The Righteous Reign of King Jesus

0:38We'll be reading the first seven verses, if you'd follow along with us. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulen and the land of Naphtali. But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you, as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

1:20For the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle. Tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for fire. 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 counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

1:50Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. This is God's Word. You may be seated. Last month marked the 100th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, where men and women revolted against the Russian government and set up a communist state in its place.

2:23Last month, Eric Metaxas appeared on the Breakpoint podcast to give a short talk called Communism's Failed Promise: Heaven on Earth Without God. The Communist worldview sees the state rather than God as supreme. The state is infallible, transcending morality and demands absolute loyalty. In return, the communist worldview believes that the government will always act in the best interests of the people, breaking the chains of economic oppression. In other words, The communist worldview promises heaven on earth. But as Metaxas rightly noted in the podcast, what communism actually delivers is hell on earth. From political purges to forced relocations to gulags to labor camps and famines, most conservative estimates believe that communist governments have been responsible for over 100 million deaths in the last 100 years.

3:31As a worldview, communism again and again has been shown to be a complete and total failure, unable to deliver upon its many promises. And yet people around the world continue to believe that communism is the solution to their problems. But before we condemn them and pass judgment on them too quickly, we should also note that men and women around the world, including in the United States of America, who are not communists, also believe that government is going to be the solution to their greatest problems and can meet their deepest needs.

4:09Nothing is new under the sun, of course. When Samuel was serving as prophet in Israel, the nation came to him and demanded a king. And he tried to show them that a king was not the answer to their problems. Repentance for their sin and faith in God were the answer to the nation's problems. But they wouldn't listen to him. Look on the screen. 1 Samuel chapter 8. But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.

4:50See, friends, what the Israelites believed is that if they just had the right political system, a monarchy, and if they had the right human being as king, and if they had the right policies in place as a nation, they could bring heaven to earth. And that is what all of us are longing for. We are all longing for heaven to come to earth. We are all longing for that perfect system of government and that perfect ruler who can do those things for us, especially those of us who have been abused or ignored or let down in some way by the government.

5:26And so today what we're going to do is we're going to reflect on this universal human desire for perfect government, for justice and righteousness, for the desire to bring heaven to earth. And we're going to look at those things through the light of Isaiah chapter 9, which promises a final and perfect solution to all of these problems and all of these longings that we experience as human beings. What we'll learn together is that though other kings have failed us, Jesus will reign forever in righteousness. Let's look together at the text now, starting in verse 1.

6:03We see Isaiah begins in this way, but there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. Well, the question is: why was this note of consolation and hope necessary for Isaiah's readers? Well, if you know the background to the nation of Israel, you know that Israel was formed by God himself as a nation that was supposed to be devoted to worshiping him and serving him only. However, the nation of Israel repeatedly fell into idolatry. It didn't take long at all. Right after Moses led the people out of slavery in Egypt during the Exodus, the first thing they did was set up a golden calf and worshipped it.

6:44After Joshua, who is Moses' successor, died, the people set up altars to Baal and altars to Asherah and worshipped false gods. And then, as I mentioned just a few moments ago, during the time of the kings, the people hoped that the kings would be able to restore justice and peace and prosperity to the nation, when in reality, the kings only led the nation into idolatry again and again. And so this is the sad history of Israel. And the result was that God disciplined his people again and again, sometimes through famine and pestilence, but many times through other nations who would come in and conquer them.

7:25And so at the outset of Isaiah, the nation's idolatrous practices Continued. And so God called Isaiah to speak words of judgment and words of discipline to his people. And we learn in the first eight chapters of Isaiah that the nation of Assyria was on the doorstep, that they were going to invade Israel and be God's tool of discipline and judgment for his people. Look at Isaiah chapter 8 on the screen. They will pass through the land, this is the people of Israel, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward.

8:06And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness. See, the people were looking for light and hope in all of the wrong places. And so, as a result, God says they're going to be thrust into thick darkness. And then we come to chapter 9, verse 1, and Isaiah says, there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. Because why? Look at what it says next.

8:35In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. Well, now, if you remember from our Genesis series a couple of years ago, Zebulun and Naphtali were two of Israel, or Jacob's twelve sons. And so these are two of the twelve tribes of Israel. You can see on the screen where their territory was. The territory was allotted to all of the different tribes. I know it's a little bit dark, but you can see up here. You have Zebulun, and then you have Naphtali up here in the northwest region.

