Wonderful Counselor

Every year on Christmas Eve, we visit a neighborhood that synchronizes its light displays to music and offers yuletide cheer in the form of hot chocolate to passersby. The experience doesn’t capture the biblical picture of ‘all is calm,’ but it certainly has the ‘all is bright’ part down. As we drive through the commentary in the backseat goes something like this…

“That’s amazing!”

“Look at that!”

“That was wonderful!”

For all the ways we dazzle our senses this time of year, we usually describe things with the same overused and underappreciated words. We describe Christmas lights, cozy fireplaces, and happy gatherings as “wonderful,” as well as the Child born unto us. But should we really use the same adjective to describe the Light of the World as we do the cheap LED lights that decorate our front yards? Are they both the same in their wonderfulness?

Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah had a different kind of 'wonderful' in mind when he foretold the character of the Messiah.

He was so certain of these words being fulfilled, that he wrote them in the past tense. It was as good as done before it ever came to be. In Isaiah 9:6 he said,

"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."

Some translations of this verse separate Wonderful and Counselor with a comma, indicating that wonderful and counselor are both nouns and that 'wonderful' isn’t merely an adjective of the kind of counselor he would be. Rather, it means he’s a "wonder of a counselor."

The word for wonderful here is ‘pala,’ which indicates a phenomenon or something that lies outside the realm of human explanation. It’s the same word used in Psalm 139:6 when David, in awe of the Lord’s personal knowledge of man said, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”

Jesus the Messiah is certainly wonderful, but that’s not all; he’s also our Counselor.

The best counselors are full of wisdom and offer insight into our lives and problems. So, who better to counsel us than the one who knows all things?

At 12 years old, Jesus astounded the Jewish rabbis with his wisdom. Many years later, when teaching in his hometown synagogue, the religious leaders were amazed (and took offense) at his wisdom and mighty works. Paul said that in Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Do you need some of this wisdom and knowledge applied to your life? Just as Jesus personifies wonder, he also personifies wisdom, and his counsel is available through His Word and through His Spirit.

This Advent, there will be many opportunities for you to be wowed and amazed. Hopefully, you’ll see spectacular light displays, and enjoy the warmth of friends and family gathered together. While all these things should be enjoyed with thanksgiving, they are but a dim shadow compared to the blazing glory of the Wonder of a Counselor.

The paradox of Christmas is that the dazzling light we crave isn’t found down the neighborhood street, but rather in a lowly manger bed. He’s not only a Wonder of a Counselor, but he’s also the Wonderful Counselor.

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. He’s the most wonderful gift of all.

Let's Pray

Dear Wonder of a Counselor and Lord of All,

We thank you that at your birth, you were fulfilling ancient prophecies of your coming. Wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger bed was a babe whose wonders would never cease, and whose little hands would one day touch, heal, and eventually be pierced. Lord, we need your wonderful counsel in our lives today. Where we lack wisdom and understanding, you know all things. Where we're not sure which way to go, you know the way. In you are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and these truths are too wonderful for us to fully understand. Let us be in awe of what's truly 'wonderful' this season. It's you. It's always been you.

In your wonderful name. Amen.