CCC Livestream - Glimpses of Christmas - Isaiah 9:1-7

Live Worship Gathering: 12/7/2025

Preaching: Jason Purdy

For To Us A Child Is Born

Jason Purdy

Glimpses Of Christmas / Isaiah 9:1–7

I invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Isaiah chapter 9.

We will look at verses 1-7.

We will come back to the book of Romans to finish it in the new year, but for my final two sermons of the year, we are going to focus on the meaning of Christ at Christmas through two different passages in Isaiah.

Then, on December 21, we continue our tradition of having Dr. Daniel Akin of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary with us to preach.

Followed by our own Glenn Ballard preaching the final sermon of the year on December 28, so I am excited for what God has to show us in His word this Christmas season.

It has always been fascinating to me how the experience of the Christmas season has changed so dramatically from when I was a kid.

And knowing and talking with all of you, I know this is true of all of us.

And when, as an adult, you talk to the kids about your experience of Christmas, they have no idea what you are talking about!

Heres what I mean, for a child, Christmas day cannot come fast enough.

For a child, December feels like the longest month of the year as they cannot wait for Christmas day to get here!

But, I’ve never talked to an adult who thinks the month of December feels too long and they wish they could skip some days to get to the 25th.

My dad loved Christmas, and he decorated big and all that, but he was the type that disappeared on Christmas Eve morning because he still had some shopping to do and some presents to wrap.

He needed every hour leading up to Christmas, and if it came any faster, it would be a disaster.

This may not be true for everyone, but as a child, it was unimaginable that I would have any kind of difficult thought or emotion tied to the Christmas season,

But I know as adults, many of us have experienced that first Christmas season with the empty chair that used to be filled by a loved one who is no longer with us.

For some, Christmas time is difficult because of their financial situation, their broken family relationships, or some other kind of burden.

But no matter where you find yourself this Christmas season, whether you are experiencing the highest of highs or the lowest of lows,

I pray that you would know down deep in your heart that the source of your eternal hope, peace, joy, and love is not wrapped up in how this December 25th turns out, but it is ultimately wrapped up in a day in the past that we celebrate on Christmas, and a day in the future that we look forward to this Christmas,

And both of those days are centered around who God is and what He has done for us in Jesus Christ.

So, we are going to consider Jesus today, and that day in the past when he was born in a manger, and that day in the future when He will come again to make all things new.

Would you please follow along with me as I read God’s word:

Isaiah 9:1–7 ESV

1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2  The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone.

3 You have multiplied the nation;

you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

as with joy at the harvest,

as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

4 For the yoke of his burden,

and the staff for his shoulder,

the rod of his oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian.

5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult

and every garment rolled in blood

will be burned as fuel for the fire.

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.

1. God’s Light Always Shines Out Of The Darkness

This portion of the book of Isaiah was written a little over seven hundred years before Jesus was born.

The glorious reigns of King David and King Solomon had far passed at the time of Isaiah’s writings and a majority of the people of Israel and Judah were walking in darkness.

Chapter 8 tells us that the main way people sought for purpose, meaning, and direction was inquiring of medium and necromancers to seek truth from those who were already dead.

They were like we all are before our salvation in Christ.

As Ephesians 2 describes it:

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 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— 3 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.

Thick darkness, gloom, despair, and anguish.

Yet, even though many who I am preaching to today are now in Christ, we all live in the midst of the darkness of this broken world and the darkness of our own remaining sin and difficulties.

So, do not be tempted to think that just because you are in Christ, you will not have to wrestle against the darkness - whether it be doubts, sins, circumstances, or relationships.

Yet, chapter 9 verse 1 shines a light in the midst of the darkness.

Isaiah 9:1–7 ESV

1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2  The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shone.

No gloom for those who were in anguish.

He mentions that in the past, God brought contempt on the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea.

You see, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was some of the northern most land of the Israelites and it bordered the west side of the sea of Galilee.

And in the time of Isaiah, the greatest enemies of God’s people were the Assyrians in the north, so the land of Zebulun and Naphtali were the lands that were most vulnerable and that would be conquered and overcome by foreigners first when Israel fell into captivity due to their rejection of God.

Yet, Isaiah was promising that the same lands that were brought into such contempt by the power of foreign armies would later on be made glorious, the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

Whereas the land at one time was brought into contempt due to foreign invasion would in a future time be considered the glorious way of the sea of Galilee for all nations.

Where at one time, the presence of other nations meant anguish, it would turn to the presence of other nations being a great glory.

We read in the gospel of Matthew that this was the very land where Jesus began his public ministry.

Matthew 4:12–17 ESV

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—

16 the people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.”

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

These northernmost lands of Israel experienced a lot of religious and ethnic turmoil because of all the sordid history of the conquering nations,

Yet, God chose those very lands to begin the ministry of the gospel to all nations.

A gospel that proclaims the glory of God offered to all peoples who will repent and believe and be saved into the kingdom of heaven.

