A Child is Born: God's Answer to Our Darkness

Christmas at MFBC, 2025

12/21/2025

Isaiah 9:1-7.

What is God’s Answer to our darkness?

I. The promise in our darkness. [1-2, 5a]

What is their darkness? God’s hidden favor from them [8:17] due to their lack of faithfulness to the covenant, their unwillingness to listen to and heed God’s call to return, and their rebellion against God to follow other gods.

Zebulun and Naphtali are the first to experience the invasion of the Assyrian forces.

Spiritual significance: Not just Assyria, but biblically and historically, they are seen to represent wickedness and evil. Thus, as is described, the forces of evil, wickedness, and sin are overtaking the Israelites because of their rebellion against God.

Romans 1:24–27 “Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen. For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions. Their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. The men in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.”

What is their hope? God sees His people amidst the shadow of despair— oppression, war, and hopelessness, and He grants them a promise.

He does not wait, necessarily, for them to get on the other side. He grants promise even amid their struggle.

Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s promise: A brighter future where deliverance is experienced

II. The picture of His peace. [3-5, 7]

The description of God’s promise fulfilled is in the form of a picture displaying peace— where people who are oppressed and in struggles experience transformative joy, broken yokes of burden, and the end of conflict (symbolized by the burned battle gear)

v. 4— Yoke = suffering endured; rod = suffering inflicted; both are done away with when God acts to bring about peace for His people.

Application: This is what Jesus brings— joy instead of mourning, freedom instead of bondage, peace with God and with others. This is experienced now, but it is more fully experienced when we are united with Him for all of eternity.

God’s promise fulfilled: peace

III. The person who brings it. [6-7]

How is this promise fulfilled? Through a shocking, humble, and glorious process— a child is born, a son is given.

Wonderful Counselor: He is the Prophet who speaks the light of truth into our confusion and chaos

Wonderful = a reference to the supernatural ability to perform signs or miracles

Counselor = a reference to the giving of wise advice like that of prophet through his teachings

Mighty God, Eternal Father: He is the Priest who accomplishes our redemption and embraces us as His children

Mighty = a reference to powerful men specifically like that of miliatry leaders

God = The divine— demonstrating power above all that is infinite in nature

Eternal = A term designating His transcendence

Father = A reference to His role relating to His people, often reserved for God, but not inappropriate since Jesus often called His disciples sons or daughters communicating affection (Matthew 9:2 “Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”” Mark 5:34 ““Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”” )

Prince of Peace: He is the King who is righteous and whose eternal rule is the foundation of our freedom.

Prince = He reigns as a prince which will take the burden of government upon His own shoulders

Peace = Yet, He rules to bring peace to His people

His Kingdom will have no end— it will be vast and prosperous— or more commonly translated as having an increase that multiplies in abundance over time.

Fulfillment of 2 Sam. 7:13, 2 Samuel 7:16 “Your house and kingdom will endure before me forever, and your throne will be established forever.’ ”” (The promise to David)

Evidenced in Matthew 1:1 “An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:”

His Kingdom will be a perfect reflection of His own character

Demonstrated in Hebrews 1:8–9 “but to the Son: Your throne, God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; this is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions.”

Who does this person come for? Jesus was born to a people under judgment. The promise is given to a people while undergoing judgment.

Jesus came from the rebels, the guilty, and those not living for God.

Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.””

Matthew 9:9–13 “As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me,” and he got up and followed him. While he was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Now when he heard this, he said, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.””

What is the power behind it? The zeal of the Lord of Armies!

God’s promise fulfilled how: Jesus, born as a child, a son given to us— the One who is Prophet, Priest, and King.

Bringing it Home:

Our liberation is not an abstract concept; It is found in a personal relationship with this Child— Jesus. We move from the shadow of oppression to the light of His kingdom by believing in His name.

Colossians 1:13 “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.”

How do we experience this deliverance?

Mark 1:15 ““The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!””

Romans 10:9–10 “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”

Understand this: Our sin warrants the judgment of God. Yet, amidst the darkness of that horror, God sees us without hope and help. His answer to us is Jesus— the son given to us, the child born to us— to redeem us, to restore us, to free us from captivity and judgment.

Transition

As we think of such wonders, we transition to a time of response. Today, I hope your response is one of faith. For those who have publicly professed faith in Jesus, I invite you to respond today by partaking of the Lord’s Supper with us. If you have not professed faith in Jesus, I ask you kindly to refrain from eating the bread and drinking the cup— if you have kids who have not professed Jesus, please do not offer it to them, but do take the opportunity to explain to them what we are doing and why—

The Lord’s Supper is a visual proclaimation of the Gospel

The bread represents the body of Jesus broken on our behalf under the weight of God’s judgment

The cup represents the blood of Jesus shed on our behalf to satisfy the judgment of God and rightly cover the debt for our sins

Hebrews 9:22 “According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Matthew 26:26–30 “As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Deacons and Landon, I invite you to join me at the table as we pray together and prepare to serve the congregation. Those seated, please pray alongside me as I pray— take time to carefully examine your heart and life to ensure you take of the bread and cup with a sincere heart devoted to God.

Gary Jackson and Stephen Harpole to uncover the table

Kevin Anderson to pray over the bread

Wayne Monts to pray over the cup

As the deacons are seated and we sing this final verse, if you need to pray with me or at the altar privately, please take the time to respond in obedience, now.

Following the song, I will invite the ____________ family to come light the Advent candle and pray to conclude the service.