Thank you, God, that You fulfilled the hopes of Your people when You sent Your Son into the world. Thank You, Jesus, that You came to bring us the hope that we can not find anywhere else. Finally, thank You for the hope of Your coming again. Amen.
From the prophecy of Isaiah, we learn of a special child to be born. This child would be like no other. His birth would be announced by the angels. His life would show us the heart of God. His death would be one of judgement and sacrifice for all mankind. His resurrection would be one of victory, power, and authority. His ascension came with a promise to return. Today, we await His promised second Advent, or coming with great hope.
The Book of Isaiah is quoted many times by New Testament writers. Ten of those references are about the Suffering Servant, who will suffer and die to save many from their sins, be buried in a rich man's tomb, and be a light to the Gentiles. The Gospel of John says that Isaiah “saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him” (John 12:41).
Isaiah speaks to the most northern of Israel’s tribes, Zebulun and Naphtali, who were the first to fall to the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C. Through Isaiah, God promises these territories “walking in darkness” will be the first to see “a great light.” Matthew 4:13-17 shows that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy as He began His teaching and healing ministry in Galilee. In John 8:12 Jesus declares, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.”
The word advent means “coming” or “arrival.” During this season we anticipate with joy the past arrival of the infant Jesus, who came to save us from our sins (Matt. 1:21). We also look to Christ’s Second Advent, when He will come again at the end of time.
In combination with faith, hope means looking ahead in solid trust to the fulfillment of God’s promises (see Heb. 7:19; 11:1). The defeat of Midian mentioned in Isaiah 9:4 was an important event of hope in Israel’s history. Gideon, a reluctant warrior, with only three hundred untrained men, defeated the Midianites with the help of God’s amazing power. (Judges 6-7) We are in a battle with hope on our side.