Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isa.7:14). For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. (Isa.9:6-7)

These are two of the great Messianic prophecies of Isaiah that are traditionally connected to Christmas. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 in relation to the birth of Jesus (Mt.1:23) as one of the definitive signs that the Messiah had come. These verses reveal the mind of God regarding the birth of his son and give us some insights that should be recalled at Christmas.

First of all, Jesus is God. Through the prophets, God wanted us to know that he was coming and that he would be coming as a man. Immanuel is descriptive because it means “God with us.” From this side of the cross and the resurrection the idea that God came in the flesh is still difficult to wrap our minds around but before the cross and the revelation of the New Testament it would seem impossible to understand.

The Jewish view of God was one of power and glory rather than in infant who needed to have his diaper changed by a teenage girl from the backwaters of Galilee. Isaiah’s vision perfectly depicts the Jewish revelation of God. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa.6:1-3). To make the incarnation even more difficult to grasp, John tells us that the glorious one Isaiah saw in his vision was Jesus (see Jn.12:41). Imagine now the Word of God seated on a throne in heaven, huge in stature and glory, surrounded by powerful angels singing his praises. Now imagine that same God being reduced and somehow poured into the womb of a tiny Jewish girl.

Even more amazing than the miracle of an infinite God becoming a finite human is the willingness of God himself to do such a thing for a fallen race. Why would such a God come to live among us and to be one of us? In the book by the same name, Job cries out to God and asks, “Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a man” (Job 10:4-5). His complaint was that God was judging him without really knowing what it was like to be a man subject to weakness, pain, and temptation. After the birth of Christ, that complaint was answered because God would experientially know exactly what it was like to be a man subject to all the hurts, disappointments, and losses of this world.

In addition, Isaiah confirmed that Jesus was God’s greatest and most perfect gift to his people. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Certainly, we did not deserve salvation. Certainly God was not obligated to do anything for us. And yet, the God who is love was compelled by his love to give himself in the form of a son to ultimately make things right in a world that had gone terribly wrong.

Not only would Jesus answer our sin problem by his sacrifice but he would also rise from the dead to take his place again on the throne he had occupied when Isaiah got his glimpse of heaven. From that moment on Jesus assumed the title and role of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is already the Prince of Peace and Wonderful Counselor to those who know him and we are moving toward his return when all the earth will be under his rule. There is a mystery about the Trinity for Jesus will also be known not only as Mighty God but Everlasting Father whose rule will be without end and whose imprint will be that of peace. That peace was declared at his birth by angels who sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men upon whom his favor rests” (Lk.2:14). The incredible gift that brings peace to those who believe now and to an entire world later – that is the spirit of Christmas. I hope you will find some time for peace during this season for Jesus is our peace.