What's in a Name?

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This is a sermon given on the first Sunday of Advent this year. It uses Isaiah 9:6 as the main text to talk about the various names or titles that were ascribed to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Names were always significant in eastern cultures, especially in biblical times. Each name provides an additional truth about the character and/or mission of the Messiah.

Written Excerpts:

Introduction:

A short time ago I was scanning through various sources to get some ideas I might use for sermons during Advent, I came across a short series of messages published by Dr. Stephen Olford. Each sermon focused on one of the names (or titles) given by Isaiah in the passage we read earlier. 

As I pondered that verse and those names, I thought a great title for this sermon would be, “What’s in a Name?” The more that I thought about that, the more it seemed like I had heard that phrase before, so I was motivated to go to the source of all knowledge – “Google!” I discovered that indeed I had heard the phrase before. It is a quote from Shakespeare’s work, “Romeo and Juliet.”

Juliet is speaking to Romeo and referring to the bloody feud between her family and his family. Juliet knows that the family feud prevents her from loving a Montague [which is his family name]. As she ponders it, she concludes it’s only his name that is the enemy. If he had any other name it would be fine. 

So, Juliet poses the question, “What is in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In other words, Romeo would still have all the desirable attributes that he has, even if he were not a Montague. (https://www.nosweatshakespeare.com/quotes/whats-in-a-name/)

What’s in a name? Maybe Romeo doesn’t have to be a Montague. Maybe a rose doesn’t have to be called a rose. However, in eastern cultures, particularly during biblical times, names were always significant. Over and over throughout the Scriptures people would give names to their children that were filled with significant meaning. Sometimes God even provided certain names to be given to children. At other times God Himself changed individual’s names to reflect significant changes God had done in them and for them.

So, when the prophet Isaiah proclaims the message of the Lord and says that a child is going to be born and a son is given, he then continues to provide the names of this child. These are names given by God Himself.

I want to take the opportunity today to review the names that were provided and explore their significance in relation to Jesus Christ, the Messiah. But, before we do that, let’s notice a few points of context in this significant passage.

Verse 6 starts with a conjunction “for” which is the third verse in succession to begin in that manner. 

OT scholar, John Oswalt, explains in his commentary: There is joy [see v. 3] because God has delivered from oppression [v. 4], and he does that because he has brought an end to war [v. 5]. But how will he do that? This verse supplies the answer. It lies in the coming of a person, thus fitting biblical thought throughout. Ultimately, God's truth is not merely in the realm of ideas; ultimately, it is meant to be incarnated (cf. Mal. 2:17-3:1…). 

Malachi 2:17-3:1 (NKJV)  You have wearied the LORD with your words; Yet you say, "In what way have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the LORD, And He delights in them," Or, "Where is the God of justice?" "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts. 

(Oswalt) …then what is the meaning of the emphasis upon this person as a child? Surely, it is for two reasons. First, it emphasized that … the divine ruler will not merely be God, but although partaking of the divine attributes, will have the most human of all arrivals upon the earth, namely, birth. The expected perfect king will be human and divine.

I.          Wonderful Counselor

lit. – “a wonder of a counselor.” 

(Oswalt) So this counselor is a wonder because his counsel goes beyond the merely human.

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) – It is the nearest word Hebrew has to the idea of ‘supernatural’, here bringing a wisdom far above the human….

The word comes from a root word that includes the idea of miraculous. The thought being conveyed here is that this Counselor is a wonder because His knowledge and wisdom is far above human ability so that it can be described as supernatural or miraculous. He counsels in the sense of providing perfectly prudent advice and direction; and in the sense of providing empathetic comfort and reassurance in times of deep despair, sorrow and perplexities.

This child did come. He grew up and is “highly exalted.” He is the perfect counselor for every person in all kinds of troubling situations.

II.     Mighty God

(Oswalt, New International Commentary) Wherever ʾel gibbôr occurs elsewhere in the Bible there is no doubt that the term refers to God (10:21; …). [Isaiah 10:20-21 (NKJV) ²⁰  And it shall come to pass in that day That the remnant of Israel, And such as have escaped of the house of Jacob, Will never again depend on him who defeated them, But will depend on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹  The remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, To the Mighty God.] 

(Oswalt continues) This king will have God's true might about him, power so great that it can absorb all the evil which can be hurled at it until none is left to hurl (53:2-10; 59:15-20; 63:1-9).

For example, chapter 53 describes the horrible treatment the “suffering Servant” will endure, but this does not destroy Him nor deter Him from His mission.

This child has both the attributes of deity and humanity.

His strength is infinite.

III.    Everlasting Father

(Oswalt, New International Commentary) It is either the royal bombast typical of the ancient Near East, which is, in fact, atypical for Israel, or it is a serious statement of a sort of fatherhood which will endure forever. 

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) Everlasting is both general (26:4 “…in the Lord is everlasting strength”) and specific (57:15 “… the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity…”). When [the Israelites] requested a king (1 Sam. 8) they wished to replace the episodic rule of the Judges with the permanency of monarchy. The King to come is the ultimate fulfilment of this longing. 

Father: used of the Lord, ‘father’ speaks of his concern (Ps. 65:5), care and discipline….

(Oswalt, Ibid) When one sees that God's fatherhood is such that it does not impose itself upon its children but rather sacrifices itself for them, it becomes plain that "everlasting fatherhood" must be of that sort.

I’ve mentioned in previous sermons that some former Muslims have testified that the discovery of God as a “father” was something unfamiliar to them, but tremendously appealing.

A few years ago, Gerald Mershimer, Jr. was the preacher for the Fellowship Camp in Circleville. One of the messages he preached was about “father wounds” in which he talked about the scars that many people carry throughout their lives due to the wounds of a father – absent; abusive; etc.

In this child that is proclaimed by Isaiah we have an “Everlasting Father.” One who is perfect, and always here.

IV.    Prince of Peace

The fourth title (name) provided for this child provides an indication of royalty. 

(Oswalt, New International Commentary) Prince of Peace. It is appropriate that this title should come as the last of the series, for it is the climactic one (cf. 32:16ff). [Isaiah 32:16-18 (NKJV) ¹⁶  Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. ¹⁷  The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. ¹⁸  My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, In secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places,] 

(Oswalt) What sort of king is this? He is a peaceful king, one who comes in peace and one who establishes peace, not by a brutal squashing of all defiance, but by means of a transparent vulnerability which makes defiance pointless. Somehow through him will come the reconciliation between God and man that will then make possible reconciliation between man and man….

Rom. 5:1 – “… we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 5:18 (KJV)  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 

Conclusion:

(Tyndale OT Commentaries) – The perfection of this King is seen in his qualification for ruling (Wonderful Counsellor), his person and power (Mighty God), his relationship to his subjects (Everlasting Father) and the society his rule creates (Prince of Peace). 

(Expositor's Bible Commentary, Rev.) It is important to note that although the first three names can certainly [be used to designate] God himself, this is hardly true of the last of them. In fact, as Wegner notes, the noun translated “prince” is always used of human leaders (1Sa 2:8; 1Ki 1:19; Jer 26:11). If this name applies to the king, then surely the other three also must, so that the four names taken together point to one who is both fully divine and truly human. 

Closing song: That Beautiful Name