“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Did you know that the Bible lists about 250 names of Jesus? All of them are great names and they all teach us about our Savior. However, I think some of the greatest names for Jesus are found in Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus Christ. One of the Christmas names of Jesus is Wonderful Counselor. What is it about Jesus that makes Him a wonderful counselor?

First of all, Jesus is a wonderful counselor because He never needs counseling. The Bible says in Romans 11:34, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?”   How would you answer those two questions? I think the answer to both of them is the same, no one. No one has ever counseled the Lord. I’ve tried at times, haven’t you? I’ve been guilty of futilely trying to tell the Lord what He needs to do. I’m glad He doesn’t heed my counsel. Wouldn’t it be nice to go to a counselor who knows everything? Who knows everything about you? Who knows what is in your heart and the motives behind your actions? Jesus is that counselor. Secondly, Jesus is a wonderful counselor because He knows exactly what we need. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet without sin.”   It doesn’t matter what you are going through, Jesus feel it. Jesus is able to sympathize with us. Think about this fact. Jesus knows all the truth there is to know about God and He knows all the truth there is to know about me. That’s what makes Him such a wonderful counselor. No one can counsel you like Jesus Christ. Thirdly, Jesus is a wonderful counselor because He is able to bring spiritual health to me. In other words, not only can Jesus analyze correctly my condition, He has the ability to correct what’s wrong. There are three chapters in John’s gospel that provide examples of this. In John 3, a theology professor named Nicodemus comes to Jesus for a night time counseling session. Jesus recognizes that this is a man with religion in his life but no relationship with God. In John 4, Jesus counsels a woman at a well. This woman has a lot of passion in her life, but no power to overcome the sins that were besetting her. In John 5, Jesus encounters a man that is crippled and has no hope in his life. In each of these cases, Jesus gives wonderful counsel. To Nicodemus Jesus says, “You must be born again.” To the woman at the well Jesus says, “I’ll give you living water.” To the crippled man Jesus says, “Rise up and walk.” Not only can Jesus analyze the problem, He has the power to correct it and bring me to a place of spiritual health.

“In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3). Let His word dwell in you. Is there a place in your life where you need the wisdom of Jesus? Surrender that place to Him. Let the government of your life rest on His shoulders because Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor.