Join David Hawking as he navigates the scriptural corridors of Isaiah 9 to highlight the unique attributes that distinguish Jesus Christ. From His miraculous birth to the vast authority He carries, this episode unpacks the spiritual truths and prophetic fulfillments surrounding His life. Perfect for those seeking comfort and joy during the Christmas season, the discussion also emphasizes why His counsel is a beacon of hope and guidance.
There is no one, no one in the history of the world who can possibly meet the prophecies of the Messiah except Jesus of Nazareth. No one. Check it out for yourself. It’s an impossibility that anyone else could ever be the Messiah. There’s no one like Jesus.
SPEAKER 01 :
Christmas comes with familiar sounds, familiar songs and scenes. But long before a manger, long before angels and shepherds, God spoke words through the prophet Isaiah. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. not just a baby in a stable, but a Savior, a Savior who would rule forever. This Christmas, from Isaiah chapter 9, David Hawking opens up God’s Word with a message called Seven Reasons Why There’s No One Like Jesus. Gather around the radio and get ready for a generous helping of comfort and joy from God’s wonderful Word here on the Christmas edition of Hope for Today. We’ll begin in just a moment. First, a quick note. If you’d like to send in a year-end gift, a Christmas gift, if you will, to the Ministry of Hope for today, it will really help us to sweep into the new year firing on all pistons, you might say. If you can help us, call 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. In Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE or go to our website, davidhocking.org. Click on the donate button and thank you for your support. We’ll turn to Isaiah chapter 9 now. And here’s David with day one of seven reasons why there’s no one like Jesus.
SPEAKER 03 :
If you have your Bibles, and if not, just look on with a friend or listen up. We’ll be in Isaiah chapter 9 with two verses. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6 and 7. And we want to give you seven reasons why. why there is no one like Jesus Christ. Just no one can be compared to him in the light of these two verses in Isaiah chapter 9. I think in reading them, you’ll become immediately aware of the fact that these verses appear often on signs at Christmas time. I’ve seen it all kinds of places this Christmas season. I see it on a lot of cards and in a lot of windows. And if you have been around church music, or at least Christmas carols for a period of time, you will recognize that these words have been set to all kinds of music. They appear in the Messiah, for instance, and they also appear in numerous contemporary Christmas Christian songs, as well as past Christian carols. There are little choruses like, “‘His name is wonderful,’ all built on Isaiah 9, 6, and 7.” Now there’s a reason for that because actually in Hebrew, I think it’s more obvious than perhaps English, but right in English you can get the feel of this. It’s like stanzas of a song. This is a musical setting in Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. And that’s why it’s been so often from the beginning of the Christian church until now been set to music. Kind of goes like this. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. The government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and his peace, there shall be no end. And on and on it goes. When you read these verses and study them, it’s like lots of rhythm, even from a linguistic point of view, lots of rhythm. And it’s intended to be musical because it’s the song of heaven about Jesus, our Lord. There is no one like Jesus. Let’s read them again. Look in your Bibles or listen on or perhaps look on with a friend or share your Bible with somebody nearby. Verse 6 and 7, it says, And the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Well, seven reasons right from these two verses. Let’s start with phrase number one, the first musical stanza. It says, unto us a child is born. And the first reason why there’s no one like Jesus is frankly because his birth was a miracle. And those of you who know the gospel story know that’s true. The Bible teaches that this child that was born was born without a natural father. Joseph and Mary had no sex and Mary winds up being pregnant and causing Joseph a lot of worries that it was somebody else. But the angel Gabriel told Joseph as well as Mary that what was happening, this unusual thing, was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The power of the highest, of God himself, was coming on this woman. And that’s what was causing it. Jesus had no natural father. His birth was an absolute miracle. A lot of people are troubled about that today. They’re still skeptical today like they were in the day of Jesus. You know, how in the world could this possibly be? Do you know that in Jesus’ day, after he was a grown man, do you know that religious leaders said to him, in an outburst of anger and resentment, said, we be not born of fornication. They were implying that Jesus was an illegitimate child and born of the result of sexual immorality with somebody else. There are still people today that are arguing that that must have been the way it happened. My dear friends, according to the Bible, whether we like it or not, What God calls sin is not only an act, it is a nature or a tendency to do evil that’s in the heart of every one of us. And whether you know this or not, it is passed through the male. Now, that should cause a lot of women in the audience to be really thrilled. I mean, basically, you’ve known it anyway. Your husband’s a turkey. You knew it was probably that way. But you see, because of that fact, Jesus having no natural father, he did not have a sin nature like we have. The Bible says he was totally apart from sin. He was without sin. He never sinned once, nor could he have ever sinned. That’s what the Bible says. You see, when we hear that prophet Isaiah say, unto us a child is born. What an amazing child it was. The same prophet said, this will be a sign unto you. