Government Upon His Shoulder

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 9

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.

7  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.

This time of year we take time to celebrate the birth of Christ, the babe wrapped in the swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, in a small town called Bethlehem, the City of David. It’s probably impossible to overstate the significance of Jesus’ birth, or his incarnation. The story of redemption chronicled in the Bible is nothing short of epic, the depth and breadth of the story is at times overwhelming and complex, while the fundamental story of redemption is simple enough for a child to follow, it’s infinitely deep and wide in it’s scale. And the birth of the Messiah sits at the very heart of this story.

Growing up in the church I heard, repeatedly, over the years the OT prophesies that looked forward to the Messiah, and how Jesus fulfilled those prophesies at his birth. Prophesies like Isaiah 7:14,

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

or Isaiah 9:6-7,

"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."

or Micah 5:2,

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."

or Jeremiah 23:5-6,

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land."

and that’s just to name a few.

However, while I could see the obvious connections between Jesus and these prophecies, my understanding of those connections were very shallow. For instance, I didn’t understand the significance of Jesus as a king, or what was meant that the government would be upon his shoulders. And the reason I possessed such a shallow understanding of Jesus’ advent and his birth, was because I also possessed a shallow understanding of the OT in general. You see, our ability to grasp the impact and significance of Jesus’ birth hinges upon our understanding of the OT.

And I suspect my experience is common among many Christians today. And I suspect most Christians read the NT while glossing over many of its references to the OT, not realizing just how much their understanding of the NT depends upon their understanding of the OT. For example, we’re told in the Acts 17 that it was exclusively from the OT that the Apostle Paul “reasoned with the [Jews] from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”” (Acts 17:3) Unfortunately, I doubt many Christians could argue exclusively from the OT to explain and prove that Jesus is the Christ, and not due to a lack of scriptural evidence, but simply for a lack of understanding.

This is why it’s important that we strive to grasp the OT, to follow it’s storyline, and to become familiar with its characters, so that, when we reach the NT we have a basis from which to understand Jesus’ ministry and the apostle’s teaching. While speaking to the Jews, Jesus told them in John 5:39, that “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” or later, after Jesus’ resurrection, when Jesus was walking with his disciples on the road to Emmaus, we’re told in Luke 24:27 that “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Many of the books in the NT are deeply connected to the OT and it’s history. The Gospel of Matthew is the most Jewish of all four Gospels, as Matthew labors to connect Jesus’ birth and ministry to OT prophecy, citing many of the famous OT prophecies that appear on most Christmas greeting cards. His aim is to demonstrate that Jesus is Israel’s king, and has brought with him the kingdom of heaven. It’s why both Matthew and Luke begin their Gospels with genealogies, to prove both the royal lineage of Christ and the universality of his reign. The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans labors to explain the gospel in light of sin and the law. His letter to the Galatians contrasts the differences between the new covenant and the old covenant, the difference between law and Gospel. The Book of Hebrews also contrasts the old and the new covenants, showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenant types and shadows, that he is a better high priest and a better sacrifice.

Again, my point, is that the impact of Christ’s birth upon our lives hinges upon our understanding of the OT. If our understanding of the OT remains veiled, so will the significance of Christ’s birth.

Dominion

That being said, my desire this morning is to pull on some of those OT threads that impact our understanding of Christ’s advent. Particularly, the expectation of his reign and of his kingdom. That this child was a king and that he brought with him a kingdom. That the government would be upon his shoulders, and of the increase of his government and of peace there would 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.

When Isaiah says there that “the government shall be upon his shoulder,” and that “the increase of his government … there will be no end” he’s describing Christ’s dominion. That Christ will possess authority and power, and that there will be no end to his influence, that his domain or his kingdom will have no borders. That his authority will stretch to ends of the earth.

Adam’s dominion

Now, before we unpack Isaiah’s prophecy I want to take a step back and look at the redemptive history that preceded it. What was the redemptive background leading up this prophecy?

And I want to start all the way back in Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, beginning with Adam. If we follow the thread of dominion in the Bible it starts with him, the first man, Adam.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27  So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

God had appointed Adam as the federal head of humanity, in other words, he represented us at the beginning, and God had given him dominion over the earth and every living thing that moved on the earth. The earth was his domain and he was instructed to subdue it, to work it and keep it, to fill it, and to rule over it. Some have described Adam like a vice regent, a term that refers to an individual who represents a reigning monarch or ruler. The role of a vice regent involves acting on behalf of the ruler, often with specific delegated powers and authority. Or to say it another way, Adam was intended to represent God’s reign on the earth.

It’s important to consider that Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, that they were made in such a way so as to bear his likeness, in order to represent God’s dominion over creation. Consider how kings have their image or likeness stamped onto coins to display their dominion over a particular kingdom. Similarly, Adam was stamped with with image of God to display God’s dominion over his creation.

Probationary test

However, Adam was given a probationary test of obedience. He was placed in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it, and the Lord God commanded him, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:15-16) Now, unfortunately, we know this story well, Adam disobeyed and they ate from the forbidden tree and rebelled against God.

The “god of this world”

Their sin and rebellion resulted in death and a curse, and the image of God being marred by evil. Adam and his progeny had become enslaved to sin, dead in their trespasses and sins. The devil had become the “god of this world” as the Apostle Paul would put it later in 2 Corinthians 4:4, his influence spreading to the nations, to all of Adam’s offspring. This is why Paul would also write in Ephesians 2:1-3,

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

While we must be very careful not to attribute more power or dominion to the devil than what he has, or to think that God has ever stopped being the Lord over all the earth, as though the devil had somehow bound his hands when Adam fell, it’s clear that Adam’s rebellion did result in mankind’s enslavement to sin, becoming by nature sons of disobedience, and thereby children of the devil. The devil, for much of human history has held sway over the nations through these sons of disobedience, or as Paul described them in 2 Timothy 2:26, as those who who have been caught by “the snare of the devil” and "captured by him to do his will.”

Adam’s dominion hijacked

This is why, I think, we see the devil offering Jesus all the kingdoms of the world during his temptation in the wilderness, later in Matthew chapter 4. In a certain sense, the devil possessed the kingdoms of the world by means of capturing them to do his will. Which is why the Apostle John can write in 1 John 5:19 that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Man’s enslavement to sin also makes him a slave of the devil. Adam’s dominion had been co-opted, hijacked by the serpent.

Second Adam will retake Adam’s dominion

Therefore, it’s also significant that back in Genesis chapter 3 God had cursed, not only Adam and Eve, but the serpent, and 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.” Despite Adam’s fall he’s not left without hope, the Lord God promises them that Eve’s offspring would crush the head of the serpent, that mankind’s fall would not be final, nor the serpent’s deception the last word. That while mankind had fallen prey to the devil, that Eve’s offspring, a second Adam, would retake Adam’s dominion, not falling prey to the serpent like the first Adam, but overcoming the devil and his temptation.

Therefore, even the earliest chapters of the Bible inform our understanding of Isaiah’s prophecy, that “the government would be upon his shoulder,” and that “the increase of his government (or his dominion) … there would be no end”. Isaiah is painting a picture of authority and dominion, authority and dominion given to a child that would know no end. That Adam’s dominion, surrendered to the serpent, would be retaken by this child. That while many fell in Adam and became children of the devil, Christ would come, bringing many sons to glory.

Abraham’s Offspring

Then, fast forward 2,100 years to the time of Abraham, approximately 300 years after the Tower of Babel. At this point in redemptive history the promise which was given to Eve is now beginning to develop. And it’s important that we understand that the Bible’s revelation is progressive, that as history progresses so does the content and clarity of God’s revelation. Therefore, we’re meant to see the prophecy and promise that was given to Eve become clearer as history marches forward, which is what happens with the prophecy and promises given to Abraham.

Now, what we often refer to as the old covenant is typically identified with the covenant first given to Abraham, however, the old covenant also included the Mosaic and Davidic covenants. The two later covenants were meant to build upon, or develop, the covenant of circumcision initially made with Abraham. For instance, Abraham was promised a land and offspring, and the Mosaic Covenant, formalized at Mt. Sinai, established Abraham’s offspring as a nation in the land of Canaan, giving them laws and regulations by which to worship and govern themselves, eventually developing further with the Davidic Covenant, a covenant that promised Israel that God would raise up a king like David, to sit on his throne, an offspring of David, of his own flesh and blood, and would establish his kingdom.

Building toward Christ

So, what’s essential for us to understand is that the old covenant, whether it was the covenant made with Abraham, Israel at Mt. Sinai, or King David, they were all building toward one goal, Christ. And at each juncture, with each covenant, with each promise, and with each prophecy the identity of Eve’s offspring became progressively clearer. To Eve, her offspring who would crush the head of the serpent, to Abraham, from his offspring, the nation of Isreal, would come the Christ, and to David, his offspring who would sit on his throne, and establish his kingdom forever.

