“For unto 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.” Isaiah 9:6
As the Christmas season approaches I am reminded of the constant struggle to keep “Christ” in Christmas. As a post Christian mindset seems to prevail many have become politically correct saying, “Happy Holidays”; I also know that stores which struggle to say Merry Christmas end up on our naughty list. While “Keep Christ in Christmas” stickers, magnets and pins abound I am still left with a nagging feeling that simply inserting the name of Christ back into our Christmas greetings is not the answer to this dilemma.
In our text Isaiah’s prophecy was received by a people who were especially devastated when the Assyrian army moved in. It was in this climate that Isaiah foretold of a coming redeemer. We know that this prophecy refers to Christ because of the way it’s quoted in Matthew 4:13-15 as Jesus begins His earthly ministry. It says, “And leaving Nazareth He went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-” It was clear that the Messiah would come from this obscure and looked down upon region.
In considering Isaiah’s prophecy, the answer to our Christmas dilemma is to truly recognize who this prophesied Redeemer and King is. This world can have all its beliefs, but in the end only Jesus Christ can fulfill this role and that is the meaning and message of Christmas.
In the coming of Jesus Christ we have been given the One who fully meets the characteristics of God’s promised Deliverer. The wisdom, power, concern, and peace of Christ have been demonstrated to all through His life, death and resurrection. No wonder the Apostle Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said in Acts 4:12 to the leaders of his day, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The issue at stake isn’t the robbing of our Christian heritage by using politically correct labels, but the very salvation of mankind. If there was ever was a dark time it is now and if there ever was a time for the light of the Christ of Christmas to shine in the hearts of man it is now. If His name is Wonderful then there is nothing ordinary or even dull about His reign. As Counselor He has the wisdom to rule justly; and as the Mighty God He definitely doesn’t lack the power to follow through with His wise plans. As the Everlasting Father or better translated the Father of Eternity He is the source of all eternal things. If we want eternal life we must obtain it from Him.
In John 1 when Philip tried to convince Nathanael that the one who Isaiah prophesied had come he replied in v.46 “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael failed to recognize who Jesus Christ was at first, but upon meeting Him, he was convinced. The testimony of our lives in Christ must be as the Psalmist said in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Keeping Christ in Christmas is recognizing who He is. The Psalmist declared in Psalm 24:10, “Who is this king of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the king of glory!” “…His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