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son. And thou shalt call his name Emmanuel, God with us. The second reason why there’s no one like Jesus is in the second phrase. Unto us a son is given. The word child, talking about birth, the word son is not redundant. It’s not repeating something for emphasis. It is a completely separate thought. It is talking about adoption. Why is there no one like Jesus? First, because his birth is a miracle. But second, because his adoption was essential for him to be the Messiah promised to sit on the throne of his father David. Now, why am I saying what I’m saying? Why is it such a big deal to have Jesus adopted by Joseph? Why? A lot of people in our world have no understanding of this part of the Christmas message whatsoever. It doesn’t make any point to them. They say, well, if Joseph and Mary got married and had Jesus as a baby, you know, the normal way, wouldn’t it be the same point? Wasn’t Joseph in the line of David through Solomon? Then wouldn’t Jesus be the legal heir to the line? Why did he have to be adopted rather than born? Turn, please, to Jeremiah chapter 22, and I’ll show you why. Jeremiah chapter 22. Now, I know that the Messiah, according to the Old Testament, was to be in the line of David through his son Solomon. All the kings of Judah came through that line. But the last king of Judah, right before they went into captivity to Babylon, Jeremiah chapter 22, if you’re still looking, the last king was named Jehoiakim. also called Jeconiah, a shortened form, Coniah, or Conia. Now this particular man is the last king, and he’s rotten to the core. And Judah is going to go into captivity to Babylon, and for 400 years, there’s going to be no prophetic voice in Israel. The rabbis are going to argue over the greatest theological problem in Israel, and that is, how can we have a Messiah when the line has been cursed? I’m going to read the curse to you. The prophet Jeremiah writing at the time of the Babylonian captivity. Listen to these words. Chapter 22, please. Verse 22. 28. Is this man, Coniah, a despised broken idol? Is he a vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, and cast into a land which they do not know? Oh, earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days. Now listen to this. For none of his descendants shall prosper in sitting on the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah now we got a problem God said that in that line the Messiah has to come to rule on the throne of his father David yet the last king before the Babylonian captivity is cursed and God said no descendant of his is ever going to rule that throne now let me complicate the problem a little further to you it appears to be a contradiction this is why rabbis argued over the whole thing Because also in Psalm 132 verse 11, it tells us that the Messiah has to be the fruit of the body of King David. He has to come right out of his loins. In Genesis chapter 49, verse 10, it says that the scepter will not depart from Judah, out of the 12 tribes Judah, nor a lawgiver from between the feet. Now that only comes out of a woman. In other words, a woman in the line of David has to produce the Messiah coming out of her womb. Psalm 132, 11 agrees with that. But what it says in Jeremiah 22 is no descendant of Jeconiah by natural birth is going to sit on the throne of David. Pronounce him childless. I’m not going to have a child out of that line. Well, how can you have a child, dear God, out of the line of David and not come through Solomon? I said to you, what makes Jesus like no one else is that his adoption is essential and critical to the argument. You see, when Joseph, who was in the line of Solomon, later marries Mary after Jesus was born, and by the way, they did have children. Mark 6.3 tells us they had at least two sons and two daughters. They had sons and daughters. Jesus had brothers and sisters. I guess you’d call them half-brothers, half-sisters. But he had others in his family. But Joseph and Mary, when they marry, they now, by a legal right, adopt Jesus Christ now as the son of Joseph. Did Jesus come out of the loins of King David? Yes, because Mary’s in the line of Nathan, another son of David. It did not violate the curse. In fact, the only solution to the curse is to have a virgin birth. That’s the only solution. If you can show me somebody else who was born of a virgin and born in Bethlehem and born before the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., for that’s an essential matter, you say, what are you saying? How do I understand that? This little book, Who is the Messiah, will tell you the whole story. You have to know the story. There is no one, no one in the history of the world who can possibly meet the prophecies of the Messiah except Jesus of Nazareth. No one. Check it out for yourself. It’s an impossibility that anyone else could ever be the Messiah. There’s no one like Jesus. His birth was a miracle. His adoption was essential to avoid the curse that was on that line. Jesus had to be born of a virgin to solve the problem. Number three, back to Isaiah chapter 9. We said there are seven reasons. One, his birth was a miracle. Two, his adoption was essential. Number three, I love this, his authority is tremendous. Do you know anybody who could possibly fit this category? The government. will be on his shoulder not a government the government what government the government that god has promised that all of us are looking forward to the one that lyndon johnson said referring to his memory lyndon