For Unto Us: The Child Who Shatters Darkness | Isaiah 9

The story opens in the thick of fear: Judah is staring down Assyria, a king is hedging his bets, and the air feels heavy with failure. Then Isaiah drops a word that turns the whole room—nevertheless. From that hinge, we trace how a land soaked in gloom hears the unthinkable promise of a Child who will carry the government, right wrongs with justice and righteousness, and bring a peace that doesn’t crack under pressure.

We walk through Isaiah 9:1–7 with fresh eyes, connecting the prophecy to its fulfillment in the life of Jesus. Galilee’s shame becomes the stage for glory. Bethlehem anchors the promise in David’s line. The titles are not poetry for greeting cards; they are the concrete credentials of a Savior who is both transcendent and near: Wonderful Counselor for confused minds, Mighty God for real threats, Everlasting Father for restless hearts, Prince of Peace for fractured homes and nations. Along the way, we draw a line to John’s language of light—bold, unquenchable, personal—and we talk about what it means for light to confront darkness in our habits, systems, and hopes.

This Advent, we invite you to practice stubborn hope. Name the darkness honestly, then cling to the God who writes himself into the story and breaks the yoke we thought we had to carry. If you need wisdom, he counsels. If you face fear, he fights. If you long for belonging, he fathers. If your world feels divided, he makes peace. The zeal of the Lord will do this is not a wish; it’s a guarantee signed by God. Join us, share this message with someone who needs light, and if it helps you, leave a rating and review so others can find the hope you found today.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Invitation
• 0:35 Reading Isaiah 9:1–7
• 2:24 Prayer And Advent Focus
• 3:12 The Fail Room And Judah’s Failure
• 6:20 Ahaz’s Choice And Assyrian Threat
• 9:22 From Gloom To Glory: Nevertheless
• 12:06 Galilee’s Shame And Coming Hope
• 14:40 The Great Light In John’s Gospel
• 17:10 Joy, Freedom, And The End Of War
• 18:40 A Child Is Born: Names And Reign
• 22:10 Not Hezekiah: Identifying The King
• 24:05 Bethlehem, David’s Line, And Birth
• 26:30 God Writes Himself Into The Story
• 28:20 Advent Encouragement And Response

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:03

Hello and welcome to the FBC El Doredo Sermon Podcast. My name is Taylor Guerrera and I have the privilege of being the pastor here at First Baptist. And I want to thank you for listening into our sermon this week. And I want to tell you this if you're in our area and you don't have a church home, we would love to see you any Sunday morning at First Baptist El Doredo. Will you join me now in listening to our sermon from this week? Amen. Open up with me to the book of Isaiah, chapter nine. The book of Isaiah, chapter nine. This morning we're going to be in verses one through seven of Isaiah 9. Let me read those verses for us. 1 through 7 of Isaiah chapter 9. But there will be no gloom for her who is 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. 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. 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, 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. For every boot of the tramp tramping warrior in battle tumult, and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, and 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. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, we come during this Advent season. Really, to remember that your coming was no accident, it was no plan B, it it caught you, certainly didn't catch you by surprise. But Lord, from the beginning of time, really before the beginning of time, you had your son Jesus and the cross on your mind. And so, Lord, we give you praise this morning. As we look at the fact that even in the midst of gloom and despair, a light shines. And Jesus Christ, indeed, your light shines into our lives. So, Lord, transform us by your word this morning. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen. James M. Fale, F-A-I-L of Montgomery, Alabama, passed away in 2010. But throughout his life, he attained great wealth, and he was a very generous individual. He desired to give much of that wealth away. And he desired to give a lot of it to his beloved university, the University of Alabama. And he he gifted Alabama much money many times over, but never would they name anything after him. He said, You don't need to do that, because his last name is Fail. It's not the most uh encouraging of names until he came up with an idea of a sum of money he would give that he would be willing to let one location on campus be named after him. If we can put the picture of the fail room, this is the visitor's locker room. At Bryant Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama, the visitor's locker room to get ready for the game, they quite literally walk into the fail room. I can think of no better name for a visitor's locker room. Sadly, I can think of a team that I love that have lived out that term many times. As we open up Isaiah this morning, and really this month leading up to Christmas, we're really coming to a people that, if I could just say it, they kind of lived in their own room of failure. The reality is the people of God were not acting like the people of God. The southern kingdom of Judah was acting like the world. Failure was all around them. First of all, they failed the failure of their own making because God said as much in the first chapter of Isaiah and following the first few chapters, and basically said this: that if you will