9 [a] 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.[b]
2 [c] 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.
3 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.
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.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called[e]
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 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.
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
3 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.
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.
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called[e]
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 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.
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text tonight is the reading from earlier, especially these words, “For
to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. We walk in darkness in this
world. Sin surrounds us at every turn. Oh, I know, we don’t like to think its our
fault, we don’t like to think its our problem.
Its everyone else’s problem, isn’t it.
Preach on pastor, tell them how evil they are, tell so and so what they
have done wrong. Because its Christmas
season, and I’ve baked the cookies, I’ve taken care of my loved ones, I’ve put
up the tree. I can’t be the one walking
in darkness. But its all those other
people.
Oh but if it were
only true. But the truth is, we are
guilty. You are guilty. You have sinned, and you walk in the darkness
of that sin all the days of your life.
You may not realize it, but that’s only because it’s what you’re used
to. Sin. Death.
Pain and Sickness. This is the
way of our sinful world. It is the way
of us.
But the people who
walked in darkness have seen a great light.
A light shining brightly in the darkness, that the darkness cannot and
will not overcome. It’s a light that
shows us both our sin, and our rescue. When
we see that light, we realize how ugly our own sin is, how grossly it has
deformed us from the good and very good creatures that God originally
designed. In the light we see ourselves
for what we really are – sinners.
But we also see
our savior. We also see a rescue, a
savior, one who will come to set the captives to sin free forever. For unto us a child is born, unto us a savior
is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And he shall be called, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
For soon to be
born, in the city of David, is a tiny, precious baby, in whose flesh the
fullness of the eternal non created God lives.
He is true God, and true man, born of the virgin. And he comes to place the government of God’s
people upon his shoulders. To bear upon
his back the sins of the world, and to kill them on the cross. He will establish an eternal kingdom, apart
from the sins of this world, apart from the struggles of this day, apart from
suffering and pain. To be the light of
the world, so that all may see Him and be saved.
And in the light
of this child’s reign, sin shall be destroyed.
Our joy shall increase forever.
We shall finally and eternally be at peace. In him, we will be saved. And this child, born in the stable, laid in
the manger, He is coming again. He will
come with trumpet and cloud, and he take us home forever.
Dear friends, we
walk in darkness in this world. We
struggle. And yet, the people walking in
darkness have seen a great light, we have seen the Christ. We have seen our Savior. We have seen our Lord. A child is born. A son is given. Our savior.
Amen.