johnson said after being totally frustrated with this concept of the great society finally said it will take a miracle to have peace on earth you know he was right It will take the coming of the Prince of Peace. The government is referring to ruling the entire world. The good news is there’ll be no more elections. Amen? No more primaries, no more hassles, no more television ads. There’ll be no cabinet chosen. There’ll be no Congress, no senators, nothing. Gone. One person making all the decisions. Jesus Christ, there’s no one like him. The government of the world will be on his shoulder. Now, if you’re Jewish, that has a lot of impact. Why? The shoulders were the place for bearing burdens. That’s the way it’s used in the Bible. The shoulder is the place of bearing burdens. If I would go down to the river to get some water in ancient times, I would usually put a giant pole behind my neck and across my shoulders with two pails of water on either end, and I would carry it back to my tent. If somebody asks me what I’m doing, I am bearing on my shoulders this load. That’s what we have in the text of Hebrews 9, 6. The government of the world is on whose shoulders? On the Messiah. He bears it all. Now, don’t you think that if he’s going to bear the government of the whole world, that he probably could handle your tough problem you got right now? The Bible says, cast all your care upon him, and he cares for you. That’s what it says. It says, cast your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you. Do you think he can handle your problem? Do you think that he knows you haven’t bought all your presents yet? Do you think he knows that you have already exceeded your MasterCard and Visa limitations? Listen, at this time of year, there’s more trouble than you can shake a stick at. Everybody enters Christmas with a kind of a flicker of hope in their breast that somehow this is going to be a better one than last year. And there are thousands of homes that sociologists tell us in this North American culture that are going to be filled with violence this holiday season. Thousands of homes. They tell us that holidays bring out hostilities. They tell us that everybody starts right, but it ends in disaster. Somebody gets offended. Terrible time for a lot of people. That’s why I love the fact that Jesus is the reason for the season. You talk about him and center around him and nobody cares who got what. You know what I mean? He’s the focus of it all. He’s worth it all. There’s no one like Jesus because his authority is tremendous and the government of the entire world is resting on his shoulders and no one else will share the burden of it. And he’s going to rule and reign forever and ever. Number four reason. Before I give you number four, look please at those verses again and notice that there are four descriptions of the Messiah and there are four adjectives describing those four things. Wonderful Counselor. They’re not two names, one wonderful and one counselor. Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting father, peaceful prince or prince of peace. He’s a prince, he’s a father, he’s God, he’s a counselor. And each one of those is described by a beautiful adjective. And tells us four more things about the Messiah. We’ve got so far that his birth was a miracle. His adoption was essential. His authority is tremendous. Number four is that his counsel is wonderful. Very clear. Wonderful in counsel. Turn to Isaiah chapter 11, please. Verse 1 and 2. Who do you go for counsel? Who do you go for advice? Have you ever noticed that whenever you get a doctor’s report and you tell a friend about what the doctor said, if it’s a serious deal, they always say, well, you better get another opinion. And then you notice how sometimes advertising tries to get us to accept the counsel or advice of authorities by saying something like this. Four out of five doctors believe this aspirin is good. Amen? Or nine out of ten dentists recommend this toothpaste. They couldn’t be wrong, right? The world will do anything to convince us that their counsel is correct. Now why do you go to counsel and why do you accept the counsel of anybody? Sometimes it’s because they’re a friend. And sometimes that can be very dangerous. Because your friend may not be the biblical kind of a friend that will tell you the truth but will tell you what you want to hear. And sometimes that counsel could be because you think the person’s professional. They should have some expertise even though it’s well known the most messed up people in the world are counselors. Reminds me of the gigantic council of psychologists and psychiatrists that met in Arizona two years ago in the fall. Their conclusion of a massive study of thousands of people is that if you don’t go for council, you’ll get better faster than those who do. It’s an incredible thought when you think about it. That’s not to knock the good people who are out there doing it. It’s to recognize we have a massive problem in society. Now you ought to go for counsel. God says he who doesn’t heed to counsel is stupid, is a fool, is not wise, and will come to ruin. You’ve got to listen to counsel. But the Bible says that man’s counsel is going to fall apart. The only counsel that stands is the counsel of the Lord. Because his counsel is wonderful. The Hebrew word wonderful means incomprehensible. What it means is that you don’t always understand the counsel, but it is always right. It’s the best thing for you. What God says to you is what you can count on. The counsel of the Messiah is wonderful. It is exactly what we need, and many times we don’t even understand why he’s telling us to do what he’s telling us to do. As the psalmist said in Psalm 139, such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It’s too high. I cannot attain it. Do you listen to counsel from the Lord? The Bible says, Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he doth meditate day and night. He seeks counsel from the Lord himself. Wonderful counselor. There’s no one like Jesus.