From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 22 of a series. Read part 21.

The Jewish rulers of Jesus' day had a very debased view of Messiah's coming government. But the Godhead had a far greater plan.

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. (Isaiah 9:6)

The next section of Charles Jennens' libretto for Handel's Messiah expands upon the prophetic declaration that was sung earlier:

Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanuel, God with us. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)

Jennens now focuses on further identifying the One who was to come. It is especially significant at this point to remember that Jennens compiled this libretto as a refutation of Deism - the false notion of a "god" who perhaps made the created order, but has no direct involvement in it.

It would be difficult if not impossible to choose two prophetic passages that refute Deism any more decisively than Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 do. The Messiah is "Emmanuel, God with us." He is not some disinterested being outside of his created order. He is the genuine Triune God of Scripture, actively involved in His creation - sustaining it by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3), and entering it in a human body to redeem both mankind and the created order from the curse of sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 10:5-14).

A Child Is Born, A Son Is Given

We must also note that here in Isaiah 9:6 we have a statement of the dual natures of the Messiah - that He is both God and man, two natures, unmixed, in one body.

"A child" - the man - "is to be born" (a literal rendering of the Hebrew) at a point in time. He is the long-promised "seed of the woman" who will crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15).

But He is also "a son" - God the eternal Son - who "is to be given." The Hebrew word translated "given" can also be translated "made known."

The Jews' Narrow View of Messiah's Government

The prophet goes on to explain how the coming Messiah will be involved in His created order when He comes into the world. "The government" - the rule, the dominion - "shall be upon His shoulder." Literally, He shall bear that government.

But what government was it to be? What is its nature and extent? Many of the Jews took a very narrow, debased view of the Messiah. They were expecting a temporal ruler in the manner of the Davidic kings. At the time of Christ's advent, the rulers of the Jews were more specifically looking for an earthly ruler who would do their bidding. They saw Jesus as a threat to their power, and therefore rejected Him and sought to kill Him:

Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."
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Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. (John 11:45-48, 53)

The Godhead's Far Greater Plan

But the Trinity, in the glorious eternal compact we previously saw in Ephesians chapter 1, had a much greater government in mind:

Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession." (Psalm 2:6-8)

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus the risen Messiah now sits at the Father's right hand, ruling and reigning, directing the activities of a host of angels who minister to the saints of God at Christ's command.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, today I have begotten You"? [quoting Psalm 2:7]. And again: "I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son"? [quoting 2 Samuel 7:14].

But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him" [quoting Psalm 97:7]. And of the angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire" [quoting Psalm 104:4].

But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions" [quoting Psalm 45:6-7]. And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail" [quoting Psalm 102:25-27].

But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? [quoting Psalm 110:1].
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth [by the Messiah, the King] to minister for those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews chapter 1)

Denials of Messiah's Deity: A Perpetual Problem

As we noted earlier, Charles Jennens selected the texts of the Messiah libretto to answer Deism, which denies the deity of Christ. But such denials are not limited to Jennens' time, or to Deism as a philosophy. In our time, there is once again growing denial of the deity of Christ, even within self-described Evangelical churches.

This juncture in our consideration of Handel's Messiah is an exceedingly appropriate time for us to focus upon the overwhelming evidence, in both the Old and New Testaments, of the deity of Christ. There is, indeed, no more vital point of theology. If Jesus Christ is not fully God as well as fully man, He cannot possibly be the Savior of sinners. We shall focus upon this crucial truth as we continue.

Next: Old Testament Declarations of Messiah's Deity

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