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.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

I have a business acquaintance who is an Orthodox Jew. I’ve enjoyed our conversations over the years and I remember his appreciation of the Book of Isaiah. He longs for the coming of the Messiah and reads the verses above as a future promise.

For followers of Christ, we believe this prophecy has already been fulfilled in part. We believe Jesus is the child who was born and the Son who was given. I referenced this verse recently, but in it we see how Isaiah’s words have been completed in part –

[He] “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2: 7-11

In the first part of Paul’s letter we see the first part of Isaiah’s prophecy as Christ came to redeem us, but the second part has not been fully fulfilled just yet. Isaiah promised a kingdom of peace that would not end – when every knee bows to Christ, the prophecy will be complete.

My Jewish friend once said that the problem was that I “read the Bible with Jesus-colored glasses” meaning that I looked for how Christ fulfills the promises of Scripture. I suppose that is why Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Christ. Without that key event, everything else is a bad dream.