From Infinity to Beyond
Your name is important. A few years ago, a politician was introducing the 2006 Miami Heat NBA Finals MVP, Dwyane Wade. Wade was incredible in the playoff run for Miami that year and almost single-handedly willed his team to a victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
As the mayor of Miami got ready to introduce the superstar. She confidently stood at the microphone and said, “His name, of course, is Wade Jones.” Awkward laughter from the crowd ensued, and Dwayne even jokingly looked around, wondering who she was talking about. This moment illustrates the truth that your name is of importance.
Sometimes, the names that mean even more are the ones that we aren’t born with, but that we get overtime: nicknames or titles, things that help identify us to the world around us. For example, my brother, as a child, was lovingly referred to as “Fathead” because, well, he had a fat head.
Two weeks ago, we started looking at Isaiah chapter 9. And the titles or names that are given for Jesus. We saw that he is a Wonderful Counselor, showing that God is with us, and then he is Mighty God, that God is fighting for us. Here in this prophecy from Isaiah, we see two more names that reveal to us who Jesus is: that he is Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.
Jesus is the source of two incredible things according to the prophet. The Messiah is said to be the one who is the source of that which is eternal and the one who brings true peace. Simply put, Jesus came to make things right now and forever. From infinity to beyond.
Jesus is the everlasting Father. “Now Hold up”, you might be thinking, “isn’t Godfather as in God, the Father?” You are correct.
This is not saying that Jesus is the Father, although they are one (sorry, the Trinity confuses me sometimes, and I get paid to talk about God for a living), but this is saying that Jesus is the one who is the source of all things eternal.
Being the everlasting Father is to be at the head of everything that is everlasting. Psalm 45:6 tells us that God’s throne is forever and ever. In Revelation 18, Jesus identifies himself as the “Alpha and Omega”, that he is the “one who was and is and is to come.” John 1:1 reminds us that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Jesus wasn’t created. He always was, always is, and always will be. This is good news because if Jesus lives forever, so will we.
Jesus is eternal; his nature is one that means he does not get tired or wear out. Jesus has not grown weary of making things new. Jesus doesn’t need time off from forgiving sin. Jesus won’t ever stop loving us. I’m so thankful that we serve a God whose mercy is endless, whose love is eternal and grace is everlasting.
I love how Charles Spurgeon put it when speaking on this truth: ”when death has taken you away as with a flood, and all the men of your generation have fallen like grass beneath the mower’s scythe, Jesus shall live, and you, caught up to heaven, shall find him there bearing the dew of his youth; and when the sun’s burning eye shall be dim with age, and the lamps of heaven shall be paled into eternal midnight, when all this world shall melt as melts the winter’s ice at the approach of spring; then shall you find the Lord Jesus still remain the perennial spring of joy, and life, and glory to his people. Living waters may you draw from this sacred well! Jesus always was, he always is, he always shall be. He is eternal in all his attributes, and in all his offices, and in all his might, and power, and willingness to bless, comfort, guard, and crown his chosen people.”
When I was a kid, I watched a movie called Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. One of the main plot points in the movie is about a candy called the everlasting gobstopper. A candy that never loses its flavor or goes away.
I remember how disappointed I was as a kid to find out that that didn’t exist in real life. There wasn’t a candy with everlasting, eternal flavor. The good news is that Jesus won’t let you down; he is from everlasting to everlasting, he was and is and is to come.
Finally, Isaiah prophesies of the Messiah that he will be a prince of peace. It’s amazing to think that Jesus is the one who truly makes peace possible.
Speaking to his disciples, Jesus told them that it was peace that he would leave with them, and that peace was what he gave to them in John 14:27. When God and humanity had been separated, Jesus came to make peace.
Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker because he has brought everlasting peace between God and man. This proves that God is in control, that God promised to redeem mankind, and promised to send them a Messiah. Jesus fulfilled that promise and if God can fulfill his promise in Jesus, I can have peace, no matter what I face in my life.
See, we can have peace because Jesus is the wonderful counselor. He’s God with us. We can have peace because Jesus is a mighty God, that God is for us. We can have peace because Jesus is the everlasting Father, the author of all things eternal. Prince of peace is not just Jesus’s title. It’s his occupation.