9:05So all of the land allotments are all throughout Israel, and those were two of the land allotments. And because their region was in the northwest part of the country, that meant that every time invaders came from the north, then they would go down into this area first. And so they were the first, often, to be conquered and to experience difficulty. God had brought them into contempt many times in the past, and he would do so again at the hands of Assyria in the next few years. But there is hope for these people as well.

9:37Look again at the text. But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. Your translation might read Galilee of the Gentiles. And so what's wonderful in this verse is that he's using future, or he's speaking of the future, but he's using present tense language. He's saying this is what's going to happen, but he's speaking of it as though it's a present reality. All of the northern tribes, including Naphtali and Zebulun, though they were first to come under attack, they would also be among the first to see the dawn of a glorious new era.

10:21Notice Isaiah refers to this northwest region as Galilee of the nations. Now, what does he mean by that? Well, again, here's a map for you if you're not as familiar. With Israel's history and the nation. Israel was divided into three regions. Down here in the south, you have Judea. In the center, you have Samaria, and then in the north, you have Galilee. Now, Judea was the last area that was ever conquered, and it wasn't conquered by the Assyrians, but by the Babylonians. They had a very different foreign policy, and they did not intermix and intermarry with the people after they had conquered them. And so, as a result, the Judeans were the most pure ethnically. We know that the Samaritans were conquered by Assyria in 722 BC. They had a very different policy where they intermixed and intermarried with them. And so, as a result, the Samaritans were of mixed race and they were hated, especially by the Jews in the south. Well, the folks up here in the north and Galilee, they were kind of a blend. They weren't necessarily intermarried, but they had Gentiles living among them at all times. And so, they were seen, especially by the southerners, as less pure, and therefore they were held in contempt. But ironically, in God's great plan, this part of Israel, Galilee of the nations, or Galilee of the Gentiles, is going to be the first to see the dawning of this glorious new era. Because remember, it was always God's plan that Israel be a light for the nations, a light to the Gentiles. Jesus and his disciples all came from Galilee. He preached his first sermon there. He performed his first miracle there. It was from there that this great light Light would dawn, not just for the Jewish people, but for all of the people of the world. They had experienced great heartbreak and setback, much of which was due to their own sin, but God promised that their gloom and their anguish would come to an end. Look with me now at verse 2.

12:21The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. If you've ever been somewhere really dark before, like out in the woods or maybe up in the mountains at night, you know how dark it can get. There's a sense in which you can't see where you're going, you fumble around, you feel afraid of what might be around you and what might happen to you because of all that you can't see. It's a scary thing to be fumbling around in the darkness. And this, God says, is what the nation of Israel was doing spiritually. They were fumbling around in the darkness. And so, if you've ever been in a situation where you haven't had light in that kind of a place, you know what a relief it is when light finally breaks through. When dawn arises, the sun comes up, and you can see what's around you. That fumbling around is replaced with sure footsteps. That uncertainty and fear is replaced with confident hope. And this is what God is saying is going to happen to some. The people of Israel have been walking in darkness, and with the exception of a few moments in their history, they had lived through hundreds of years of this that was brought on by their own sin. But now God is saying that light has come. And I want you to notice the passive verb form here. Look what it says: on them has light shone.

13:54This is not something that Israel produced, it wasn't something that Israel was seeking for, but this was a gift of God. God caused light to shine on them. Now, many years later, this prophecy would be fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We're going to look at this passage in great detail next Sunday, but I want you to look at this part of the passage from John chapter 1. Look on the screen. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

14:51Isaiah prophesied during this time of deep darkness in the nation's history, and he's speaking to people who walked in this deep darkness. But he has this great message of hope for them, which you and I know as the message of Christmas, where light is going to break into the world, and God's promises of salvation are going to be made and then later on fulfilled. Look at verse 3. You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy. They rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

15:48If you're familiar again with the book of Genesis and the promises that were made to Abraham, what you see here is God fulfilling the very promises that he made to this great patriarch of Israel. Look on the screen at Genesis 12. Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land I will show you, and I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

