Opening: Have you ever listened to a choir singing Handel’s “Messiah” (and more
than just the “Hallelujah Chorus.”) Have you ever sung it? (Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4hkwhOiD98 to listen today’s passage from “The Messiah.”)
Scripture: Read
Isaiah 9:2-8.
Connect
the Text with Your Life:
- Have you had a realization that you once were in darkness, but then saw the light; was “once blind, but now I see.”?[1]
- Verse 6 is a famous and beautiful section of this passage. When describing the Messiah, Isaiah says he will be called.
- “Wonderful Counselor”: A counselor is one who is able to make wise plans (see Isaiah 11:2). He is a ruler whose wisdom is beyond merely human capabilities, unlike intelligent but foolish Ahaz of Israel.
- “Mighty God”: A title of the Lord himself.
- “Everlasting Father”: A father here is a benevolent protector, which is the task of the ideal king and is also the way God himself cares for his people. This is not using the Trinitarian title “Father” for the Messiah; rather, it is portraying him as a king.
- “Prince of Peace”: He is the ruler whose reign will bring about peace, wholeness, and well-being to individuals and nations.
- Which one of these roles do you need most from Jesus today?