honor me and obey me and live according to my commands, you will see the blessing of God. On the other side, if you uh disobey me and try to live like the world, then you will see all that the world has to offer, and you won't love it too much. We see that there are people that they're even nervous that they're destined for failure. We read of Isaiah chapter 6, written in, it says this, in the year that King Uzziah died. Under King Uzziah they had great prominence and prosperity. The nation of Assyria to the north was very weak at that time, and so they had great prosperity, but now King Uzziah has died, and they start to wonder what's next. The nation of Assyria to the north is getting stronger and stronger under their new king, and you're gonna hear this correctly, Tiglath Pelezer II. So Tiglath had come to power, but not only that, they're nervous about what is ahead and is failure on the horizon, but even their own kings are failing in massive ways. Ahaz, who is their new king, the grandson of Uzziah, he really has two options. What you see here is a map of Judah and Israel and Syria and Assyria to the north. And I want to preface this by telling you this. I think I'm the most dangerous man in El Doreto, Arkansas this morning. And I want to tell you why. Last week, Rudy and Sheree Bright on the way out of the room gave me a gift. They know how much, I don't know if they're in the room this morning. Yes. They know how much I love my maps, how much I love my charts, my Venn diagrams, and they gave me the most fantastic gift last week. Look at this. And so if uh if James Fail can have a room, Rudy and Cherie Bright, they can this can be the Rudy and Cherie Bright laser pointer. The bright laser pointer is a good name for it, isn't it? You got Judah in the south. I'm loving this this morning. The divided kingdom, now Israel above, Syria above that, and you've got Assyria here. Here's the problem for King Ahaz. Israel and Syria have come to him and they've said this. How about you join us and we'll all go against Assyria? Well, they don't, uh King Ahaz doesn't want to trust Israel and Syria. So what does King Ahaz do? Well, here's the good news. He doesn't go with Israel and Syria for everybody on this side of the room. He doesn't go with Israel and Syria. That's good news. The bad news is this. Instead, he makes a deal with Assyria. Now wait a second. How do you think that's gonna go? Because Isaiah offered him another option. King Ahaz, you could instead do this. You could trust God. You could trust the Lord your God and watch his provision over your nation. Instead of trusting God, he goes up to Assyria and trusts old Tiglath Pelezer to save the day. Here's the problem with trusting evil kings. Eventually those evil kings come for you. And that's exactly what's gonna happen for the people of Judah. And that's exactly what we see in chapter 7 and 8, as really gloom is announced upon the people of God in Judah. If you look at how chapter 8 ends, it ends with this in verse 21 They will pass through the land greatly distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upwards, and look at this, and they will look to the earth, but behold, here it is, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness. The people of God in Dude in Judah, as we arrive at chapter 9, they are a people in darkness. They are a people in failure, with nothing but failure on the horizon, and they are a people that don't know what the future will hold because they don't trust their God. But the good news is Isaiah comes and in the midst of this thick darkness offers the people of God in Judah and offers you and me this morning a little piece of hope. Within this darkness, we enter chapter 9, and it says once again this but there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. We're kind of getting a fast-forward vision of the future. In the former time, in the past, he brought contempt on the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. These are the regions of the north, the Galilee regions. But in the latter time, he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. I want to start right here in uh verse one of chapter nine with just this. My translation starts with, but there will be no gloom. Maybe your translation just gives that word, but but nevertheless. Nevertheless. I like the translations that give me that nevertheless because I want to see from the start as we end chapter eight and as we begin chapter nine, we go from gloom to glory because we have a God who is the ultimate nevertheless that inserts himself into the life of his people. And I don't know if you've ever been uh in a moment where you've felt the neverthelessness of our God. And we'll make that a word this morning. The neverthelessness of our God. When you have been in a situation of darkness and gloom, and you have been in a hopeless, hopeless state, and yet into the midst of that, God says, Nevertheless, I'm still about the business of doing a new thing in your life. And maybe this morning you can just give testimony to that. That right where you're sitting, you can think about those times where all hope seemed lost, and the God of the nevertheless came in and did something that only he can do. That's exactly what he's doing from chapter 8 to chapter 9. It's nothing but gloom and darkness, nevertheless. That underneath the surface, God is doing a brand new thing. The light will come. And I love what he's up to in this moment. Because he's talking about the north, that northern Israel, the region of Galilee, a place that has been greatly put to shame. They were the first stop on the Assyrian conquest