The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light

 

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

 

- Matthew 4:12-17 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His Baptism by John the Baptist, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be temped by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, / Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

 

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: . . . "  The quotation that begins here is from Isaiah 9:1-2.  My study Bible explains that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region.  Having a mixed population, it was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As many of the Jews there were influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, they were generally considered to be second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.   Let us note how the text tells us that Jesus deliberately began His ministry here; He departed to Galilee.  This is His journey.

 

 "The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned."   Darkness is another term which means ungodliness.  Here it represents the Gentiles' unawareness of God, according to my study Bible, as well as the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness, my study Bible explains, means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."   Like that of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-2), the first word of Jesus as He inaugurates His public ministry, is "Repent."  My study Bible comments that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

 

 Jesus' first word of His preaching in His public ministry is, Repent.  In fact, what He says is identical to John the Baptist's preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  It's important that we notice Matthew takes time to remark that Jesus has waited to begin His public ministry until after John is put in prison.  With these first words reported in the Gospel, it's clear we're to understand there is no important break between John the Baptist and Jesus in terms of their service to God as part of the same plan of redemption.  Although John, importantly, was a part of the Old Covenant (and in fact, the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets), and Jesus Himself ushers in the New, they are nonetheless on the same continuity, each playing their role in the salvation plan of God.   Jesus will say to the disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Matthew 11:11).  This illustrates the place of John the Baptist, and also the continuity between the doctrine of the Old and the New Covenants.  John has come preparing the people for the Messiah with a message and also a baptism of repentance.  But Jesus will usher in a different Holy Baptism.  As John has said in preparing the people, the Christ will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11).  John's baptism of repentance called people to do an "about-face" preparing for the Messiah, to "prepare the way of the LORD" and to "make His paths straight" (in the words of Isaiah 40:3), in order to receive the Christ.  But when Jesus commands repentance, it is He who is the One to turn to and to receive.  We are to prepare to follow Him, and have our own "change of mind" (the meaning of the Greek word for repentance) as He inaugurates us into the kingdom of heaven and we find our way forward.  Our faithfulness is what is asked for, for He takes us not to a set of propositions and laws, but rather onto a journey with Him -- for as my study Bible says, where He is, so is the kingdom of heaven.  Some two thousand years later, we are still on that journey, and it is a new one for each generation, for each person who receives Him and participates in His life and community of the Church and all the communion of saints.  May we continue to bear the fruits of repentance and of the Spirit, for it remains His light that guides us and shows us the way out of our own darkness.

 

 

 

 

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light

 

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

 

- Matthew 4:12-17 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His Baptism by John the Baptist,  Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and 'In their hands they shall bear you up, / Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.  

 

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: . . . "   Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9:1-2, a prophesy of the coming of Christ.  My study Bible comments that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region.  As Galilee had a mixed population, it says, it was not considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As much of the Jewish population there had been influenced by Greek culture and customs, they were generally looked upon as second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.

" . . . The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned."  My study Bible explains that darkness means ungodliness.  Here it is a representation of the Gentiles' unawareness of God, and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we can see from Isaiah's prophecy, this darkness of spiritual ignorance has an association with death and evil.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Christ's first word in His preaching, like that of John the Baptist, is Repent."  My study Bible comments that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

