“For to us a child is born; to us a son is given.”  Isaiah 9:6

 

Have you ever read a Scripture that stirs your heart in a new way? It’s as if it’s the first time you’ve read it. There’s something fresh- a new insight, a discovery, a new nugget of gold. That’s exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago with a popular Christmas Bible verse – “For to us a child is born; to us, a son is given.” (Isaiah 9:6) As I read that verse, my eyes were drawn to a detail I’d never noticed. Like a giant spotlight, it commanded my attention…begging and bidding me to look upon it. Maybe the Holy Spirit was inviting me to see more or maybe the 10 Scriptures to Know By Heart process of studying the Bible I’ve been teaching has trained my mind to look for words, like pronouns, verbs, connecting words, and repeated or contrasting words. In the past, I’d paid no mind to these things, but now they are jumping off the page. Whatever the reason, I honed in on two contrasting words in the Scripture: born and given

 

The first line of the verse reads, “For unto us a child is born,”  alluding to the start of a new life. A baby is born. A life is delivered out of the womb of a woman. A baby who didn’t exist before is now alive. Isaiah was prophesying about the son Mary would give birth to…Jesus. His human body was formed, shaped, and fashioned in Mary’s womb. Just like your body and mine, His human body had a beginning and it started at conception in the belly of Mary.

 

The second part of the Bible verse says, “To us, a son is given.” If a son is given that implies there must already be a son to give. Meaning the Son existed before He was human (Join 1:1-4). He was God’s Son and out of God’s great love for us, God gave His one and only Son (John 3:16)…the Son existed before He was born. The Son is named Jesus.

 

Let’s think about the contrast built into this truth- a baby was born that never existed and a Son was given that always existed. Isaiah was prophesying both the humanity and divinity of the coming Messiah. Amazing!! Jesus was fully human and fully God at the same time.

 

Jesus was hungry and his human body required food…yet He was God and fed 5,000 with five loaves and three fish. Jesus got thirsty and had to drink water…yet He turned water into wine and walked on the water. Jesus was beaten, flogged, and hung on a cross left to die …yet He rose from the grave 3 days later. For every human need, He had complete power over it. But Jesus confined Himself to the boundaries of a human body giving up His rights. Philippians 2:6-7 says, Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”

 

Like a new Christian who possesses enormous enthusiasm for God’s Word, my excitement for Isaiah 9:6 has been refreshed. Simply by noticing two words…two contrasting words that caused a pause and ponder. Two powerful words that reveal the humanity and divinity of Christ. My mind has been renewed by God’s Word and I will never look at this Scripture through the same lens again.

REFLECT

This Christmas if you get a card in the mail or see a Christmas ornament with Isaiah 9:6 on it, instead of passively reading it…will you stop and recognize these two words – born and given? Will you pause and praise God for the baby that was born and the Son that was given?

 

 

Many Blessings!

JJ Gutierrez

 

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