On the Road to Bethlehem #13: The Wonderful Counselor

“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.”

—Isaiah 9:6

There are many busts that grace the halls of history—men of wisdom and intelligence bearing such names as Confucius, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Lao Tzu, Solomon, Augustine, Aquinas, Da Vinci, Luther, Calvin, Bacon, Hobbes, Pascal, Newton, Spinoza, Locke, Hume, Jefferson, Franklin, Gandhi, and Einstein. Several were known by their wisdom and ability to navigate and advise during times of great tumult and upheaval. But all of the great minds in history pale in comparison to the counsel and wisdom of God’s coming Messiah. He would be the “Wonderful Counselor.” The Hebrew word for “Wonderful” is pele, which means, “one who does difficult, hard, or even miraculous things” (cf. Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:17). He will do things outside of the norm. Nothing will be too hard for Him. There will be no problem or situation beyond His ability to understand or advise. As Isaiah prophesied, “the Spirit of wisdom” will rest upon Him (cf. Isaiah 11:2)—His wisdom will be unfathomable.

The wisdom of Christ is prevalent throughout the Gospels, but especially in His numerous altercations with many of the Jewish religious leaders. On three different occasions, Jesus’ wisdom was so amazing and profound that after answering “no one dared ask Him any questions” (Matthew 22:46, Mark 12:34, Luke 20:40).

There were other moments when the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus in His words, but Jesus, in His wisdom turned the tables. Look at the time when the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?”—Matthew 22:17. Jesus’ response is profound. He asks to see a denarius, asks the crowd whose inscription is on it, and then says, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s"—Matthew 22:21. Such a response was so utterly amazing that Matthew writes, “When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away”—Matthew 22:22.

A second situation offers another insightful and awe-inspiring look at His wisdom. The scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery in order to trap Him. The law prescribed death by stoning in cases of adultery (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:20-24). But Jews at the time were ruled by Rome and were not allowed to enforce the death penalty without permission. Were Jesus to tell them to stone her, then He would be guilty by Rome, but if He didn’t then He would be guilty of going against the Law. His reply upheld both—"Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”—John 7:7. Such wisdom is seen in the crowd’s reaction, 

“But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him”—John 7:9.

Jesus’ wisdom is unparalleled and unlike any other historical figure. His wisdom is one of the authenticating marks of His messianic identity. He truly is the “Wonderful Counselor.” He can free those stuck in sin, give insight into the most difficult problems, and help us in our greatest and most desperate time of need. May we trust in God’s Messiah—Jesus—rest in the wisdom found within His Word and go to Him in prayer with every trouble, trial, and terror in our lives, because He will hear us and answer us when we call. Amen.