16:23Now remember, God made this promise to Abraham when he was 75 years old and childless. Years later, he and his wife Sarah still had no children. And when God appeared again to them in their old age and said, at this time next year, you're going to have a son, Sarah laughed. So one year later, when Isaac was born, she named her son He Laughs, or Laughter, for that very reason. See, centuries later, Israel, after these promises, had become a nation of millions. They had been through many hard times because of their sin and idolatry, and yet they could rejoice just like it was harvest time. They could rejoice just like they had won a major military victory. And we find why in verse 4 that we just read. The yoke of his burden, the staff for his shoulder, and the rod of his oppressor have been broken. You see, these terms are poetic phrases reminding Israel of what they suffered at the hands of many nations, oppressive slavery because of their sin. But the good news is that in this new era, all of these things, God has broken the yoke, the staff, and the rod of Israel's oppressor, just as he did in the day of Midian. Now, that's a reference back to Judges chapters 6 and 7. So if you're familiar with Gideon and his story, you know what this is referring to. The Midianites were another one of these nations that were oppressing Israel because of their sin. They were an instrument of discipline in God's hands. And Gideon was not a brave man. In fact, when the Lord came to him at first, he was hiding down in a wine press, treading out grain so that he did not get seen by the Midianites. And God came to him and called him a mighty man of valor, which was laughable. And he called him to go and face down the Midianites. And so he gathered an army of 32,000 men to face an army of 135,000 Midianites. And God said, listen, your force is too big. I don't want you to think that you delivered yourself. It was 32,000 against 135,000. I don't want you to think you delivered yourself. So God had to send more and more of them home until there were just 300 of them, so that God would get the glory. And God did glorify himself. He set the army against one another in the camp of the Midianites, and they were routed. And God received all the glory. That is a picture of the Christmas message in the sense that it defies all of our expectations. That in this very small group of men, this great and lasting victory could be achieved in the same way we see in the Christmas story this promise that we're about to read. This promise that this very small thing, in this case, a child, could come and achieve a great victory. So Israel can rejoice. Because in this coming new era, all of the oppression is over. And then In verse 5, you see that Israel can rejoice because all of the items that are used for war, the boots, the garments, they can be burned as fuel for the fire. And that's because in this new era, there is no more war. Israel's oppressors have been defeated. I want to remind you of what we read at the beginning of the service in Psalm 46. Look on the screen. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.

20:18So Israel can celebrate for all of these reasons. There's no more oppression, there's no more war, and all of that is true because of the climax of this passage. A new and lasting government is on the way. Look with me now at verse 6. 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 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of Peace, there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

21:19We just saw in the previous verses that Israel's oppressors are going to be defeated, and the defeat is going to be so complete that they can actually burn all of their material that was used for war. Well, how can that be possible? No nation in world history has ever been so dominant that you could take all of the military equipment and just burn it because you'd never need it again. Well, verses 6 and 7 explain how this is not only possible, but how it's really going to happen. A child is going to be born. A son is going to be given. The child is born. He's fully human. But he's also given. He is something more than fully human. He is a gift of God given to us. And this child is going to rule not only Israel, but the entire world. The text says that the government, the government of the whole world, will rest upon his shoulder. Now, I want you to stop and think for just a moment here. If you learned that a child was going to be born, that was going to rule the entire world. World, would that make you terrified, or would that bring you peace?

22:39If you are honest, you would probably say, that terrifies me to think that a child could be born and then have government, all of the entire world, resting on his shoulders. That is a scary thought. What if Vladimir Putin was in charge of the entire world? What if Kim Jong-un was in charge of the entire world? What if Alec Baldwin was in charge of the entire world? This would not bring us peace and comfort. We would be terrified at these prospects, and rightfully so. That's too much power for one sinful human being. But consider the nature of this child. This is not an ordinary child. Look at how he is described. He is the wonderful counselor.

23:28We understand here in America that cabinet positions, that government-appointed positions often make or break a presidency, and we know that that's the case because those are the people, the men and women who are giving counsel to the president. It works the same in monarchies. The people around the king or the queen are the ones advising them and thus really directing in many ways which direction the government's going to go. But this child is going to be the wonderful counselor. He doesn't need any outcome. Outside counsel because he himself is a perfect and wonderful counselor.

24:06He is described as mighty God. Well, now all of the cards are on the table, aren't they? This child is certainly not only human, he is going to be born, but he is mighty God. He is the infinite and eternal God. He's fully divine. And that is a wonderful thing because he not only makes perfect decisions as a wise counselor and a wonderful counselor, but he has infinite power to carry out his wise decisions. He is the everlasting Father.

24:42Only God is eternal, with no beginning and no end. And only God is our good Father, perfectly caring for the needs of his children. And finally, he is described as the Prince of Peace. Other princes of the world make war, but this child is going to grow up to be the great peacemaker. His rule is going to settle every dispute and bring peace to our war-torn world. So when you consider how he is described, does this sound like the kind of king that you would be glad to submit to? Does this sound like the kind of king that you would rejoice if he was in power? Of course it does.

