Mensa Otabil - The Government Will Be On His Shoulder
- Watch
- Donate
This week we’ve been looking at the prophecies pointing to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are looking forward to Christmas coming very soon, and so we’re examining the prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, we’re looking at one of those popular ones in Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This prophecy came through the prophet Isaiah, and if you pay attention to readings about Christmas, it’s one of those readings that you almost always hear referenced during Christmas readings. Jesus here is portrayed as a very grand personality, and He is described in very grand ways, although we all know that He was born humbly in a manger in Bethlehem.
What we want to pay attention to today is the phrase, «and the government shall be upon His shoulder.» This Messiah, who was going to come, had one of the marks that the government would be upon His shoulder. What does that mean? It refers to an ancient practice that shows how burdensome rulership was. Normally, when a person was a king, in some instances, a key or the key of state would be put on the shoulder of the king to show that he was carrying the whole nation or the burden of the state upon him. Sometimes, kings would wear capes upon their shoulders to show the heaviness of the burden that rested upon them.
These are the terms that I use to describe Christ Jesus: that the government will be upon His shoulders. What does that mean? Well, the government of God talks about the rule of God, and in Jesus’s case, it meant that the burden of the sins of the world would be upon His shoulder. The greatest burden of the human race was the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, which infected the human race and brought us into a wrong relationship with God. It introduced sin, and what Jesus came to do was to carry that burden upon His shoulder. Isaiah had prophesied later that all of us, like sheep, have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. On the shoulders of Jesus was laid the burden of the sins of humanity, and that is the first burden He carried on His shoulder.
Not only that, He brought God’s government to us. God’s government is sometimes also called the Kingdom of God, the rulership of God. So when Jesus took away our sin, He brought us into a relationship with God. He brought God’s Kingdom close to us; He carried God’s Kingdom literally on His shoulders and introduced God to the human race. He does that by ruling our hearts. You know, in days of old, kings would rule and govern by conquering people and conquering lands. But in Jesus Christ, He didn’t conquer people; He didn’t conquer lands. He redeemed the people and redeemed the human race from sin.
He’s a different King; He’s a different ruler. He’s not a conquering ruler; He’s a redeeming ruler. The government shall be upon His shoulders, and I pray that we will allow Him to carry us out of sin, into the Kingdom of God, and into eternal life. May that be your portion as we celebrate Christmas this time. The government upon His shoulder.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, thank You for setting up Your Kingdom in my heart. I submit to Your rulership in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.