I want to remind you today that it is in the midst of darkness that the light of God’s gospel love shines out the clearest.

It is in the seemingly gloomy and desolate places where God’s light can shine in renewal and restoration.

God’s light always shines out of the darkness.

2. God’s Victory Initiated At Jesus’ Birth Will Culminate In His Eternal Kingdom

One of the great encouragements I find in Old Testament prophecies is that the Old Testament prophets speak into the day that they were living, the day when Jesus would come to earth as a baby, die on the cross and rise again, and the future Day of the Lord that we are still looking forward to - they speak into all of those days like they all go together and connect to one another - which they do.

We are not far removed from all that God is doing in the world as if He only did things back then.

We are right in the middle of all that God is doing leading up to the day when He comes again!

While Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee and shone the light their by preaching the gospel of repentance and the kingdom of God, the final and ultimate glory that the land was going to experience was not yet.

They had experienced something great and glorious in Jesus’ ministry, but Jesus promised that there was more glory to be realized in the future.

And verses 3-5 speak to the greater glory that will be revealed at the final Day of the Lord that we look forward to now.

Verse 3 speaks to God’s bringing His kingdom when he writes:

You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

You see, the Kingdom of God that Jesus will inaugurate when He comes again will be glorious as a multiplied nation.

Remember, all the way back to the time of Abraham, God promised that He was going to make Abraham a great nation who was going to be a blessing to all the nations.

And now, we are reading that God’s Kingdom in the end will have so multiplied and increased that there are people from every nation, tribe, people, and language who are citizens of the Kingdom of God which Revelation tells us,

Who experience the increasing never ending joy of the Kingdom of God,

Who rejoice with joy as at harvest time,

And who participate in receiving the spoils of victory,

Because they have found all of your needs met and their desires satisfied in their Creator and Savior God just as we were all created for.

And let me just point out that the glorious eternity that we are longing for is no static boring existence.

The glorious eternity that we are longing for is an eternity of ever increasing joy as God wows us in innumerable new and fresh ways by His glory and His grace.

Verse 4 - For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.

The question becomes: how does this victory come about?

We were in such darkness without hope and without God in the world.

What could have possibly brought such hope of victory and promise of future glory as being sons and daughters in the Kingdom of God.

How was yoke of our burden removed, how was the staff on our shoulders lifted, how was the rod of oppression that beat us under the weight of our sin and guilt turned away from us?

We are told here, it was done as on the day of Midian.

The day of Midian was in incredible day in Israelite history.

We read in the book of Judges that it was a day that God’s people had 32,000 soldiers in their army against the army of Midian who had 120,000 soldiers.

Yet, God shocked everyone when he said the 32,000 soldiers were way too many and He cut the army size down to 300 to go against 120,000.

Then, at the moment it was time to attack, God caused panic in the Midianite camp and they fought against one another and they fled, and those 300 men stood and watched as God won the victory for His people without one of those 300 men raising a weapon.

And this is the same way God brings hope and victory to us today, He does it alone.

He does it completely apart from any of our works and any of our intervention.

We are under the weight of a yoke, a burden, and an oppressor called sin, Satan, death, and hell that we cannot conquer and we cannot save ourselves,

Yet, God conquers our great enemies on our behalf without us so much as lifting a finger.

Verse 5 - For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.

This speaks to the utter devastation of our enemies defeat.

Do you realize that at the Day of the Lord that we await all sin and evil will be defeated and all the evil in every generation will be finally punished and removed from God and His people?

God’s victory initiated at Jesus’ birth will culminate in His eternal kingdom.

3. To Us And For Us A Child Is Born And A Son Is Given

Have you ever watched one of those movies where its like two different stories are going on, and the movie is switching from one story to the other, and it is impossible to reconcile one story with the other until they finally come together and there is some central key, some key figure that brings all the parts of the story together that you couldn’t see before.

That is exactly what Isaiah is doing in this prophecy.

We see a people in great darkness seeing a great light.

We see a people who were defeated experiencing ultimate and eternal victory and glory.

We are told that it is done by the work of God alone.

But what is this work? How could God possibly work a work in order to reconcile a people in rebellion and darkness to His perfect holiness, light, and life.

Verse 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.

Here is the key. Here is the central figure in the story who reconciles a sinful dark world to a holy God of light.

Here is the central figure who has made our way glorious though before it was filled with contempt.

Christmas is when we celebrate that God gave us a child.

Not only did he give us a child. God gave us his son.

But, he was born over 2,000 years ago.

And even for the people who lived at the time Jesus was born, how could we they say that he was given to us?

How can we say that he was given to us?

We say it because God’s very purpose of giving his son is to gain us, to reconcile us, to save us.

Here’s how the Bible tells us God’s gift of His son saves and reconciles us to himself:

While we were dead and dying in our sin, God sent Jesus, the light of the world into our darkness.

And Jesus was light because in him was no darkness at all.

And He walked in this dark world shining the light and completely separate from sin and darkness.

And when the time was right, Jesus took on all of our sin, all of our contempt, the punishment of our sin, the hatred of our enemies,

He took on the burden of our yoke, he took our staff on his shoulder, he was beaten with the rod of the oppressor meant for you and me.

He was broken, his garment filled with blood, and his heart burned like fire.

The lord of darkness killed the Son, the great author of life, yet in His death, he took all the weight and punishment of our sin, all the weight and punishment that we deserved.

And three days later, Jesus rose to life from the dead.

And Jesus’ resurrection proved once and for all that he had defeated sin, Satan, hell, and death in our place for our sin.

And in defeating all the darkness and sin this world and Satan could throw at him, all authority in heaven and on earth now belongs to Jesus.

And during this time, Jesus is saving all who believe that what he did on the cross he did to save you, and when you repent of your sin and believe in Jesus you are saved out of the realm of darkness and you a transferred into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.

It is a kingdom that was inaugurated at Jesus’ first coming but is coming in full when Jesus returns, which is a day we look forward to.

Notice, this son who is given at Christmas time will finally have the government on his shoulder.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and when He comes again, He will bring the fullness of His kingdom to earth.

His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.

Notice that one of the essential truths about Jesus, the Son of God, is that He is both fully God and fully man, and each one of these names proves this true.

Wonderful is a name constantly given to God in the Old Testament and used to testify to God’s works as wonderful.

Counselor is a term for a human who has wisdom and give counsel.

Mighty was used to describe human warriors, yet here, the Son is called Mighty God, clearly pointing not only to his humanity but his deity.

Everlasting Father - there are many fathers yet only one who is everlasting, God himself.

Prince was the name of an earthly leader and ruler, yet a prince of perfect peace this world has never known, besides the God man Jesus Christ.

Jesus displayed all of these characteristics in his life and ministry.

They were displayed in his sacrifice and resurrection.

And they will be brought again to ultimate display as Jesus returns to set up His kingdom as King of Kings and Lord of lords.

For what do we sinful humans need most?

We need a Wonderful Counselor who can tell us what is true and guide us as to the way of life and freedom, a life we have been incapable of making ourselves.

We need a Mighty God who can break our yoke of sin, remove the load of selfishness, and cover us when the rod of punishment falls toward us, a might we could never possess.

We need an Everlasting Father who loves us, provides for us, and cares for us in good and perfect ways.

While we are used to reserving the title father to God the father, it is also true that Jesus certain relates to us in fatherly ways.

It was Jesus who said:

John 14:18 ESV

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

And Jesus also said also that He and the Father were one.

We need a prince of peace who can rule with truth, justice, grace, and mercy in a way that all people will flourish and find rest.

We first need the objective peace with God then we need to know peace in our lives and hearts as we have all of our needs met and desires satisfied in Jesus alone.

To us and for us a child is born and a son is given.

4. The Coming Of The Kingdom Of Christ Is Our Greatest Longing and Sure Reward

Verse 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.

Once again, I do not believe we should take the idea of the increase of his government as meaning the kingdom will ever expand as a fact of physics.

Instead, I believe he means that the increase of his government and peace will be the increase of joy and glory that we will experience for eternity.

This is brought out in:

Ephesians 2:7 ESV

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

The problem with us trying to conceive of the eternal kingdom is that we have never experienced an increase and a glory that can outshine and outdo itself time and time again for eternity.

That Christmas gift that you cannot wait to get your hands on will end up boring, out of date, and in the trash one day.

We just cannot conceive of a gift that not only remains fresh and vibrant for eternity, but actually recreates again and again the level of what wonder, beauty, riches, and glory are.

We can’t conceive of the glory or the peace that will be unending. But we long for it.

We allow it to motivate us and move us forward and not give up.

On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

In this world, all empires finally fall.

Why? Because no human government has ever been able to establish perfect justice and righteousness, but the zeal of the Lord will do this, because his justice and righteousness knows no end.

And beyond that, He has clothed all citizens of his kingdom with righteousness!

I want you to remember that when God made the promise to David that He would establish His kingdom through his son and he would establish his kingdom forever that Solomon was David’s son,

And when God came to Solomon and offered him anything, King Solomon asked for wisdom from God to lead the people.

And God gave Solomon great wisdom and established glory and peace in the kingdom in a greater way than Israel had ever known,

To the point that faraway nations were sending their leaders to look upon the glory of Solomon and the kingdom of Israel,

But then, Solomon turned away from the Lord and within one generation, the kingdom was divided and has face great adversaries ever since.

But, there is a sure day coming, as sure as the day when Jesus was born in the manger, that He will return to make all things right and set up his kingdom and as the book of Revelation states:

Revelation 11:15 ESV

15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Do you know this child that was born to us?

Do you know this son who was given?

Have you submitted your life to Him as your Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?

Whatever your Christmas looks like this year, I pray you would look upon it in light of the day Jesus was born, in light of the day he died, the day he rose again, and in light of the day we are longing for when he comes again to establish His perfect kingdom.

Let’s pray.