In the use of Isaiah's prophecy, we see how Scripture is meant to work.  There are echoes of truths throughout the Old and New Testaments; things which are foreshadowed in the Old manifest themselves through Christ's ministry and Incarnation -- right through to Ascension -- in the New.  It is important to understand Scripture as its own kind of literature:  it's not a history textbook, it's not a how-to book, it's not like any other kind of literature.  One thing we can note here is its sense of timelessness, of being outside of time.  Or rather, time is something that is intersected by this place from which literature comes.  Where the kingdom of heaven is, there is no sense of boundaries by time; it is something always "present."  So when the Isaiah is given a prophecy about the great light that dawns in Galilee of the Gentiles, its root is from this place Christ calls the kingdom of heaven, as we know that Isaiah lived and gave his prophecies in approximately the 8th century BC, long before the Galilee of the Gentiles existed and before the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ.  But this is how prophecy works:  it comes out of an experience given to some of the kingdom of heaven, and the prophets in turn give that to us.  Time is immaterial in this sense that the kingdom is present to those who experience it and in turn present what they are given to us.  Of course, we don't know this Kingdom in its true fullness, but we are given glimpses; God visits us in these forms, and manifested as both divine and human in one Man, Jesus Christ.  This is the center of our faith.  Jesus teaches, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  In the context of what we have just reviewed of the prophecy of Isaiah and its meaning, what do we make of this?  We know that the prophets themselves, such as Isaiah, were frequently persecuted, out of sorts with the world, deliberately called out of the world to serve God -- especially at times of great corruption, to call people back to God and to God's message.  Here is Jesus, God made manifest as human being, fully God and fully human, who teaches us that this kingdom of heaven is present with Him, and He, like the prophets before Him (particularly in the word of John the Baptist from chapter 3), teaches us to repent in order to successfully meet that Kingdom, and to receive it.  The fact that today's reading tells us that Jesus begins His preaching when He knows John has been imprisoned further indicates that this present message is reflected through time.  When Jesus sends out the apostles on their first mission, He will teach them to say the same, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 10:7), that it has drawn near.  This is because, as those sent out by Christ, the apostles carry that Kingdom with them, and they go before Him announcing the "good news," the gospel of Christ -- the same way a messenger would be sent out to announce the gospel (εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion) or great message of Caesar or another earthly ruler.  And in that same sense that anything with Caesar's stamp or image on it indicated Caesar's presence and the presence of his realm, so the kingdom of heaven is present where there is an image or icon of Jesus Christ -- most especially where we seek to worship and to honor Him, and within ourselves as we learn that each one of us is made in the image and likeness of God, and to bear that image and likeness into the world.  If all of this sounds confusing, it is meant simply to mean this:  that God is with us (Matthew 1:23), the kingdom of heaven is present to us (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, 10:7), and that it is within us (Luke 17:21).  But we will not realize it without faith (the work of God), and the repentance which accompanies that faith, as we also grow in this image and participate in the Kingdom through worship, prayer, and the sacraments.  But let us consider how this great light dawns in our lives, to dispel our own darkness, to teach us in the love of God, revealed through the beautiful poetry of Isaiah and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We would do well to remember that this is an ongoing  process and continues today in our world and in us, at all times present and at hand in this way.

 

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light

 

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,

By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,

Galilee of the Gentiles:

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, 

And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death

Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

 

- Matthew 4:12-17 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His Baptism, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and "In their hands they shall bear you up,/Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'" Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give you if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. 

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: . .."  My study Bible comments that the term Galilee of the Gentiles is an indication that many non-Jews lived in the region.  It had a mixed population, and so was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As many of the Jews who lived in Galilee had been influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, they were generally considered second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.

". . . The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  Darkness, as in its use in John's Gospel (see John 1:4-5), means ungodliness.  Here, according to my study Bible, it represents the Gentiles' unawareness of God and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Christ's first word, my study Bible points out, is like that of John the Baptist:  "Repent."  This is a call to faith that involves an "about-face."  In Greek, the word for repentance means literally to change one's mind.  My study Bible comments that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  It is the necessary first step for entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