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David returns in just a moment to close out our special Christmas broadcast. Do stay with us for that. First, Matt and I have a resource for your consideration that may just change the way you look at the book of Psalms, the way you experience the book of Psalms forever. Matt? How would you like a convenient and worshipful tool for hearing the Psalms every day? A few years back, Matt, we recorded with your dad reading the Psalms, and we added in some of the best worship music in the background. We’d love to place the complete reading of the Psalms by David along with the worship orchestration background. into your hands for just $10. And you can pair this with our 365-day devotional through the Psalms titled Learning to Praise in the Psalms. Get Learning to Praise in the Psalms, and you’re going to have an epic journey through the 150 chapters of Psalms with a special devotional for each day of 2026. With each day’s devotion, my dad outlines a Psalm passage, shares applications, and highlights a special verse for meditation and a prayer to help you apply what you just learned. Matt, Psalm 23, a favorite of so many. The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 121, I lift up my eyes to the hills. Psalm 4610, be still and know that I am God. These are just a few of the sections you’ll study and experience with learning to praise in the Psalms. Learning to praise in the Psalms is $20. and David’s reading of the Psalms with worship accompaniment, that is $10. Your purchase or a generous donation will help us continue the mission and vision of Hope for Today, that’s sharing the gospel with as many people as possible and building up the body of Christ through the faithful teaching of God’s Word. Amen. And please continue to pray for Hope for Today. To get your copy of these wonderful resources, call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE. That’s in the U.S. 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible is 24253. Or you can go right now to our website, davidhawking.org. That’s davidhawking.org. And if you’d like to support this ministry with a special Christmastime donation, you can do that by phone or on the website or by writing us. Our address in the U.S., Hope for Today, Box 3927. Tustin, California. Tustin is T-U-S-T-I-N. Again, that’s in California. The zip code 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO7Oaks.com. Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. And as I said, you can give by calling us at 875-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or give at davidhawking.org. And just before David returns to close out today’s broadcast, let me offer you our warmest Christmas greetings from the entire Hope for Today team, from the writers and producers to the office crew, the prayer team, and of course, yours truly, Jim Durbin, our teacher, David Hawking, and his son, Matt, and their families. Merry Christmas. We are so very thankful for you and for the privilege of opening up God’s Word with you day after day here on the broadcast, Hope for Today. And whatever this season holds, we pray that your heart is reminded of the hope, the peace, and the joy we have because of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you for your prayers, and thank you for standing with us throughout this year. And once again, here’s David.
SPEAKER 02 :
I was thinking the other day about this wonderful message, Seven Reasons Why There’s No One Like Jesus, that it’s only a start. We don’t need to end with seven reasons. There are scores and scores of reasons why no one is like Jesus. And in our efforts to warm your heart as you get ready to celebrate Christmas in your home with your family, we want to focus on the Lord Jesus. It’s His birthday. Our Lord became flesh and dwelt among us. And John says, we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And that’s why we put this message on the air, seven reasons why there is no one like Jesus. And I pray you’ll understand that. He is the risen Son of God. He’s not a baby in a manger anymore. We love to reflect on that and remember that a virgin would conceive and bear a son, and we’ll call his name what? Emmanuel, which means God with us. Let me just remind you, there’s no one like Jesus. And I wonder in my heart, have you given your life to Jesus Christ? Have you made the decision of all decisions to open your heart to the Son of God? You talk about a great gift. The Bible speaks of eternal life as a gift of God. And you can open your heart to the Lord Jesus right now. Wherever you are, call upon him and believe that he is everything he claimed. And if you’d like help, we have a free booklet called What is Christianity? Just call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE. We’ll be glad to send it to you. We also have a Bible study by mail to get you started right. This is for people that are new to Christianity. You don’t need to remain in doubt. There’s no one like Jesus. God became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
SPEAKER 01 :
Worship Him. Thank you, David. And friend, if you’d like to receive the free booklet called What Is Christianity and the Bible Study by Mail, just call 800-75-BIBLE or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Again, this is free if you’re not yet a Christian, but you’re curious, or if you’re new to the Christian faith. You can also secure these from our website. Use the contact form at davidhawking.org. Well, next time, David concludes his message, Seven Reasons Why There’s No One Like Jesus. And we hope you’ll join us then, right here on Hope for Today.
