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For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace* (Isaiah 9:6, ESV).
Isaiah 9:6 describes Jesus as “Mighty God,” a term I find interesting as the Jesus described in Philippians gave up His “mightiness” to become human.
He gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (Philippians 2:7, NLT).
Yet the job description of Christ in Luke 4 indicates a huge mightiness. . .
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free (Luke 4:18).
The Apostle John wrote that the salvations, healings, deliverances, and miracles were so numerous that. . .
Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25).
So, what is it, a humble servant or a mighty God? It’s both — with mighty being our God hidden in human form. I remember one Bible teacher saying. . .
It must have been difficult for Jesus to keep all His divinity hidden. He only did what His Father wanted Him to do. While He was on earth, He might have been tempted to let His glory fully shine for a moment — perhaps while being questioned by the Pharisees or standing in front of Pilate — give them a little flash of Who they were really dealing with.
Fortunately, Jesus stayed humble, and as Mighty God died, to be later resurrected!
Only a truly mighty God could keep unlimited power at bay while dealing with imbecilic humans. Mightiness concealed as a humble servant — perhaps it’s the greatest miracle of all.
He gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross (Philippians 2:7).
The word Hebrew word for “mighty” is “gibbor” meaning “to be strong” or “to prevail.” In the arena of defeating sin, since it originated in a fallen angel’s self-exaltation, prevailing over this “fallenness” meant the exact opposite or a mighty God’s humiliation.
Mighty equals humility with the incarnation!
Today, at the Christmas Eve that I will attend, I will praise the baby in a manger, realizing how mighty He would become!
*I’ve been working through the titles of Jesus from Isaiah 9:6 in Interruptions anticipating Christmas. For my thoughts on the “Prince of Peace” read Interruption # 1416; for “Wonderful Counselor,” read Interruption #1422 at grantedwardsauthor.com.