The King brings light because he fulfills the messianic promise. Verse 6 says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” These words reflect the messianic promise. It is called the messianic promise because it concerns the Messiah. The Messiah or Christ is the “anointed King” who was promised to defeat God’s enemies, deliver God’s people, and establish God’s kingdom.
This messianic promise is both ancient and absolute.
It is ancient. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God pronounced judgment on the serpent, but in the same breath, he promised salvation to Adam and his offspring.
God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In other words, God promised salvation for the human race by means of an individual offspring (“he”) of Eve who would bruise the serpent’s head. God promised the coming of a serpent crusher. This would be a human King who would defeat Satan, sin, and death, reversing the effects of Adam’s transgression. The promise becomes the scarlet thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation, and it is developed throughout the biblical story.
As we read through the biblical story, we discover that this promise is developed further through the covenant that God makes with Abraham and his offspring.
This messianic promise is both ancient and absolute.
It is ancient. It goes back to the Garden of Eden. After Adam sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, God pronounced judgment on the serpent, but in the same breath, he promised salvation to Adam and his offspring.
God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). In other words, God promised salvation for the human race by means of an individual offspring (“he”) of Eve who would bruise the serpent’s head. God promised the coming of a serpent crusher. This would be a human King who would defeat Satan, sin, and death, reversing the effects of Adam’s transgression. The promise becomes the scarlet thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation, and it is developed throughout the biblical story.
As we read through the biblical story, we discover that this promise is developed further through the covenant that God makes with Abraham and his offspring.
Specifically, God said to Abraham, “…and in your offspring shall the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18, cf. Genesis 12:3). The promised serpent crusher would come from the line of Abraham, and he would spread the blessings of Abraham to all the nations of the earth.
By the time of David, this messianic promise is developed even further. God makes a covenant with David, and he says to him, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
By the time we arrive in the prophecy of Isaiah, we discover one more enormous development before we reach our text in Isaiah 9:6. And that development is that this King, who is the offspring of Abraham and David, will be born of a virgin: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Please note: the virgin conceives and bears a son, who is called Immanuel, which means “God with us” in Hebrew.
So then, as we come to Isaiah 9:6, we can see that this is an ancient messianic promise: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”
It is also an absolute promise. Stay with me in Isaiah 9. Notice the end of verse 7: “The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.” God’s zeal is his passionate commitment to his promise. Now if God is passionately committed to his promise, then it is absolute. It is sure and certain.
This messianic promise, then, is ancient and absolute, and the King brings light because he fulfills this messianic promise. In his book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis tells the story of how Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy came to Narnia in fulfillment of an ancient promise. Narnia was a cold and dark place, a place where it was always winter and never Christmas. However, there was an ancient promise that King Aslan, the great King of Narnia, would make all wrongs right when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve arrived in Narnia. When Peter, Susan, Edmond, and Lucy arrive, then, they are expected. The creatures of Narnia have great joy in the midst of their gloom, and a glimmer of hope in the midst of their despair. They have light in the midst of the darkness. The promise of a coming King brings light, especially when it is fulfilled.
Brothers and sisters, do not allow the darkness in the world to overwhelm you this Christmas season. Look to the promise that has been fulfilled among us, and see light! On a practical level, let me suggest an activity for your Christmas devotion. Read through the first two chapters of Matthew and the first two chapters of Luke. Underline references to the messianic promise, which is fulfilled through Jesus. Include references to Abraham, David, covenant, promise, and so on. Notice the joy and celebration of the messianic promise fulfilled, especially in Luke (the songs: Mary’s Magnificat, Zechariah’s Benedictus, Simeon’s Nunc Dimittus, etc.). Circle references to light, joy, hope, and peace. I promise you that as you pray and study you will see that King Jesus brings light because he fulfills the messianic promise.
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