true, then . . .
What does Christmas Really Celebrate?
What does Christmas Really Celebrate?
That is a great question. As a matter of fact, that is the question.
Christmas celebrates not just Jesus coming to earth, but it celebrates the fullness of time. For at Christmas, God broke through the barriers of time and space and placed the author of life in the body of a helpless babe. Why? Simply put…because it was the right time, the fullness of time. It was the right time for He who exists outside of time to break into time and change time for all time. Christmas celebrates the ongoing creative nature of God – a nature that brought the world into existence before time began and now brings the salvation of the human race at just the right time - the fullness of time.
It is important at Christmas to remember that the nature of Jesus did not change when He was born in Bethlehem – only the form that houses that nature was changed that day. Imagine Mary, who had no husband to plant the child in her, delivering a child who, at His birth, was her “Everlasting Father.” The nature of Jesus as Messiah, the fact that He is a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, a Prince of Peace, and, yes, an “Everlasting Father” exists in the baby Jesus just as much as it exists in the adult Christ who will save His people. Jesus comes not just in the fullness of time, but He comes in the fullness of God as an “Everlasting Father.” Christmas celebrates that the nature of Christ does not change from the cradle to the grave… and beyond.
It is true that the body of Jesus would change over the years – He is spoken of in the scriptures as an infant, a young teenager, a millennial adult, a nailed and spear-pierced savior, and a resurrected Lord walking through locked doors; but the nature of God within Him never changed. As God, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His form changes, but He never changes. Remember that when everything about you is changing; when the world is topsy-turvy and turned upside down; when pandemics strike and problems arise. Everything may change, but the nature of who Jesus is never changes. And time will not affect that consistency. He is God for all eternity.
Even though Jesus existed as both fully God and fully human, the full nature of God was always a part of Him just as the full nature of humanity, into which the nature of God was placed, was always part of Him. The Jewish baby wrapped in swaddling clothes may have looked fully human as He smiled and gurgled, but He was fully God on the inside. The birth allowed Him to be fully human, and the virgin nature of that birth allowed Him to be fully God. From before the foundations of the world, Jesus has always been our “Everlasting Father.”
10. Yeah (Anticipating the Consequences)
So, what would Isaiah 9:6 have us to do with this unprecedented understanding of the true nature of Jesus as “Everlasting Father?” Of what possible importance does such knowledge have to those who have come through wars, famines, plagues, and pandemics?
When we are anxious and worried about how things will work out or come together, when everything looks bleak and dark, and there seems to be no way through, remember that we serve a God who is not hampered by time and space. We see time unfolding, and when it gets close to how an event or action will conclude, we feel the crunch of time on our lives. We cry out, “O God, where are you? Why are you not here? Why are you not answering? Why are you not acting?” When we do, we are acting very human and forgetting that God does not operate in time but, instead, operates at the right time, the fullness of time.
God breaks into unfolding circumstances and, as The Message translation notes, “when the time arrived that was set by God…” - that is when God makes His presence and will known, that is the fullness of time. Waiting on God is not a passive posture. Waiting on God is living in an anticipatory state where we trust that God will reveal His will at the time He sets (not at the time we desire). That is why Jesus was born at the right time because God determined in His will that what we celebrate at Christmas was the fullness of time.
It should also encourage us that the very nature of God is that He is a father; that when we call on Jesus the Son, we cry out to an “Everlasting Father.” Jesus nurtures us, protects us, gives us life, sustains our living, and provides for our very salvation because He is, at the core, a father caring for His children. It is not an accident that so often the worship life and liturgy of the church calls on us to recite the Lord’s Prayer. In that simple, teachable prayer, Jesus embraces the legacy of Isaiah 9:6. Jesus reminds us that He is not your father, not his father, not her father… but that He is Our Father. How can Jesus be Our Father? How can He be the Father of us all unless He exists beyond time and space? He further reminds us of this truth when He calls on us to pray the words, “Our Father, who art in heaven;” the eternal nature of Jesus is expressed in the petition, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;” His everlasting nature spills out at the end of Psalm 23 when He teaches us that “I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.” Our very hope of eternity is based on the truth that this Jesus, this prophesied child of Isaiah 9, is an “Everlasting Father.”
If you want to experience the World Changer as the “Everlasting Father” of Isaiah, then join me in praying together what Jesus used as a model prayer and what we commonly refer to as the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen