Rose Crawford was blind. Her world was full of darkness. There was nothing that she could do to see. She was blind so darkness was her life. But at the age of 50, Rose Crawford underwent delicate new surgery. She gasped when the doctors lifted her bandages from her eyes, “I just can’t believe it!” She wept for joy. Her world that was filled with darkness experienced the light of this beautiful world. Her life was forever changed. She could see. The amazing thing about this story is that the surgical procedure that caused her sight to be restored had been available for 20 years. The doctors said, “She just figured there was nothing that could be done about her condition. Much of her life could have been different.” She did not know a cure was available so for 20 years she stayed in darkness. A cure is no good unless people know about it. As soon Rose discovered the cure, she went help and her sight was restored. She knew she could do nothing by herself, she need to assistance from someone outside of her.
Much like Rose, we too need help from someone outside of us. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The world that was shrouded in darkness and blinded by the god of this world has seen a great light. Christmas is the celebration that the light of the world has come to outshine the darkness of sin. The light of the world, Jesus Christ, has come to outshine sin. We are going to look at four different aspects in how the Jesus, the Son of Man, outshines sin. First,
The Son of Man Outshines the Darkness of Sin
The people of Israel had experienced the oppression of the Assyria. King Ahaz turned to Assyria to help with their battle against Ephraim instead of turning to the Lord. The Lord gave a sign to the people in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” God gave the people a sign that he was going to send a Son into the world through a virgin. This is prophecy concerning the virgin birth of Jesus Christ from Mary. But because of Ahaz’s lack of faith in God, God allowed the Assyrians to overthrow the land of Judah. The people drifted so far from the Lord that instead of seeking Him they turned mediums and necromancers. So, God responds at the end of Isaiah 8:19,
And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 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 upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness. (Isaiah 8:19-22).”
The state of the people of God is distress and the gloom of anguish. Isaiah says, “They will be thrust into thick darkness.” This is awful. We must understand how bad this situation that was described here actually was. It is hard to imagine how tough they actually had it. One of the greatest periods of darkness in our own history was the Great Depression. Food was scarce. Unemployment was high. Death and Distress were common. The generation today has no idea how hard life was following the Great Stock Market Crash in October 1929. Life was hard. And the life of Israel in Isaiah’s day was far worse. So hear these next words in the context of an awful, painful life.
Isaiah 9:1, “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. 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.” Listen to the change: “no gloom for her who was in anguish, made glorious the way of the sea, those in darkness have seen a great light, those in deep darkness, light as shone, increased their joy, rejoice as with the joy at the harvest, gladness after victory when dividing the spoils. This is a dramatic change. This change only comes through Jesus Christ.
Listen to Matthew 4:13, “And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoke by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled.” (Then they quote the prophecy of what we just read in Isaiah.) Verse 17, “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven, is at hand.” Jesus announces that he is the great light of the world that has come to outshine the darkness. He outshines the darkness in bringing the kingdom of heaven to earth. He offers people the kingdom of heaven through repentance and faith. Those who believe in the light of the gospel in the face of Jesus Christ will experience this dramatic change. This is like the change we saw in Rose Crawford. She was blind, but now she sees. Amazing Grace how sweet the sound / that saved a wretch like me / I once was lost but now am found / was blind but now I see.
This type of change will create joy. This is what Isaiah says in verse 3, “You have increased joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.” After Isaiah calls for this joy, he then gives 3 reasons why for this joy. We can see it with the purpose word “for.” Which brings us to the second aspect of how the Son of Man, outshined sin; the light of Jesus outshines the Domination of Sin.
The Light Outshines the Dominance of Sin
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. For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.” There are two reasons that should cause the people to rejoice mentioned in these verses. The first is that the light of the world will break the yoke of the oppressor as in the day of Midian. In Judges 6, the people of Israel were completed dominated by Midian because of their sin. Judges 6:2, “And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel… For whenever the Israelites planted crops …the Midianites would come up against them and devour the produce of the land.” And verse 6, “And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the Lord.” The Lord answers the pleas of the people by first reminding them that their disobedience and sin has brought the domination of the Midians upon them. They did not obey the voice of the Lord. “But God” God was merciful to Israel, even though they didn’t deserve it, and raised up Gideon to deliver them from the Midians.
God is going to deliver his people again through the light of the world even though the people did not deserve it. The story of Gideon is a story of God’s grace to a sinful and rebellious people. The original audience of Isaiah would have made the connection. There is a day coming when God will show His grace to us even though we are sinners and deserve his wrath. This should cause the people to rejoice. Those of us who are dominated by sin and the impulses of the flesh will one day experience complete victory over sin. Even now, he has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin.
The second reason for the people to rejoice is how the light is going to bring peace. Listen to verse 5, for every boot of the tramping warrior and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. There will be no need for a warrior’s boot or blood stained garments for their will be peace. Now again this is hard for United States citizens to understand. None of us here have lived in America while our country has been under siege from a foreign government. Many of our military soldiers know war for they have seen it. They have seen the devastation of war. They have seen broken down buildings and frames of cars that have been bombed. We may know of war, but our country has not experienced war. War has been brought to our home. But the people of Israel had experienced war. They had seen their children starve. They had seen their women beaten. They had seen families destroyed. They have lived in the fear of their lives. They knew war like many of us here could never know. So, when Isaiah says a day is coming a day when there will be no war. The people would have responded with joy. “Could this be true?” A day of peace is coming, OH PRAISE THE LORD!!
