Bible Study: Christmas “The Prophecy of the Messiah” Week # 4

Prayer:

Father God, we are so honored to know You as a Wonderful Counselor. You are magnificent! You are King of kings and Lord of lords. There is none like You, Lord. The praises of Your honor is forever known to Your people. We gladly give it to You. We thank You for Your wise counselling in our everyday life. Your Word counsel our hearts as we read it and study it. In this lesson teach us to receive Your wonderful counseling, so we can live a holy life unto You. Let the words of our mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our Redeemer. AMEN.

God is with us:            Immanuel:      Matthew 1:23

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."

Printed Text:   (Isaiah 9:6) "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

 Subject:           Wonderful and Counselor:               

When Isaiah wrote his prediction of the coming of the "Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6), he was spurring Israel to remember their Messiah was indeed coming to establish His Kingdom (Isaiah 9:7). Isaiah was writing nearly 800 years before Christ. This period of history was tumultuous as the Assyrians were on the march, taking people into captivity by droves. Isaiah's prophecy gave the people of God a hope they so desperately needed: a Child would be born to fulfill the Davidic Covenant, and He would bear the titles "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." The Child was Christ; the prophecy will reach its consummation at Christ's second coming.
That Isaiah calls the Messiah the "Wonderful Counselor" indicates the kind of character this coming King has. The word wonderful in this passage literally means "incomprehensible." The Messiah will cause us to be "full of wonder." The word is much weightier than the way it's used in normal conversation today—we say things are "wonderful" if they are pleasant, lovely, or the least bit likable. Jesus is wonderful in a way that is boggling to the mind. The same word for "wonderful" is used in Judges 13:18 when Manoah, Samson's father, asked the LORD (in a theophany) what His name was. The angel of the LORD responded, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" In other words, "Why do you ask my name, since it is beyond your understanding?"
Jesus demonstrated His wonderfulness in various ways when He was on the earth, beginning with His conception in the womb of a virgin (Matthew 1:23). He showed He is the "wonderful" One in His power to heal (Matthew 4:23), His amazing teaching (Mark 1:22), His perfect life (Hebrews 4:15), and His resurrection from the dead (Mark 16:6). Jesus taught many wonderful things that are counterintuitive to the human mind: "Blessed are those who mourn" (Matthew 5:4). "Rejoice and be glad" in persecution" (Matthew 5:11–12). "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27). Jesus' kind of wonderful is awe-inspiring and superior to any other kind, for He is perfect in every way (Matthew 5:48).
The second part of the Messiah's title is the word Counselor. In ancient Israel, a counselor was portrayed as a wise king, such as Solomon, giving guidance to his people (1 Kings 4:34; Micah 4:9). Isaiah uses this word again in 28:29 to describe the LORD: "This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom." Jesus is a wise counselor. "He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person" (John 2:25). He is able to advise His people thoroughly because He is qualified in ways no human counselor is. In Christ is "hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3), including the knowledge of all human nature (Psalm 139:1–2). Jesus always knows what we are going through, and He always knows the right course of action (Hebrews 4:15–16).
Christ's position as our Wonderful Counselor means we can trust Him to listen to our problems and guide us in the right direction (Proverbs 3:6). We can be sure He is listening because He told us to pray to Him about our worries (Philippians 4:6; James 1:5). We can be certain He has our best interests at heart because He loves us (1 John 4:19). And His love is so wide and deep (and wonderful) that we cannot fully understand it (Romans 5:8).

Jesus as our Counselor:

There are examples of a number of poor counselors in the Bible.  In the Garden of Eden Satan acted as a Counselor and told Eve to eat what God had forbidden. He counseled Jesus to make stones in to bread and to test God's love. The wife of Job told him to Curse God and die! Job's friends told him to repent because he must have done something wrong if bad things were happening to him. All were foolish counselors giving bad advice.

We also see several examples of good counsel. Jethro advised Moses to delegate authority. The prophets were constantly advising the Kings to trust God; And then there is this great story about Solomon,

1 Kings 3:16-27

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.  During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne.

The other woman said, No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours. But the first one insisted, No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine. And so they argued before the king. 

The king said, This one says, My son is alive and your son is dead, while that one says, No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.  Then the king said, Bring me a sword, so they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other. The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him! But the other said, Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!

Then the king gave his ruling: Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother. This is wise counsel. Solomon read the situation correctly and found a way to bring the best resolution.

Jesus is the wisest Counselor because His wisdom is from the throne room of Heaven.