Anticipating Christ

Even the laws given at Mt. Sinai were intended to instruct the Israelites. The law instructed the people in righteousness and imprisoned everyone under sin. (Gal. 3:22) It was meant to teach them that no one could be justified by works of the law, that the law could not give life. The ceremonial laws were meant to dramatize their need to be made clean and their sin atoned for. Cumulatively, these laws, these covenants, these promises, these prophecies were intended to inform the people’s understanding of the Messiah’s purpose and identity. And as the identity of the Messiah became progressively clearer, anticipation of his coming was intended to be heightened at every step of the way.

This is why we read about Simeon in Luke 2:25, “a man in Jerusalem” who “was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation if Israel.” While the religious leaders in Jerusalem had deceived themselves into thinking that they could justify themselves by works of the law, there were still those who understood Israel’s spiritual plight, those who were looking for the offspring promised to Eve, Abraham, and David, the consolation of Israel. Not merely an earthly king who would superficially defeat their enemies, but a king who would strike at the heart of the kingdom of darkness, or as Jesus put in in John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Scope of his dominion

So, when we read texts like Isaiah 9:6-7, that “to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders … and of the increase of his government there shall be no end” keep in mind that the scope of Jesus’ reign and dominion was always intended to stretch far beyond the borders of Israel, to all the nations of the earth, to all people. Two of the primary functions of the old covenant were to 1) give rise to the Messiah, and 2) to foreshadow the kingdom that he would bring. The old covenant certainly had other temporal purposes, but it’s eschatological telos, or it’s eschatological trajectory (or end) was always Christ and his kingdom, national Israel was meant to serve as a type of the kingdom to come, not to be an end unto itself.

Mountain that fills the whole earth

Now, this imagery of a kingdom or dominion didn’t end with the prophet Isaiah, this imagery continued to develop throughout the remainder of Israel’s history in it’s prophetic literature. One of the most profound areas of development is found in the Book of Daniel. At first, in Daniel chapter 2, when Daniel interprets a dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, then again later in chapter 7 when Daniel sees in the night visions.

Let’s start by looking at Daniel chapter 2. And as you’re turning there I want you to keep in mind that one of the primary aims of Daniel’s book is to chronicle the events leading up to the coming of the Messiah, and in doing so he sheds greater light on the ministry of the Messiah, and particularly his kingdom.

Listen to what Daniel writes there in Daniel 2:31-35 as he describes the king’s dream,

Daniel 2:31–35 ESV

“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

so, this is the dream that was given to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and Daniel goes on to interpret the dream for him in verses 36-45. He tells the king that the gold head of the statue is him, that it represents Babylon, and that a after Babylon will arise another kingdom, represented by the statue’s chest and arms of silver (or as history tells us, the Medo-Persian Empire), then a third kingdom, inferior to Babylon, represented by the statue’s middle and thighs of bronze (or as history tells us, Greece), and finally, a fourth kingdom, as strong as iron, yet a divided kingdom, brittle like iron mixed with clay represented by the statue’s legs and feet (or as history tells us, the Roman Empire). Then read what Daniel says starting there in verse 44,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold.

This text is significant because it depicts not only the kingdom of heaven, but its scope and its effects. This kingdom will become a great mountain and fill the whole earth, and it’s dominion will reach the ends of the earth, and it will shatter the other kingdoms.

Overthrowing the kingdom of darkness

In short, the kingdom of heaven would overthrow and supplant the kingdom of darkness, when Christ came the ruler of this world was cast out, and when Christ was lifted up he would draw all the nations unto himself. You see, when Christ “cancelled the record of debt that stood against us,” he simultaneously “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them.” (Col. 2:14-15) When Christ gained victory over sin and death, the devil lost his grip on Adam’s race, or as John would put it later in his Apocalypse, “Now, salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.” (Revelation 12:10-11)

Cutting the head off the snake

You see, the coming of Christ and his kingdom wasn’t fundamentally concerned with rallying an army behind him to take Rome, no, he came to bind the strong man, the devil, and to plunder his house. This is why Jesus told Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36) In other words, the kingdom of heaven doesn’t fight the like the kingdoms of this world with sword and bow, “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12) This had always been where the battle was, therefore when Christ came he didn’t begin by starting a protest, he started by cutting the head off the snake.

Conclusion

Now, we could spend another hour or more surveying texts like these, but my hope this morning has been that as we consider the birth of our savior, a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger, that we would somehow grasp with greater clarity the weight of his coming. That lying in a manger there in Bethlehem was the offspring promised to Eve, Abraham, and David. The king, who by his blood, would purchase for himself a people from every tribe and language and people and nation, and given an everlasting dominion, and of the increase of his government and of peace there would be no end.

Prayer