25:26And the news only gets better from this point forward because. We learn that there's going to be no end to the increase of his government. There's going to be no end to the increase of peace. This is not a short-lived political victory that two years from now or four years from now could be undone with another vote. But this is a permanent changing of the guard, resulting in lasting peace and righteousness and justice. And so you think about the nation of Israel. And when they think about great kingdoms and great kings, where do their minds go?

26:02They think about David. They think about Solomon. And there's no doubt David and Solomon were two of the greatest rulers the world ever knew. Their kingdoms, their reigns were largely characterized by justice and peace and righteousness. But as anyone knows who's a little bit familiar with the Bible, their reigns weren't always characterized by those things. In fact, both of the men sinned grievously in different ways. These men, although their kingdoms were vast and expansive, they didn't rule over the entire world.

26:36But God comes and he promises David in 2 Samuel chapter 7 that his throne is going to be established forever. And that he is going to keep this promise to David that his steadfast love is never going to depart from this house. And so here in verse 7, God is reaffirming the promise that he made to David that this child is going to sit on the throne of David forever, upholding. It with justice and righteousness. And in this new kingdom, what we long for-perfect righteousness, peace, justice, all of those things will be established forever because it's God Himself, the Prince of Peace, who's going to be sitting on this throne for all eternity. You see, friends, the only way for there to be lasting justice and righteousness on the earth is for God Himself to sit on the throne. God alone meets our deepest needs and the desire all of us have to bring heaven to earth in the form of perfectly righteous, perfectly just government.

27:43We all have felt that longing for a perfect ruler and perfect government. And that's especially true for you if you've ever been let down by our government, if you've ever been let down by politicians or policies or a political party. And friends, as Christians, especially at this time of the year, we're called to put our hope in Christ and not in any person or system. You see, it's right for us to pray for and to hope for and to vote for godly political leaders who will promote justice and righteousness and peace. It is even good and right for us as Christians to support those who are not Christians, who are still promoting justice and righteousness and peace.

28:30But, friends, it is wrong for us to believe that any political leader, any party, any policy is the final answer to our problems. When we think that way, we reveal that we don't fully understand, or that we don't fully believe, what the scripture says about the depth of human depravity and sin. That no matter how hard we try and no matter how godly a person can be, it is impossible for any human being to bring heaven to earth, to solve our biggest problems and to meet our deepest needs. But we are reminded through this passage that Jesus is not just the baby in the manger, but rather he is God's gift to us to solve those problems and to meet those needs. He came first as the suffering servant to live a sinless life, to offer himself in our place for our sins, and then to rise again on the third day victorious over sin and death.

29:34And the scripture tells us that he is also the conquering king, who is going to come back to reign forever and rule over not just his people who have received him through repentance and faith, but also to rule over his enemies who rejected him as king. He will bring perfect and permanent peace to this war-torn world. So, friends, if you are a king, If you look at the world's political landscape today and you are tempted to despair, or if you have suffered injustice from the American government or from another government and you are tempted to give up, don't lose hope. Because though other kings have failed us, Jesus comes to reign forever in righteousness. Let's pray.

30:28Father, we come before you, knowing that you are ruling over not just our lives, but over the entire universe. That you are completely sovereign and infinitely powerful. That you are all good and all-wise. We confess today that we have put our hope in human government. We are just like the men and women of Israel who believed that a king rather than repentance and faith would be the solution to their problems. And every day we see on the news, and I see even as I go to my gym, two screens above me that have two competing networks, both saying at the same time that the other party, the other leaders, are going to be the end of the world.

31:27We recognize that we are. To some degree, we have put our hope in humans. We have all put our hope to some degree in political parties and policies. And today, God, you have reminded us kindly through your word that the only solution to our greatest problems, the only solution to our deepest needs, is Jesus, whom you promised would come to be the wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of peace. And so, Lord, we pray that you would first help us to hope in Christ and to hope in Him alone as the solution that we need.

32:22And God, we pray that at this time of the year, as well as all year long, that we would point our family members and friends to Jesus as the solution to their problems as well. God, we celebrate the gospel. We celebrate the good news that Jesus lived and died and rose again for sinners. There was no other way for us to be reconciled to you, and so we celebrate that this morning. The baby in the manger, who grew up to be the sinless Savior, who will come again as the conquering king.

33:01Thank you, God, for your word. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.