Salvation Via A Child, Isa. 9.6

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders” (Isa. 9:6). How does God save the lost children of Adam? Do they just naturally progress toward God as they become more educated? Does their chronological aging assure spiritual maturity? God advances His reality and relevancy in a person’s life via a child who was born over 2000 years ago in an obscure Middle Eastern village. God could have deployed a Pharaoh or a Caesar or a king to confirm His authenticity and significance, but He chose a child instead. The ancient wise men appreciated the worthiness of God’s child saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Mt. 2:2). They appreciated Him so much they came a long distance to worship God’s child. The wise men of your era fail to recognize the value of God’s child. Why are the presentday wise men unappreciative of God’s child? Could it be the difference between Him and them is so stark, and their lifestyles so different that if they acknowledged God’s child to be who God says He is, their own values and lifestyles would be suspect? Jesus was born “to us.” He was not born to mythical gods who are not gods at all, but are merely fabrications of fallen man’s imagination. He was born of the woman’s seed when the Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her (Gen. 3:15; Lk. 2:35). Jesus was given to us. The gift of Deity was born to humanity. Jesus was not given to the angels; rather He was given to the shepherds, and to the Samaritan women who drew their water from Jacob’s well, and to the “men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9). God says, “The government will rest on His shoulders.” Unsurrendered mankind remains burdened with ineffective self-government. Jesus rests His people from the world’s oppressive burdens (Isa. 9:4). He takes their place, bearing their cross and suffering in their stead (Lk. 24:26). The child who was born and the Son who was given has Himself been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and He Himself gives rest to those who have absolutely surrendered themselves to Him (Mt. 28:18; 11:28). How well do you know the child who was born? How acquainted are you with the Son who was given? Was the child born for you? Was the Son given to you? “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jn. 1:11-13).