“Jesus Cares For Us”
Isaiah 9:6-7
Sermon Series: “Christmas In A Chaotic World”
Introduction: We have seen in this passage and series that Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor who gives us the wisdom to navigate this chaotic world and our Mighty God who overcomes the evil in this chaotic world. Today we are going to look at the title, “Everlasting Father.” This title is the most difficult of these to understand. Christians believe that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with Jesus being the Son of God. So, how is Jesus the Messiah being referred to as Everlasting Father here? Some people who believe in a heresy called modalism that is a denial of the Trinity take this to mean that God expresses Himself as Father part of the time, Son part of the time, and Spirit part of the time. We know this is not true for several reasons, including the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17) where the Son was being baptized, the Father was speaking to Him from heaven, and the Holy Spirit was coming upon Him like a dove. God is three distinct persons with one essence. Jesus is the bodily manifestation of God so He reveals the Father to us. John 14:7-9 says, “‘If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.’ Phillip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Phillip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can say, show us the Father’.” Also, the Old Testament pictures the Messiah carrying out the fatherly care of God. Isaiah 40:10-11 says, “Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.” Therefore, I believe that Jesus is not God the Father, but this pictures Him carrying out the fatherly care of God as the Messiah. The Old Testament pictures a father caring by providing and protecting. Also,some Hebrew scholars believe that this should literally be translated as “Father of eternity,” which refers to the fact that Jesus is eternal,and He is sovereignly ruling over the world that He created.
*Main Idea: Jesus is our Everlasting Father who sovereignly cares for us through the challenges of this chaotic world.*
1. Jesus is the Father of eternity.
A. He is eternal (Hebrews 1:10-12).
B. He is creator and sustainer of the world (Colossians 1:15-17) .
C. He is sovereignly ruling over all things for the good of
His people (Romans 8:28-35). Sovereign means that He is in control. It means that nothing happens that He does not cause or allow to happen. He is working out His plan in and for our lives.
2. Jesus is fatherly in His care for His people now (Psalm 23).There are many passages that refer to this, but Psalm 23 is a beautiful
example of how He looks after us for His name’s sake.
3. Jesus is fatherly in His care for His people forever (Revelation 7:9-17). He is going to eternally take care of us and meet all of our needs in His presence as we worship Him forever.
Conclusion: Jesus is our Good Shepherd who became the Lamb of God in order to take away our sins so He can take care of us forever. He is the door of salvation (John 10). We must trust Him in order to receive the forgiveness of sin and have a relationship with Him where He exercises fatherly care towards us forever.
