ADVENT FOUR PART SERIES: 1. Wonderful Counsellor Howard Webber (1/4)

'AND HE SHALL BE CALLED...'

1. Wonderful Counsellor

Within the bible well over one hundred names and titles are accorded to Jesus. As we enter advent we will look at the four that Isaiah gives when he announces, 'For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,' (9:6).

Each of these four names are made up of two elements, one human and the other divine. Consciously or unconsciously the prophet revealed the unified human and divine natures in the person of Jesus, who entered this world, 'truly and properly God and truly and properly man,' (SA Doctrine 4).

Wonderful

The Hebrew word here translated as 'wonderful' is only found in one other place in the bible. In Judges 13 God appeared to Manoah's wife in the form of an angel. She was childless and sterile, but he promised her that she would conceive and have a son, (v3). When later her husband met the angel he asked him what his name was, to which the angel replied, 'Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding,'(v18). The word translated as 'beyond understanding' is the same word that is translated as 'wonderful' in Isaiah 9:6. John Wesley translated it as, 'Secret - hidden from mortal man,' or  'wonderful, such as thou canst not comprehend.' To many scholars this would indicate the man of God or angel portrayed in the chapter, to be more than a man, more than an angel, but God the Son in human form, a theophany, (see also Genesis 18 and Judges 6:11-21)

Names today tend to be labels that parents like the sound of or that have associations with other people. Names back in bible times were descriptive of the person. Thus to reveal one's name to someone was to reveal something of one's character, one's identity. The reason that God could not respond to Manoah's request was that the essence and nature of God is far too incomprehensible to be expressed in words. We remember how Moses asked God his name, and he replied, 'I am who I am.' In 2 Corinthians 9:15 St Paul describes Jesus as God's indescribable gift. Consequently, that rare bible word, here translated 'wonderful,' is a description of the divine; he who is beyond human understanding, human comprehension.

Counsellor

Have you ever needed counselling of any kind? Counselling is far more common today, providing a safe, supportive and confidential space to help an individual look at their problems in a non-judgemental way. The client is the sole focus of the counsellor who seeks to come alongside and empathise with their client, building trust, revealing compassion, and encouraging them to be honest as they seek to discover the underlying cause of their problem or difficulty. Initially, the client can have two opposing responses to the experience. The blissful relief at receiving such much needed, undivided attention, is often accompanied by anxiety and fear that what might come out might be too shameful to warrant the counsellor's continued attention.

Counsellor Par Excellence

Counsellor is a human word. Counselling describes a human activity. Jesus was referring to himself as a counsellor, (Greek = paraclete, literally one who comes alongside), when he spoke of his Father sending another, (John 14:15). As Jesus walked the earth, the disciples had that counsellor physically with them, but he promised that when he departed into heaven, they would have another within them, (v17).

Jesus humbly descended from his glory in heaven to come alongside us. Like the good counsellor he is, he didn't come to judge us, 'I did not come to judge the world, but to save it,' (John 12:17). We needn't fear that what we might share might be so shameful as to have him turn from us. He knew everything about us before he reached out to us. He is filled with compassion at sight of our plight, (Matthew 9:36). He empathises with us in a way that no  human counsellor can. He entered our world and shared our lot and knows our experience from the inside, 'For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are....'(Hebrews 4:15). Whilst many who come to him might feel worthless and useless, in Jesus they find One who made himself nothing, (Philippians 2:7), and who is able to empathise.

Listening to the troubles, trials and tribulations of another can leave a counsellor exhausted, emotionally burdened, but the client's problems are still not the counsellor's problems. By contrast, Jesus is a Counsellor par excellence. No detached professionalism with him. This Wonderful Counsellor does not merely help us find the answer for ourselves, but offers to take our burdens upon himself and be our answer!

Howard Webber
Major, The Salvation Army(retired) Bournemouth, UK