tour. You talk about gloom and darkness, that is the place of gloom and darkness. This is the place of great shame. And yet he says this in the latter days, something glorious will come out of Galilee. Now, maybe you've read enough of this book, and when you think about the northern region of Israel, when you think about the land of Galilee in the north, and you think about the fact that in the later days something glorious is gonna come out of Galilee, something glorious, a new hope will come and come to us, believers out of Galilee, you just start getting excited. Because there is a name that you start to think of. In fact, uh Matthew wants to spoil it all for us and give us these spoilers, and he says this so beautifully in Matthew chapter 4, starting in verse 13, and leaving Nazareth, he went and he lived in Capernaum, that is Jesus, by the sea, in the territory of Zebulon and Naphtali. You remember those names, we just read them. Why did he do that? So that what was spoken of the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. The land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. Matthew wants us to know from the start that when we're talking about a glorious hope that's about to come out of the north, out of Galilee, we're talking about no one else but Jesus. Let's keep seeing what Isaiah says to us. Verse 2 The people who walked in darkness, on them has light shone. 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. What we see is a dark place, and on them the great light has come, and in verse 2. Those who dwell in darkness, they've seen this great light who has come. And you know, many people call Isaiah the fifth gospel. Uh that we have Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John, but then many people say Isaiah is the fifth gospel. Obviously, written around 700 years before any of the gospels were written, before Jesus was born into Bethlehem, and yet it is so gospel-centered. It gives us so many pictures of the gospel. Just wait in two weeks when we talk about Isaiah chapter 53, and we see so beautifully a picture of Jesus Christ even in his suffering. It might as well be the fifth gospel. And right here, it sounds a lot like a gospel. It sounds a lot like the book of John, because John is one who just can't quite get over the light that shines into the darkness. How does John begin his own gospel? That the beginning was the word, the word was with God, all things were made through him, and then verse 4 in him was life, and that life was the light of men. Verse 5. The light shines into the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. We see verse 9, the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. Just a few chapters later, John reports to us what Jesus himself says that again Jesus spoke to him saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And now John, because he just can't help himself, in his letter, much further down the road, the letter of 1 John, what does he say? Starting in verse 5, this is the message we've heard from him and proclaimed to you that God is light. In him is no darkness at all. John can't get over the light of Christ Jesus. And Isaiah can't get over it either. That those who walk in gloom, in darkness, and let's be clear, the people of Judah are walking in the darkness of gloom. What does Isaiah promise is coming? A great light will come. A great light will shine into the darkness. Now, we say this all the time, and you know that it's true that we live in a dark world. Again, we we talk about that almost weekly, that it doesn't take long to look uh on the TV or look online or just look uh, you know, right outside your window, and sometimes it feels like the world is extremely dark. We also know this it doesn't take long to look inside our own mirrors, to see the depths of our own heart, to know there there is darkness in me that God has to root out. That that that there's sanctification that needs to occur, and I see my own flesh and the wickedness that can exist there. There is darkness all around us. And then we have Isaiah just saying this. Yet in the midst of that darkness, a light is going to shine. A light is going to come forth and light up those dark places. In verse 3, the the joy of the people will be increased. In verse 4, the the yoke and the burden that uh we can see in this moment that Assyria is putting upon the people of God, it will be released. We see that those who would want to make war against Judah in verse 5, all of their military gear is simply going to be used as fuel for the fire. It will be burned up. Why? Because something is about to happen. Really, someone is about to come, and that's where we arrive at verse 6. For to us, a child is born, and to us a son is given. I want to stop there for a second. Because imagine if you're sitting in Judah and you're hearing these verses. Tiglath and his crew are coming towards you. Assyria is stronger than ever. Their army uh expands as far as the eye can see. I mean, these are scary times. And you're wondering what's next for your people. And then Isaiah comes and says, I've got great news, and you say, This is good, because we need something really good. And then he says this there's a baby boy coming. Now, wait a second. All of Assyria wants to make war against us. And the good news you're offering us is that a baby boy is coming. I'm sure he's as sweet as can be, but Isaiah, can you do a little more for us than that? We're in a tough situation. But just hold on. Because there's something about this son who is coming. There's something so unexpected in this moment. There's something that God is up to. And