"And the government shall be upon his shoulder"

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. (Isaiah 9:6).

Part 1 - For unto us a child is born
Part 2 - A Son is given
Part 3 - And the government shall be upon his shoulder
Part 4 - 'and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor'
Part 5 - Mighty God
Part 6 - The Everlasting Father: the Father of eternity
Part 7 - Jesus is the Prince of Peace 

This is a multi-part series looking at this wonderful verse of scripture from Isaiah and commentary from Barnes' Notes. I'd said that for me, the text is rich and full of truth; complex with spiritual meaning, yet can be read and understood by children; is a great a promise, one even spoken as had already happened, yet would not occur for hundreds of years hence; a faithful promise, and a comforting thought. We'd looked at the first part of the verse, 'For unto us a child is born', and part 2, 'a son is given.' Here's more. Barnes' Notes-

And the government shall be upon his shoulder - The sense of this passage is, that he shall rule, or that the government shall be vested in him. Various interpretations have, however, been given of the phrase 'upon his shoulder.' Some have supposed, that it means simply he shall sustain the government, as the shoulder is that by which we uphold any thing. Pliny and Cicero thus use the phrase; see Rosenmuller. Others, that it means that he should wear the royal purple from a child. - Grotius. Lowth supposes that it refers to the ensign of government - the scepter, the sword, the keys, or the like, that were borne upon the shoulder, or suspended from it; see the note at Isaiah 22:22. It is evident, from this latter place, that some ensign of office was usually borne upon the shoulder. The sense is, that he should be a king, and under this character the Messiah is often predicted.

An additional comment from Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

 government … upon … shoulder—The ensign of office used to be worn on the shoulder, in token of sustaining the government (Isa 22:22). Here the government on Messiah's shoulder is in marked antithesis to the "yoke and staff" of the oppressor on Israel's "shoulder" (Isa 9:4). He shall receive the kingdom of the earth from the Father, to vindicate it from the misrule of those to whom it was entrusted to hold it for and under the Most High, but who sought to hold it in defiance of His right; the Father asserts His right by the Son, the "Heir of all things," who will hold it for Him (Da 7:13, 14).

How beautiful Jesus has been given the government. He will rule perfectly, all decisions, actions, mercies, and justice will be meted out in perfect harmony with His character.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. (Matthew 28:18)

God has given us a glorious gift in Jesus Christ, Messiah and Ruler.

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