Five Names for the Coming Messiah (Isaiah 9)

A grim picture closes Isaiah 8—thick darkness, confusion, and anguish—but the story doesn’t stall there. We step straight into Isaiah 9 and watch hope rise over Galilee, where the land once humbled becomes the first to see great light. We trace how Jesus fulfills the ancient promise, why His ministry anchored in Nazareth matters, and how the claim “I am the light of the world” is more than poetry—it’s the fulfillment of a centuries-old trajectory.

Together we unpack the line everyone quotes and few explore: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” The child signals true humanity; the Son signals eternal deity, and that union is the engine of redemption. From there we open Isaiah’s fivefold description—Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace—and show how each name reveals Christ’s nature and answers real needs: guidance that never misleads, strength that never depletes, origin and care that never expire, and peace that reconciles and sustains. We also press into the tension: the birth of Jesus did not end war, yet peace with God is available now, and world peace awaits His reign on David’s throne.

The image of the government on His shoulder comes alive through an ancient wedding custom where the groom bears the bride’s veil to signify responsibility. That’s how Christ carries His people today—protecting, providing, and inviting us to place the veil of our circumstances on His strong, omnipotent shoulder. If gloom has narrowed your horizon, this conversation widens it with living hope, practical surrender, and a steady confidence that the light has dawned and will one day fill the earth.

If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a quick review telling us which name of Jesus resonates with you most. Your words help others find the light.

Chapters

• 0:00 From Darkness To Hope
• 1:24 Galilee As The Stage Of Fulfillment
• 2:30 The Light Dawns In Jesus
• 3:04 A Child Born, A Son Given
• 3:47 Wonderful And Counselor Explained
• 5:32 Mighty God And Everlasting Father
• 7:41 Prince Of Peace And True Peace
• 9:16 Government On His Shoulder
• 9:57 Surrender And Closing Blessing

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:26

In our last session, as Isaiah chapter eight came to a close, the prophet delivered a rather dark picture of what it means to reject the Word of God. He said here in verse twenty two, They will look to the earth, but behold distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and they will be thrust into thick darkness. And let me tell you, this is the perfect description of the world back then and the world to this day. Darkness, confusion, despair. Well, the question becomes, is there any hope? Well now as chapter nine opens, Isaiah delivers several prophecies that give the nation Israel, and you and me today, wonderful hope in our Messiah. Isaiah says here in verse one, 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. Well these two tribes in the Galilean region of Israel would have been the first tribes to be captured by Assyria. But Isaiah goes on to say here in verse one, in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, Galilee. Listen, that's where that's where Nazareth is located. Something glorious is going to happen over there in Galilee, and beloved, that's exactly where the Lord lived and carried on most of his earthly ministry. Isaiah puts it this way here in verse two. Well, seven hundred years after Isaiah writes this prophecy, Matthew declares its fulfillment in Jesus' ministry there in Galilee. The dawning of the light on this old dark earth has begun. Later on in his ministry, Jesus stood and said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Jesus is simply applying the prophecy of Isaiah to his life and his ministry. Now, Isaiah describes the birth of the Messiah here in verse six. He writes, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. Now we can look back and we can see that this has already taken place in the birth of Jesus, for to us a child is born, that relates to his humanity. To us a son is given, that relates to his preexistent deity. From eternity past, he was God the Son. But now, through this miraculous conception and human birth, he has taken on flesh. He has been given to the human race in order to redeem us. Well, now with that, Isaiah gives us five wonderful descriptions, five different names which describe the Lord Jesus here in verse six. His name shall be called wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Now these names here are more related to His nature than His signature. His signature will be Jesus, but here you have really a prophetic description of His nature. And the first description is this word wonderful. Now I believe a comma should come after this first descriptive name, and that's because wonderful here isn't an adjective, it's a noun. Isaiah isn't saying here that the Lord provides wonderful counseling, well, which he does, or that belonging to him is a wonderful thing, which it is. He's simply telling us here that the Lord is wonderful. I've over the years talked to young women planning their wedding ceremony over which I would preside as the pastor, and I've had more than one of them describe their husband to be, you know, gushing and sighing, saying he's just so wonderful. And I can't help but think, well, just give it a few months. Of course, I don't say that out loud. I'm sure he will be wonderful at times, and I'm sure he'll do some wonderful things every so often, and I hope very often. But you don't hear what Isaiah is saying about our Lord. He's saying that he is consistently, unchangeably, he is wonderful. Now Isaiah goes on to say that he's not only wonderful, but he's described here as counselor. I'm going to say something that might surprise you. I believe every woman listening to me today needs counseling. Well, all the men are probably saying amen to that. Well, I'm not finished. Every man listening to me needs counseling. Probably even more so, and now all you women can say amen. Listen, every human being on the planet is in need of counseling. Go to the one here who is described as the divine counselor. He'll never give you bad advice. He's never going to have to say, you know, I'm so sorry I gave you the wrong direction to take in life. No, his word, his counsel is always right. And by the way, the Lord is the only counselor you will ever go to who doesn't need counseling himself. He'll never need your advice or mine. Well, now the Lord Jesus is also called here by Isaiah the mighty God. This is another description of Jesus Christ's deity. The Messiah is the mighty El. El God is at the beginning of Elohim, that's the name of our sovereign God. El is at the end of Emmanuel, God with us. See, the Messiah, Jesus, isn't just like God, he's the physical embodiment of the triune God. He is God in the flesh. One day when you stand there in heaven looking at God, you're going to be looking into the face of Jesus. Well, now Isaiah calls him here the everlasting Father. That might sound somewhat strange when applied to Jesus. But in the Hebrew mind, the Father of something was its originator. In both Colossians chapter 1 and Hebrews 1, Jesus is declared to be the creator. He spoke everything into existence. He is the originator of all things. Again, this is a strong declaration of the deity of Jesus. I had a man in my office some time ago who had taught Sunday school in a Protestant church for decades. But he said to me, You know, I don't believe Jesus was anything more than a Jewish rabbi. Well, he's evidently not reading Isaiah. Well, lastly, here, this last descriptive name is Prince of Peace. You see, because of Jesus Christ, we can have peace with God. No more battling God. We've surrendered. We we've taken a pen and we've signed the peace treaty with God. The ink in that pen is the blood of Christ. We have peace with God, but we also have the peace of God as we walk with him in obedience. Philippians chapter 4, verse 7. Isaiah calls him the Prince of Peace, and this description is prophetic. And let me tell you, the birth of Jesus didn't bring peace to planet Earth, did it? There have been eight major world wars since the seventeenth century alone. There's no peace on earth, beloved. And there won't be any peace until this prophecy is fulfilled, when the Prince of Peace returns to take his place on the throne of David. But until that happens, peace can be found on planet earth, and that's the peace you have in your heart and your life with God. Isaiah is prophesying of a future world peace when Jesus reigns in his earthly kingdom. If you go back earlier here to verse six, we read, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. Well, Isaiah is referring to a Jewish wedding custom in which the groom would remove the veil from his bride and lay it on his shoulder. This signified that the responsibility for her protection and her provision was now on his shoulder. You, beloved, are the responsibility of the Lord, and he's going to take care of you because you're his bride. This prophecy can come true in a spiritual sense in your life today. So today, why don't you lay the veil of your circumstances on his shoulder? Why don't you say to him today, beloved, Lord, you're my protection, you're my provision, you're my direction, everything about my life, Lord, the veil of my life is on your strong, omnipotent shoulder. One day you're going to rule the nations, but right now, today, Lord Jesus, I want you to rule as king in my life. Well, until we meet again, beloved, may the grace of this Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.