What does repentance mean to you?  Often, in a modern world, we equate repentance with feelings of remorse or regret, of looking back on some action or choice and thinking the worse of it.  But repentance does not necessarily mean specifically this.  As my study Bible points out, in Greek it means "change of mind" (μετανοια in the Greek).  And so, repentance is really about "turning around" with emphasis much more on opening up one's mind to reconsideration, to a better way, a new way of seeing things and responding to things, a new outlook.  It also -- equally importantly -- conveys a willingness to go forward, to learn, to grow.  This is most important, because salvation is not a one-time declaration of a faith in Jesus Christ.  Salvation is a lifetime road, a learning curve.  We are meant to grow in spiritual fruits, and a continual process of μετανοια or change of mind.  All we have to do is look at the Gospels and the stories of the disciples throughout.  They are continually on a learning curve.  There are times when they display a great ignorance, times when they fail to understand Jesus at all, times when Jesus rebukes them.  We simply need to recall the words from Jesus even to His great faithful disciple Peter, who vigorously protested that Jesus should not go to the Cross and be killed.  There is none of us who cannot understand Peter's human feelings.  But Jesus replied to Peter:  "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23).  If even this great faithful disciple was on a learning curve, then think about the journey for your faith and for mine.  We all know, also, about Peter's denial of Christ before a servant girl, while Christ was on trial inside the home of the high priest, after he swore that he would die with Christ (see Luke 22:31-34, 54-62).  Repentance, or "change of mind," is also about our own growth in knowing ourselves better, hard experience teaching us about our strengths and especially our weaknesses, despite how we'd like to think of ourselves.  It is a long, long learning curve, one that occupies a lifetime on a journey of faith, and the Gospels clearly teach us so by giving us all of the examples, and even the failures, of the disciples themselves.   When we consider repentance, we must consider Christ's words, echoing those of John the Baptist in this reading.  The kingdom of heaven is always at hand, and our repentance is an ongoing process as we seek to live our lives more deeply and to grow within life in that Kingdom.  Let us remember that another word for Holy Baptism is "Illumination."  The process of repentance is one of growth in that light, allowing it to shine even in the places where our own darkness is hidden from us.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the  kingdom of heaven is at hand."

- Matthew 4:12-17

Yesterday we read that, after His Baptism by John, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, / Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: . . .  My study bible explains that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in this region.  As it had a mixed population, Galilee was not considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many of its Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  As many of the Jews there had been influenced by Greek culture and customs, they were generally looked upon as second-class citizens by Jews of Judea.

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned."  Darkness in this context is an indication of ungodliness, my study bible says.  In this case, it's a representation of the unawareness of God by the Gentiles, and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness means to be surrounded in spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.   The entire Scripture quotation is from Isaiah 9:1-2.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the  kingdom of heaven is at hand."  My study bible points out here that Christ's first word, just like that of John the Baptist, is "Repent."  The kingdom of heaven, it says, is present wherever Christ is.

