Matthew 2 tells the story of the Wisemen who followed a special star in search of One who they believed was born to be a King. They traveled for months from their country in search of this special King. Y’all, I get antsy if I am in the car for more than six hours! I cannot imagine a road trip for months!
Look at a part of their story from Matthew’s Gospel: Matthew 2:10 says,10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Seeing Jesus prompted the worship of the Wisemen. They knew they were worshiping a King!
Luke’s Gospel tells how angels appeared to lowly shepherds and told them about the birth of a Christ Child. They declared He was the Savior of the world. Luke 2:15 and following says, 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Seeing Jesus prompted the shepherds to tell others about Him! They knew they had seen the Savior.
To see Jesus, to experience Him, is like peeling the layers of an onion. Every time you take a layer off, there is another one. Only with Jesus, trying to see Him in fullness, trying to understand His dimensions and scope, it’s almost impossible to comprehend fully who He is.
Bible scholars have found approximately 200 different names for Jesus! How many nicknames do you have? I guarantee it isn’t 200! Each name represents His character, His power, or some personal way He helps us. When you truly SEE Jesus, you find the One who has everything you need to enjoy life and everything you need for eternal life. To the Wisemen, He was a King. To the shepherds, He was a Savior. Who is Jesus to you? Have you seen the Lord?
The prophet Isaiah said this about Jesus: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Who is Jesus according to this verse? He is a “Wonderful Counselor” He is the Wonderful Counselor because His perspective is infinite, without any limitation. There is nothing Jesus doesn’t know. We often play the “what if?” game. We try to guess, “if this happens, then what will I do?” Life can easily become a chess game with us trying to outsmart our circumstances, but it is impossible to do. Only God sees the end from the beginning. He has an eternal and perfect perspective. He has all knowledge and understanding. That makes Him a Wonderful Counselor.
You don’t just want a “know-it-all” for a counselor, but you want someone who is caring and compassionate. Jesus is that. He knows what life like a human is like. He knows what kind of trouble and pressure we face. I love Hebrews 4:14-16: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Because He came as a baby, and grew as we do, He gets us. He sympathizes with us. He knows what it is like to feel depleted or overwhelmed. He gets the feelings that accompany betrayal and rejection. He knows what it is to have anger well up on the inside. He not only dealt with physical and relational challenges that are part of the human experience, but He also dealt with temptations from Satan. He knows what Satan dangles in front of us to try to get us to compromise. He knows the pull of the world and the trappings that are part of this life. If this Christmas is extra hard for you, let me tell you, it’s hard on Jesus, too. In a real sense, He’s in your pain with you!
The writer of Hebrews emphasized that Jesus was without sin. This is the kind of Wonderful Counselor we have. That is why He is qualified to help us. He is One who has experienced all the same kinds of feelings and constraints we have had to deal with, but He had the right attitude and made the right choice in every circumstance.
Jesus never got it wrong. It would be difficult for me to go see a counselor who was known to have failed in the same area I was struggling in. I mean, who would that person be to offer perspective and advice if they had fallen in the same area as me? I suppose they could tell me what not to do, but I need more than that. When we mess up, when we give Satan a foothold, we know we have done the wrong thing. We don’t need someone to tell us we have messed up. We need the power of a Wonderful Counselor to help us overcome as well, so that we don’t keep making the same mistakes. Jesus is that Wonderful Counselor because He never got it wrong, and He never will get it wrong.
Jesus is also the Mighty God. Listen to Matthew 8:23-27: 23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”
Do you see His power? He spoke and the winds and waves obeyed Him. He is mighty over His creation. How about in Mark 6 when Jesus fed thousands of people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Not only that, but there was food left over! He can provide more than enough to meet your need!
Our God is Mighty! He is the God who provides more than enough, not because He is organized and plans ahead but because He is sufficient in every circumstance. Come on, somebody!
Or how about our Mighty God in John 11 when Lazarus died, and Jesus raised him from the dead? Verse 37 is one I may have skipped over hurriedly before. It says, 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Of course, he could have kept Lazarus from dying, but what is a greater miracle? To keep someone from dying or to allow them to die and then to raise them from the dead? Our Mighty God was surely on display at the tomb of Lazarus as He called him from the tomb and out Lazarus came!
Our Mighty God has power over creation. He can supply in any situation, and not even death is greater than He is. He is good in a crisis because He is God in the crisis.
Everlasting Father is next in Isaiah 9:6’s list of names for God. One of the first questions we may ponder in our childhood is, “Where did God come from?” Kids, have you ever wondered where God came from? The Bible says that God is the Eternal One. He didn’t have a beginning. No one created God. He simply always has been. There was never a time that He was not. It is difficult to wrap our minds around that, but once we accept it by faith, everything else falls into place. He is from everlasting to everlasting.
Jesus said of Himself in Revelation 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
We see what God looks like when we come to know Jesus, and we begin to understand that He has always existed, that He is eternal. Remember, Isaiah 9:6 is a prophetic verse about the baby born in Bethlehem, about Jesus. This idea about Him being everlasting helps us understand He is the Ancient of Days. He’s been around a long time. He knows what He is talking about. Jesus pre-dated time and all things. He can be trusted. He has an eternal track record. Jesus didn’t just come on the scene in Bethlehem. Oh, He was born as a baby in Bethlehem, but He existed from eternity past before Bethlehem. He always was with the Father and the Spirit. Before He came to earth, He was. He was. He was. And He is. And He evermore shall be! He has no beginning and no ending. Isn’t that awesome?
