I love that video because when it comes to Jesus there are all kind of ideas out there about who he is and what he is like. There many people think that Jesus is like that, that he’s hiding who he really is from us or that he’s too good for us. I’m pretty sure that if I were to survey this room we’d get a number of different ideas about who Jesus is and what he’s like. Well, since there’s so much confusion about Jesus I think it’s time for us to figure out who he really is.

I can’t think of a better time of the year for us to do that than the Christmas season. It’s the time that we celebrate the fact that the God of the universe stepped out of heaven, put skin on and became one of us. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to spend four weeks talking about Jesus.

And to guide us we’re going to use a very familiar passage that you’ve probably heard sometime in your life. It’s a passage that’s been used in Christmas songs. People put it on bumper stickers. But it’s more than a cliché passage. It is an incredible passage that gives us an amazing picture of who Jesus is. If you have your Bible’s I want you to open up to Isaiah 9. If you don’t we’re going to put this verse on the screen for you. Around 700 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote a prediction about Jesus. Here’s what he wrote:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

He will be called…. Now, when your parents named you they hopefully picked a name that had some sort of meaning, or they did what I did and made sure that it was a name that could be said in a stern voice with “no” at the end of it. Well, in the Hebrew language a name is more than just something that you are called. It was a description of your character. And what we have in this verse are some descriptions of Jesus. It’s as if God is saying, “These are the things I want you to know about who Jesus is and what he is like.” He will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, and prince of peace. Over the next four weeks we’re going to look at each of these descriptions.

Today we’re going to focus on the first description or name of Jesus: Wonderful Counselor. In the Hebrew language it is unsure whether this phrase is one description of Jesus or two. Is he a wonderful counselor, or is he wonderful, and a counselor? I think that was intentional because I think it’s a both/and, and we’re going to see both illustrated today as we discover who Jesus is. He’s wonderful, he’s a counselor and he’s the wonderful counselor.

But I know what some of you are thinking. Immediately, when you hear the work “counselor” an image pops into your head, right?

Maybe you think of this: (Karl Rove and Hillary Clinton)

Lucy:

Jack Nickelson from anger management

Larry

I think many of us think of this: (cartoon with counseling)

Well, I want to show you what the phrase Wonderful Counselor really means.

Wonderful – pele’ (peh’-leh); beyond understanding, one who does wonderful things, too wonderful for words.

Counselor – ya`ats (yaw-ats’); to advise; to consult, to guide.

What this is saying is that Jesus is one who is beyond understanding. He is one who does wonderful things. He is too wonderful for words. He is also a guide, advisor and a help.

Let’s look at a couple of other passages that are great illustrations of Jesus being a Wonderful Counselor. The first is found in Luke 5.

Luke 5:27-32

27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

 29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

This is incredible. Jesus himself says that he came for sick, messy, sinful people. This flies in the face of what so many people think when the think of Jesus. So many people think that they have to get their act together or be good enough before they can come to God, but that’s not what Jesus said. He said that he came for messy people, sick people, people who have needs.

I think if we’re really honest, that something inside of us lights up when we hear that about Jesus because we know we’re sick. We know we’ve messed up. We know we’ve got a past. We know that if we would have been there in Jesus day that we would be in the group that the Pharisees called “sinners.” And to discover that Jesus came for people like us… it sparks something inside of us. Or at least it does for me. I am so grateful that Jesus didn’t come for good people who have their act together. I’m so thankful that he came for sick people who need a savior.

Jesus says to us: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” That’s who he is. That’s pretty wonderful, don’t you think?

Let’s look at another passage. It’s from the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 4:15 says:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,

Some of you grew up in a church tradition that had priests and you know that a priest is one who is a mediator between God and the people. Well, the Bible teaches that if you are a follower of Jesus that you are a priest. That means that you don’t have to go through anyone to get to God, but because of what Jesus has done for you that you can go directly to God. But at the same time because of what Jesus has done for us in dying on the cross and raising from the dead, he is our high priest, the one who is our authority. Jesus is the one that makes it possible for us to come to the father. That’s who he is.

And this says that Jesus is one who can sympathize with you and me. The ancient Greek word for sympathize means “to suffer along with.” That means that Jesus understands, he knows what we are going through. He’s been there, done that. The passage continues:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.

What this is saying is that Jesus knows what it is like to be tempted and to battle against the temptation to sin, but at the same time He was without sin. Jesus is one who understands sin and temptation. He understands the cause of sin. He understands the consequences of sin. He understands. Yet he was without sin, which means that he can help. His counsel is not colored by sin. Since Jesus is like this, one who can sympathize with us,

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

If you think about it, this is beyond incredible. This says that we, messed up, sinful, unrighteous, messy, flawed people–all of us–can come before the throne of the holy, righteous, creator of the universe. And when we do we won’t get condemnation, ridicule or shame, but because of Jesus, we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Let that sink in for a minute. How many of you need mercy and grace? We all do. If you didn’t raise your hand you are lying. We can come before the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

That’s who Jesus is. And I think many of you need to come to him. If you were in need of a counselor, which many of you are and you’re just afraid to admit it, then wouldn’t you want to go to one who was understanding, who was for messed up people and who welcomed messed up people, who could relate, and who would give out mercy and grace to help?

Since that’s the case. Since Jesus came for sick and messy people. Since we have a high priest who understands. Here’s what we can do. Look at what Jesus says:

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Are you weary? Are you carrying burdens? I think that all of us could say yes at one level or another. Jesus invites us to come to him to find rest.

1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

In the Greek, the term translated “all” means “all.” That means that you and I have been invited to bring every frustration, fear and struggle to God. There’s nothing too big, nothing too small. We can bring them all. That means you don’t have to begin your prayers with, “I know I shouldn’t feel this way, but…” or “I know this may sound petty, but…” or “I know I should be more mature than this, but…” or I know that in the grand scheme of things this is really small, but…”. None of that is necessary. And here’s why: If it’s important to you, then it’s important to God. Because you are important to God.

We have a savior who cares deeply and personally for us. He is not distant and uncaring, but invites us to come to him with our anxiety, our worry, and our cares.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Psalms 55:22

What do you need to cast on Jesus? What cares are you lugging around that you need to cast on the Lord?

I want to invite you to cast your cares on Jesus, our wonderful counselor this morning. I want to invite you to cast your anxiety on Jesus, our wonderful counselor. Jesus invites you who are weary and burdened to come to him this morning.

I want to give you some time and space to do that. Will you bow your heads? You have a wonderful counselor named Jesus who is inviting you to come to him with your burdens, your cares and your anxiety. Do that right now. Talk with him.

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