isn't it just true of the Lord that he uses unexpected things and unexpected ways to do things we couldn't imagine? For unto us a child is born, a son is given. Okay, who is this? What are some of his characteristics? Number one, the government shall be upon his shoulders. He will be a ruler. All the government will bow to him, will obey him, and any rival kings and rival governments will bend their knee to him. And his name shall be called, number one, wonderful counselor. This king of great wisdom, offering this wise counsel. He will be called this, mighty God. Okay, suddenly we're we're moving to a different stratosphere here. Mighty God. That this son who is coming, this child will be born, he is the mighty God. This is big language. This is divine language. So this is no just just mere child. This is God coming for us. In chapter 7, we read this that Emmanuel is coming, God with us, and now we see it clearly. Not only that, he is everlasting. Father. So two neat things here. One, he is everlasting. So this is the eternal king, but also everlasting father. So there's something about this king, as powerful as he is, as transcendent as he is, that I'm still able to look at this, call him father. There's something so big about him, yet also something so personal about him. Everlasting Father. And then this prince of peace. Well, we're a people right now that need peace. We can say that about uh Judah in 700 BC, and we can say that about El Dorado Arkansas in 2025. We're a people that need a prince of peace. Verse 7. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end. This is an eternal kingdom ever expanding. On the throne of David and over his kingdom. Now wait a second. Of the throne of David. So this eternal king will sit on the throne of David. Now that's fascinating. Because if you're of the people of God, that's exactly who you've been waiting for. Since 2 Samuel chapter 7, we've been waiting on this Savior who will do what? Who will sit on the throne of David, one coming from David's line that will establish this eternal kingdom. And he will establish it and uphold it with justice. You read all throughout Isaiah and you see matters of justice and correcting oppression and the people of God living like the people of God. So he will lead with justice, with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. And then I love this last phrase: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do it. You know, every election season in our country, whether that's local, state, national elections, the the uh the commercials start coming on, and the uh and and you know, more often than not, they'll they'll just kind of focus on their platform. Sometimes they can get a little nasty depending on the election, but but always at the end you'll you'll catch this phrase. The the candidate will come on and say, I am so-and-so and I approve this message. You hear that all the time. I I am so-and-so, and I approve this message. I want to tell you at the end of verses one through seven, you might ask, who has authority to not only say this, but to carry it out? It's as if the Lord God of hosts, Yahweh Himself, comes and says, Hey, I'm the Lord and I approve this message, I approve what I'm saying. It says this the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. You can bet on it, you can take it to the bank. This child is coming. And now the question is, who is this child? We let Matthew spoil it for us a little bit, a bit ago, but I'll ask again, who is this child? Because we do have some options. There were some kings that were born and and uh came to to the throne in Judah. The next man up was Hezekiah, and honestly, he did some really good things. We're proud of Hezekiah. He got some things done, wasn't perfect, but he did some good things. I I I go down the the list of the resume and I wonder, does Hezekiah line up with this? Well, wonderful counselor. I I have no doubt that Hezekiah probably counseled in some good ways and probably gave some wisdom. Let's go to number two, mighty God, and then it's over. And then we can go no further than that. Because I know enough about Hezekiah to know he's not that. He's not everlasting father, he's not Prince of Peace. You go down the list of kings and you are gonna find a lot of people who end up falling very short of the standard of the resume that is listed in verses 1 through 7 of Isaiah chapter 9. And so who is this one? We're looking for someone particular, that glory is going to come out of Galilee, that this will be a son, a child, uh, that this uh child will be a descendant of David and will for eternity sit on the throne of David. And so we have to ask the question uh who is this child? And thankfully, Scripture continues and gives us our answer. And it's fascinating to me that just as Judah is looking out at everything going on in the nation, at Assyria, at the dangers that are to come, and they get this unexpected word that a baby boy is coming, certainly unexpected, so too we are waiting on this sun, and we get a very unexpected word, an unexpected message. Because while we might expect the red carpet, we might expect a maybe grand worldwide announcement. What do we get in Luke chapter 2? We simply see these words. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Corinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth. Now that's interesting. Joseph went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth. Hope's coming from Galilee, to Judea. Wait a second, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David. Suddenly we're about to get the announcement of a baby boy who's of the house and lineage of David, who is coming out of Galilee, verse 5, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child, and while they were there, the time came forth for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. I just want to tell you, as we read that, it it wasn't quite what we expected, was it? It wasn't the fanfare we would have thought. It wasn't, again, the red carpet, the worldwide announcement. In fact, the first people that get the announcement are are some lowly shepherds in the field down the road, and they come, and these shepherds really to a feeding trough, an animal stall. This is where this Savior is born, and yet, nonetheless, everything Isaiah promised, 700 years before the birth of Christ, now comes to pass, and there's just something about this little baby boy lying in a manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, that is everything the people of God waited on. That is everything you and I waited on. And if you could just imagine that first night when Christ was born, the irony that we have a song called Silent Night. If you have children and you remember the first night, there's not too much silent about it. But that first night with the cries of a little baby boy, just this little weak little child, just a little baby that needs his mother and father's care. It's just a little baby boy, and yet to us a child is born. The government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name, this baby boy, shall be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. And how did all this come to light? Because Isaiah 7 reminds us, Emmanuel, God with us, because God came to us in the person of Jesus Christ. I I've said it before, I'll say it again, because it's just my favorite illustration there is. Uh when C.S. Lewis was thinking about his own salvation, he was an atheist, a a non-believer, and he just couldn't get around the fact that that God would come to him. And I I've I've quoted this before, but he he said this that before I knew Christ, I didn't believe that we could know God any more than Hamlet could know Shakespeare. I didn't believe we could know God any more than Hamlet could know Shakespeare, any more than the character within the story could know the author of the story. He stands outside of the story. They are seemingly completely disconnected. But then he said this. I realized that there was a way this was possible. What if Shakespeare wrote himself into the story? What if the author wrote himself into the story? If that were the case, then surely Hamlet could know Shakespeare. Here's the beauty of this child coming to us, the one who was promised, the one who came in Luke chapter 2, that God himself has written himself into the story of creation. The author of history has written himself into history and has come for us. And so all December long, and really every day of every month of every year for the rest of our days, we're going to celebrate the fact that God has come to us. And he came as this little child. But here's the amazing: he didn't stay that little child. One day he became the man, Christ Jesus, who died for us, literally riding himself into the story for the sake of suffering on our behalf, taking our sin upon himself, rising from the grave, and now he is the one that is Philippians 2 talks about, who one day, every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that indeed he is Christ the Lord. He is the one who is everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, the government upon his shoulders, sits on the throne of David and will do this everlasting forevermore, because Christ Jesus has written himself into our story. As we begin this month of December, this month of Advent, these weeks ahead. That your eternity can change even now because Christ Jesus knows you. And he died for you, and he delights to forgive you and give you life. I also say this: if you know Jesus Christ and have for some time, maybe you've read Isaiah chapter 9 a hundred times over, you've heard Luke chapter 2 and the Christmas story 10,000 times over. But I hope this first Sunday of Advent you will leave here encouraged. Why? Because your Savior came for you. And I hope you will remind yourself that today and every day. That in the midst of your trials, you serve the God of the nevertheless that can turn gloom into glory. In the midst of hopelessness, you serve the God that brought you hope. And for now and eternity, here's the truth: you have a Savior, and His name is Jesus. It's gonna be a great month ahead as we look at Isaiah, looking ahead to the birth of Jesus, and as we celebrate the coming of our Savior and what He's done for us. Pray with me now. Lord Jesus, I just pray this morning that every person in this room would know and understand for themselves just how much you love them, how much you care for them, how much you've done for them. Lord, that's the story of the gospel that you have provided for us, our Savior. You yourself have written yourself into our story. You have come to us, and that is beautiful news. And so, Lord, we thank you this morning. If there is anyone in this room that needs to respond in any way, if they want to come to know you for the first time, if they want to join our church, if if they desire to be baptized, if they just want a pastor to pray with them, Lord, would today be the day I'll be down front, Lord, and I would delight to get to chat with them. Lord, however we need to respond, would we all be sensitive to do it now? I ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Would you stand now as we worship? I'll be down front if you need to respond in any way.