Next in the lineup of names is Prince of Peace. We live in a world that thrives on chaos, but deep down there is a real desire for peace. Few people really understand what peace is. Just like those without Christ don’t have eternal life and don’t have truth, they also don’t have peace. They don’t have internal peace, so it is virtually impossible for them to work for and experience peace in the physical world.
The beginning of peace comes when we give complete control of our lives to Christ. Peace is born in us when we surrender to Christ and let Him have His way with us. Peace is deposited into our souls as the stain and weight of sin are removed from us. Peace comes when we know who we are and when we know why we are here because true peace comes from being who God called us to be and comes from doing what He has called us to do. That is why you have to know Him. That is why you have to cultivate a relationship with Christ because peace with God and the peace of God begins to dwell in your heart and mind as you do.
Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Y’all, that is peace. Paul wasn’t panicked when circumstances were bad. Paul wasn’t anxious when supply was scarce. Paul knew that he would receive supernatural strength to make it through anything because Christ would give Him what was needed. When you know that you know that you know you will make it through any trial because of the supernatural power and presence of Christ, you can live with unbroken peace. You don’t have to be content with your circumstance, but if you are content with Jesus, you will have true peace.
You know what robs us of our peace? Running from what God desires for us to do. Not doing what God wants us to do will create anxiety in us. We will come undone as we leave those things undone that God has assigned for us to do. Disobedience disrupts our fellowship with God which disrupts our peace. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came to give us peace.
I would also say we lack peace when our eyes are focused on the chaos instead of on Christ. If you are feeling out of sorts, retrace your steps. Go back and look at how much time you have spent focusing on the things of the world versus focusing on Christ. You know the two are diametrically opposed, don’t you?
Peace is not just the absence of conflict. The kind of peace Jesus gives is invasive and pervasive. It holds us together no matter what. It’s easy to be at peace when all’s well. It’s another thing to have peace in the midst of the storm. That is the kind of peace that defies human understanding (Phil. 4:7).
One last Scripture I want to share comes from Philippians 2:9-11-“God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the NAME THAT IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus’ name is superior to every other name. It’s the highest. It’s the Most High. His name is to be held high, worn proudly, worshiped reverently, and obeyed whole-heartedly. More songs have been written about and to Jesus than any other person who has ever lived. The same is said about the number of books that have been written about Jesus. Jesus permanently changed history, not for a decade or a generation, but forever. And only Jesus’ name, Acts 4:12, has saving power.
Jesus revealed Himself in many ways and by many names because one name could never fully incapsulate or describe who He really is. He inspired the worship of kings who bowed before Him. He elicited the praise of shepherds who couldn’t stop talking about Him. Who is He to you? Who do you need Him to be today? Call on Him. Call on the name of Jesus because when you call on Jesus you are calling on the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.
Oh, He is enduringly strong and entirely sincere.
He is eternally steadfast, and He is the sinner’s Savior.
He is the captive’s ransom, and He is the breath of life.
He is unparalleled, and He is unprecedented.
He is undisputed and He is undefiled.
He is unsurpassed and He is unshakable.
He is the lofty idea in philosophy, the highest personality in psychology, the supreme subject in literature, and He is the unavoidable problem in higher criticism.
Jesus is the fundamental doctrine of theology.
No means of measure can define His limitless love.
He forgives and He forgets. He creates and He cleanses.
He restores and He rebuilds. He heals and He helps.
He reconciles and He redeems. He comforts and He carries.
He lifts and He loves.
He is the God of the second chance, the fat chance, the slim chance, and the no chance.
He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives.
He defends the feeble, and He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate, and He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent, and He beautifies the meek.
He is the Key to knowledge, and He is the fountain of life.
He is the wellspring of joy, and He is the storehouse of wisdom
He is the doorway of deliverance, the pathway to peace, the roadway of righteousness, the gateway to glory, and He is the highway to happiness.
He supplies strength to the weary. He saves the hopeless, and He shields the helpless.
He gives fulfillment to our emptiness and brings light to our darkness.
He gives comfort in our loneliness, and a future to the Hopeless.
He guards the Young, seeks the stray, finds the lost and guides the faithful.
He defends the weak. He comforts the oppressed, and He welcomes the prodigal
He heals the sick, cleanses the dirty, and mends the broken.
He is indestructible, indescribable, invincible, irresistible, and irrefutable.
I can’t get Him out of my mind, and I can’t get Him out of my heart. I can’t out-live Him, and I can’t live without Him.
The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him but they found they couldn’t stop Him.
Satan tried to tempt Him but found he couldn’t trip Him.
Pilot examined Him on trial but found he couldn’t fault Him.
The Romans crucified Him but found they couldn’t take His life.
Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him.
He had no predecessor, and He will have no successor.
He is the Lion and He is the Lamb.
He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!
Do you see what I see this Christmas? Have you seen and experienced Jesus in all of His glory? The message of Christmas is a “Come and see” message. What you find will surpass any earthly experience and will point you to the God who has come to personally walk through life and into eternity with you.
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