He never sought the counsel of man, and He never asked for the advice of man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counsellor? (Romans. 11:34). God has no counsellor. The Lord Jesus Christ never called His disciples together and said, "Now, fellows, what do you think I ought to do"? You don't read anything like that in Scripture. The Lord called them together and said, This is what I am going to do, because this is My Father's will. And Christ has been made unto us wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:30). Most of us are not very smart. We must go to Him for help.

Our Lord does several things when we turn to Him. First, He tells us the truth. He tells us what is really wrong with our lives. He points out that we are rebelling against God. We are like sheep who have gone astray.  He tells us that we need to repent of our sin.

He is like a Doctor who tells someone suffering from emphysema that they need to stop smoking cigarettes and stop hanging around with people who smoke. Understanding what is causing the problem is essential before you can solve the problem.

Second, Jesus tells us to trust what He has done for us. In Matthew 20:28 we read,

the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus understood that we could not save ourselves, something needed to be done for us. Jesus didn't just tell us that we needed help. He provided the help we need.

Did you see the story on television recently about the young girl who received two organ transplants at once?  She received a liver and a kidney. Her father and her Grandmother both willingly provided for this girl they loved. Without their provision, without their sacrifice, this girl was going to die. All the good intentions in the world could not change the disease that was inside of her.

It is somewhat like that for us. We can want to be forgiven but we can't do anything about defeating the disease of sin that stalks us and enslaves us. Jesus provided what we could not provide for ourselves. He gave His life as payment for our sin.  The prescription of our wonderful counselor is "Trust me and take what I have provided."

Third, our Counselor gives us a prescription for life that will help us continue to live a spiritually healthy life. This prescription is found in the Bible. In John 14:21,23-24 Jesus said,

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.. . ."If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

People who have had heart surgery are given a prescription.  They are told to walk regularly, to watch their diet, to take their medicine and to get their regular check-ups. If you do those things, you will get better and be able to enjoy your life. But if you ignore those prescriptions you will not regain your strength or vitality and will probably die much sooner.

Our Lord has given us His prescription for joyful living. He told us to resist the morality and advice of the world and to follow God's directions. Practically, that means

  We are to trust Him rather than trusting ourselves

  We are to love rather than take advantage of one another

  We are to forgive rather than be bitter

  We are to be holy rather than profane

  We are to store up treasures in Heaven rather than on earth

  We are to be generous rather than selfish

  We are to seek to serve rather than be served

The counsel of Jesus is superb. He understands our situation and has addressed with love and wisdom. However, most people don't know this because they haven't given His counsel a chance.

Background Scripture:          Jeremiah 32:19         

“Great in counsel; and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;

Scriptures References:           Matthew 5:11-12; 5:48; 20:28, Romans 11:34, I Corinthians 1:30, I Kings 4:34,  Micah 4:9, Isaiah 28:29, Hebrews 4:15-16, Colossians 2:3

Questions:

1).        Describe Jesus in a wonderful way.             

2).        What did Jesus come to do on earth?

3).        What did the prophecy of Jesus give the people of Isaiah's time?

4).        What do the word wonderful means in Judges 13:18?        

5).        Name some of the ways Jesus demonstrated His wonderfulness.

6).        In ancient Israel a counselor was portrayed as who?

7).        In Proverbs 3:6 is it referring to Jesus' counselling, explain?

8).        In the Garden of Eden Satan act as what to Eve, and instructed her how?

9).        Job wife and friends were good or bad counseling?

10).      Jethro's counseling to Moses was good or bad?

11).      Explain Solomon's counseling to the two mothers claiming the same baby.

12).      Why is Jesus' counseling is the wisest counsel?

13).      Name several things our Lord does when we turn to Him for counseling.

14).      Concerning counseling what prescription has the Lord given to us?

15).      Most people don't know of Jesus' counseling because of what?

Application Question:            Give a testimony of Jesus' wonderfulness in your life.

Who Prophesied This?           Week # 4        

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass." (Zechariah 9:9)

Please share a short Review:

Reading Assignment:             Week # 4         Isaiah 26-33 Monday through Sunday

Sharing:          Christmas Songs        Week # 4         Angels we have heard on high

Angels We Have Heard On High Angels we have heard on high Sweetly swinging o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains.

Chorus:
Gloria In Excelsis Deo
Gloria In Excelsis Deo

Shepherds why this jubilee Why your joyous strains prolong Say what may the tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Chorus

Gloria In Excelsis Deo
Gloria In Excelsis Deo

Come to Bethlehem and see Him Whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

Chorus

Gloria In Excelsis Deo
Gloria In Excelsis Deo

See within in a manger laid Jesus Lord of heav'n and earth Mary, Joseph lend your aid
With us sing our Savior's birth