I recently read an article about an institution called The Other Side Academy, an institution which takes in -- for a minimum two-and-a-half-year commitment -- people with the most-difficult seeming problems, stemming from childhoods of violence, poverty, crime, and abuse.  Its rigor begins with a refusal to discuss the past, and a system of conduct which emphasizes mutual correction. Each participant in The Other Side Academy program is bound to keep the rules enforced through vociferous correction of fellow participants, overlooking absolutely no infringement  Those who enter are all adults with troubling records of many convictions, incarcerations, addictions, violence, and patterns of destruction.  But this mutual correction is the gateway to eventually exploring -- and re-writing through deep honesty -- the past and the possibilities for change into the future.  It is a way to reset, to begin again, to turn around.  It is a reorientation to everything in one's life.  At its heart, it seems to me, is the entire concept of repentance (see the article here).   We may think of repentance as one thing and another, and in the context of our faith simply mourning the things we've done that we can name as sins, but repentance can take on a potent number of aspects, if we but allow it to do so.  Repentance, first of all, begins with a kind of responsibility, a willingness to understand the power of our own choices, and that we can choose differently.  It encompasses the action of a willingness to reconsider our own behavior and our own choices to think one way and another.  Most of all, repentance is a question -- in the spiritual context -- of turning back to God, and turning things over to God.  In the Greek, the word for repentance -- metanoia/μετανοια -- simply means "change of mind," and that is perhaps the best place to start when thinking about repentance.  Repentance, like the program discussed in the article about The Other Side Academy, is a process of changing one's mind, one that can work in the most profound ways for an entire reorientation toward life and toward our places in the world and in relation to God.  To "change one's mind" isn't merely to make a new decision regarding how we feel about one thing and another.  It is, in fact, to be transformed, to change ourselves, and therein is our orientation to our very existence changed.  So much depends upon what it is we look to in order to define the good, and herein comes the power of the ministry of Jesus.  For Christ does not ask us, completely on our own, to invent new ways of thinking or to correct ourselves without guidance.  Jesus calls us to Himself, in personal and intimate relationship, to participate in His very life, so that we can learn from Him.  In His words in today's reading, He invites us into His Kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, and tells us that our own orientation -- in the act of repentance -- must be toward that Kingdom and what it offers us.  As my study bible says, where Christ is, there is the Kingdom.  It is present wherever Christ is.  And so, in all forms of repentance, we turn to Him.  We might find our repentance taking the form of learning what abuse and self-destruction really is, and repenting of our old patterns in which we ignored such things or characterized them as that which we only deserved or were good for us.  In our repentance, we may find that behaviors we let "slide" are destructive not only to ourselves but also toxic or poisonous to other relationships as well.  In our repentance, we may find that what we thought was perfectly good and fine can stand some improvement, that there is a better "good" where Christ takes us than that with which we were previously satisfied.  Repentance can take on all sorts of forms, but always has as characteristic a drive toward what is truly better, and a need not simply to correct others but to accept correction ourselves first.  Repentance is an ongoing and constant process in our faith, as we move more and more toward Christ, cementing our dependence upon His guidance, and become willing to submit more of our lives to Christ's guidance.  Repentance is not moving simply from something "bad" to something "good."  Repentance is moving -- as the quotation from Isaiah indicates -- from a place of relative darkness and into the light that shows us what's better.  This applies to any and all circumstances, no matter how comfortable or known the darkness, no matter how uncomfortable the movement to the light.  In short, repentance is about claiming a life in Christ's light, and the constant turning again to Christ for the next place He wants us to go, the new thing He wants to shift within us, the new place or potential that lies before us in this journey of faith.  He tells us, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (11:29).  This process is the substance of our faith, the ongoing movement within us, where we always begin again.  Let us have the courage to take it up today, even now, and accept the place He leads us toward -- our reorientation and "change of mind."

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned

Valaam Monastery

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

- Matthew 4:12-17

Yesterday we read that Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' "  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "    Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,  Galilee of the Gentiles: . . .."  My study bible tells us that the term Galilee of the Gentiles is an indication that there were many non-Jews living in Galilee.  As it had a mixed population, Galilee was not considered to be genuinely Jewish, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism in the Maccabean period.  As many Jews there were influenced by Greek culture and customs, they were generally considered to be second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.

" . . . The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  My study bible explains that darkness means ungodliness.  In yesterday's reading we observed in a detail of an icon that the devil is always represented in darkness, and this imagery is consistent with that which does not share in the light.  Here "darkness" is used as metaphor to represent the Gentiles' unawareness of God, and the Jews under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  My study bible says that to sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The entire quotation here is from Isaiah 9:1-2.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  My study bible notes that Christ's first word echoes that of John the Baptist:  "Repent" (see this reading).  It adds that the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.