This type of joy should fill our hearts when we think of Christmas, much more than mere Christmas cheer. God has entered the world to overthrow the dominance of sin. Many of us may not understand a physical war, but we understand the war with sin. We know the sense of grief when we have failed to live up to God’s standard. We know shame. We know guilt. We know regret. We know failure. We know the sin that is working to devour us even this past week. So, hear this beloved, there is coming a day when there will be no more war with sin, only victory. There will be peace. “Could this be true?” A day of peace against sin is coming, OH PRAISE THE LORD!!! Therefore, our hearts should be filled with joy. So how will God bring us this peace? Third point,
The Son of Man Outshines the Despair of Sin
Israel were a people of despair dealing with the effects of their own disobedience. These people are living without hope for the future as they have been shrouded in darkness. To these people God gives them a reason to rejoice. 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. 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.” What an amazing verse!!! This verse is speaking about Jesus Christ. This same verse is quoted in Luke 2. The Angel of the Lord says in Luke 2:10-12, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
In Isaiah 9:6 there is the third reason the people should rejoice. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;” To a people in darkness and despair, to a people dominated by their disobedience, to a people who deserve nothing, but death, God says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” This child is the same child mentioned in Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” This child, born of a virgin and born of God, has been given to us. This is staggering. We do not deserve God’s grace, but rather we deserve God’s wrath for our sinful disobedience. But God, who is rich in mercy, lavishes his grace onto his people by giving that which we do not deserve, His beloved Son. This Son will ultimately come to bring peace and justice and to establish his kingdom of righteousness from the eternal throne of David forevermore. But before this happens, the Son must be given in death for the sins of his people. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”
I was at a camp one summer and I heard the camp speaker say, “Let me tell you something, Jesus didn’t die for your sins.” Now as a Christian, my ears perked up and I was ready to pounce on this heresy. But then he said, “Jesus didn’t die for your sins. Jesus died for you.” This is exactly what Isaiah is saying here. Jesus came to die to pay the penalty for sin, but Jesus ultimately came to die out of his love for you. The Angel says to the Shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for ALL THE PEOPLE. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Out of his love, Jesus came for you. Any sinner, even the worst of sinners, Jesus came to die that YOU can live. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Tim 1:15-16, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” Jesus Christ came to save sinners. For to us a Son was given. But Jesus Christ came to do so much more.
Listen to the second half of verse 6, “and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Jesus Christ came for you not only as your atoning sacrifice, but as your King. Jesus will establish his kingdom with justice and with righteousness. In the Hebrew, there are 8 words describing Jesus. Most scholars believe that these words should be put in pairs and created titles of the Beloved Son. Being a Wonderful Counselor refers to his advice and strategy as a military commander. His counsel will win the war against evil and bring peace. This Son is not just any child, but God Himself. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. He is the Everlasting Father. This should not be thought of as the Eternal Father of the Holy Trinity, but as the benevolent king who rules his kingdom as a loving and compassion father. Kings were often referred as fathers. Psalm 2:6-7, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my Holy hill. I will tell of the decree: the Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son.’” And he will be the Prince of Peace. He will bring peace against the evil one by destroying the works of the Devil. Jesus Christ died for you, but was also raised for you. Jesus destroyed the power of death by conquering the grave therefore if anyone would turn to him in faith and repentance, then his resurrection becomes your resurrection. Romans 6:5, “If we are united with him in a death like his, than we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”
The promise the Lord gives is not a temporal promise, but an eternal one; one that will never, ever change. Listen to verse 7 again, “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.” These magnificent and wonderful promises are eternal promises. Remember the impact of hearing these words for the first time would have been like? A people in darkness, they have seen a great light. One would have to ask, “Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God shouldst die for me?” This is so wonderful and so amazing that it may cause one to doubt. Finally,
The Son of Man Outshines the Doubt of Sin
How do we know that this light will outshine the darkness of sin? Listen to the last sentence of our text this morning, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” We can be confident that all of this is true because the zeal, the passion of the Lord of hosts will do this.
It is natural for us to doubt when we hear of the magnitude of these promises. We live in a world of false promises; from politicians promising one thing during the campaign only to break them once they get in office, from spouses promising to be committed to one another until they are separated by death only to break those vows for the allure of greener pastures. We live in a world of false promises. People break their promises to us and we start to doubt people’s words. Words do not mean as much as they once did. We see promises broken so often, how can we trust these very great and precious promises? We can trust His Word because unlike us, God will never break his promise. “For the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
In Matthew 1:20 the Angel spoke to Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” The eternal king of the House of David has arrived in Christ. He will be born of a woman as a man. He will be conceived by the Holy Spirit being born of God; The God-Man, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man. Here lies one of the greatest truths the world has ever known and the reason why God’s people should never fear. We never should fear because God is with us.
We were estranged from God and were his enemies facing the penalty for our sins. We were subject to lifelong slavery through the fear of death. No one could escape death. But God did not leave in our fear and in our condemnation. He became like us. He became, “God with us,” to save his people from their sins. He came to rescue us from our dire situation of death and hell, but buying us back from the grave. He did it through his perfect life. He lived the life that God has called us to live, innocent and pure, but then died the death that we deserved. He was dead and buried, but God raised him from the dead. Therefore, if anyone turns in faith to this Immanuel, our God with us, the promised Son of Man who was given to us, they have no reason to fear; for death and the grave have been defeated. Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of flesh and blood that through death he might destroy the one who has power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”
As we enter this Christmas season, let us be reminded that we have no need to fear for God has given us a Son; our Immanuel.” For to us the Son of Man was given. This sign should deliver us from all our fear. For if God is with us, who can be against us?
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