Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: “Isaiah now reaches the fourth and final section of his prophecies about Judah.

It follows in sequence from what has gone before.

Waiting in faith and hope (8:17), the remnant is sustained by the forecast of the great light that shines beyond the darkness.

It is a sure hope—so sure that, according to Hebrew idiom, it is even written in past tenses as though it had happened already.

Because of this confidence Isaiah can place the light of 9:1ff. in immediate proximity to the darkness of 8:22, not because it will immediately happen, but because it is immediately evident to the eye of faith.

Believers walking in darkness can already see the great light and are sustained by hope” (J.

Alec Motyer, Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary, vol.

20, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 99).

The Description of Hope (1-3) [adapted from Motyer in TOTC]

Verse 1 in this text is actually included as 8:23 in the Hebrew Bible; it serves as a connection between the difficulty at the end of chapter 8 and the hope introduced in chapter 9

J. Alec Motyer: “The passage includes a prose introduction (9:1), which acts as a bridge between the darkness of 8:21–22 and the dawning of the great light in the poem of 9:2–7, but this has been done so skillfully that prose and poetry are now thematically one statement in two parts...Each part covers the same three internal topics in the same order” (TOTC, 99).

Isaiah speaks of the gloom and anguish of God’s people coming to an end; He prophesies to the people of Judah that God will “make glorious” that which was once treated “with contempt”

J. Alec Motyer: “The darkness and distress are real but they are neither the only reality nor the fundamental reality.

In any given situation we can either sink into despair or rise to faith and hope” (TOTC, 99).

Understand the certainty of God’s actions as if they have already happened; they are certain

People walking in darkness HAVE SEEN a great light

People living in a dark land, the light HAS SHONE on them

You HAVE MULTIPLIED the nation

You HAVE INCREASED the gladness

They ARE GLAD in Your presence

as with the gladness in harvest; reference to agricultural abundance

as they rejoice when they divide the spoil; reference to military victory

J. Alec Motyer: “Harvest belongs in the sphere of creation; plunder in the sphere of history.

The contrasting spheres express ‘every sort of joy ever known’” (TOTC, 100).

The Explanation of Hope (4-7) [adapted from Motyer in TOTC]

How exactly will the Lord bring about the hope described in the first three verses of Isaiah 9?

The prophet Isaiah looks all the way back to the Exodus as “the foundational act of God in redemption, the fulfillment of the covenant promise” of God to the people of Israel (Motyer, TOTC, 101).

He then references the victory led by Gideon (see Judges 6-7) which was “a victory wrought through an insignificant agent (Judg.

6:15) and in such a way that it could only be a work of God (Judg.

7:2–14)” (Motyer, TOTC, 101).

Still the Hebrew idiom expresses God’s actions as if they have already happened; they are certain

You HAVE BROKEN the yoke of their burden

You HAVE BROKEN the staff on their shoulders

You HAVE BROKEN the rode of their oppressor; just like He did lit., “in the day of Midian”

Verse 5 speaks of the victory which will be secured by the coming of the Messiah Jesus

J. Alec Motyer: “The people enter into the fruits of a victory they did not win: it was the Lord who acted” (Motyer, TOTC, 101).

The Messiah is coming, but the certainty of his coming is understood through the verb tense

A child IS BORN to us

A son IS GIVEN to us

The thrust of the action is found in the birth of the child rather than the prepositional phrase indicating who benefits from the action; A CHILD IS BORN, A SON IS GIVEN

The status and titles of the Messiah indicate his authority and power

The government will be / is upon his shoulder

His name will be called:

Wonderful Counselor

Mighty God

Eternal / Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

There will be no end to the increase of his government or to the increase of peace

on the throne of David and over his kingdom

to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

from then on and forevermore

The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this

In other words, the Messiah isn’t coming just to take charge; He is coming to take over

Conclusion: This prophecy concerning God’s Messiah, who is Jesus Christ the Lord, demonstrates once again the unwavering sovereignty and goodness of God.

Regardless of the difficulties and challenges all around us, despite the sinfulness of this present world, we can still have hope in the God of all creation who is faithful and true forevermore.

“It is the Lord who plans the future, shatters the foe, and keeps his promises” (Motyer, TOTC, 102).

This truth leads us to the ultimate question we must all answer, not just at Christmas time, but all the time.

What have we done with God’s Messiah?

Where do we stand with Jesus?

Have we believed the gospel?

Have we embraced the truth of the Bible?

Have we surrendered to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, trusting in him alone for salvation and forgiveness of sin? Remember: to say “not now” is to say “no.”

Today, if you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart.

Repent and believe in Jesus.

Be saved.

Today is the day of salvation.