Jesus deliberately returns to the place of His childhood, Galilee, after He has heard that John the Baptist has been put in prison.  John is imprisoned in Galilee, as well, by the one who rules there, Herod Antipas, who is tetrarch of Galilee.  Everything begins here in this region of both Jews and Gentiles, highly influenced by the classical Hellenistic culture of ancient Greece, but also a population of many converts to Judaism as well.  In the ancient world, it was actually common for Jews to become Greeks (as to be "Greek" was to live life by certain tenets) and Greeks to become Jews (see this passage).   We are also given images of light and darkness, contrasting the illumination or "enlightenment" of God with the darkness of the ignorance of God, and in particular, of the good news of the gospel message.  But Jesus' first word, like that of John the Baptist, as my study bible says, is repent.   So what we have in Christ's preaching, as a way to turn from darkness to light, is repentance as a way to facilitate transformation.  If we think of the turn from the darkness of ignorance to the light or illumination of God -- and all the things that which would mean and include -- what we are to understand is that to truly prepare for receptivity to the things offered in the light, including wisdom and all the fruits of the Spirit, we need to reconsider our own orientation to what it is we think we need and want in life.  In other words, it seems that without repentance, without this turn around, a real "change of mind" that changes us, we won't really get anywhere.  We turn from one way of life, which sees things a certain way in the darkness, to another, which opens to the spiritual light of God, of Christ.  We find that this is an ongoing process.  What we learned in childhood, for instance, may not be the best way that God calls us to see ourselves and our world and our place in it.  We may have an ongoing "enlightenment" that evolves through time.  The world will present us with particular ideas, and we need to turn in prayer to find how to think of them or respond to them.  Life continually moves in this cycle of repentance and reception of the light, a transformation ongoing.  This is what it means to grow and mature in our faith; it is a spiritual journey that continues onward.  Christ's path is a way meaning "road" in the Greek.  He calls Himself that way ("I am the way, the truth, and the life"), and this is what it means to follow Him.  Just as the disciples we will read about shortly, we are called to a particular way, and we continue on that way.  But first we must be ready to make the change -- and as do the disciples, to continue down that road that will ask for all of what is within us, and it will hand us back our lives as new, even that which we would never expect.  We do not have to live in a region of the Holy Land to understand the same elements in today's reading at work in our own lives.  When a light dawns, we need to repent to receive it, to take it in and have it truly change us -- and continue to follow and receive that light in us.  The kingdom of heaven seeks ever-fertile ground upon which to shine its light.

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

- Matthew 4:12-17

Yesterday we read that after His Baptism by John the Baptist,  Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written,  'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"'  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: . . ."  John has been put into prison, and this is the spur for Jesus to go to Galilee.  The text quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah regarding the government of the promised Son (Isaiah 9:1-2).  My study bible explains here that the term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region.  As it had a mixed population, it wasn't considered to be a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  In addition, many of the Jews of the region had been influenced by Greek culture and customs, and so they were generally considered to be second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned."  Darkness means ungodliness.  Here it is a term denoting the Gentiles' unawareness of God and also the Jews under the shadow of the Old Covenant, an incomplete revelation to be fulfilled by the Son.  To sit in darkness, my study bible explains, means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Jesus begins His open public ministry with the words of John the Baptist.  His first word is "Repent" (3:1-3). The kingdom of heaven, my study bible reminds us (as does the quotation from Isaiah's prophecy) is present wherever Christ is. 

What is the kingdom of heaven?  Why is it "at hand"?  When Jesus sends out His chosen twelve disciples, He will instruct them to do as He does, and as John did, to preach everywhere they go, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (10:5-7).  This passing off of a kind of baton from John of the Old Covenant, to Jesus who is the Christ, to the disciples who preach His gospel, the good message, makes us understand the centrality of Christ to this "awaited" spiritual event, the coming of the Kingdom.  As my study bible explains, the kingdom of heaven is present wherever Christ is.  It indicates a living reality, which dwells both within us and among us (Luke 17:20-21).   The words of Christ Himself  indicate that Christ's presence is an eternal one, intersecting time within us, and living among us through faith (18:20).  Jesus begins His ministry in today's reading, by going to Galilee.  But His kingdom is something that lives as a present reality.  Throughout the books of the Old Testament and Jewish spiritual history, the prophets have written of this Kingdom.  It is the purpose of the coming of the Messiah to manifest that Kingdom.  But our Messiah isn't merely a glorified or superhuman being.  He is also eternal, the Son, the Lord who was always with the people throughout the events of the Old Testament, sending help, guiding, and revealing spiritual reality.  Immanuel as revealed through Isaiah and reminded by Matthew (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23) is "God with us," the ever-present reality of this Kingdom.  It permeates our lives, dwells among the faithful both where they are gathered and where He makes His home in the heart (Revelation 3:20).  Where any Person of the Trinity is present, so are the others; this Kingdom lives as the presence of Father, Son, and Spirit -- and thereby all those gathered within their living presence, the communion of saints and the angels of uncountable rank and number who minister.  The connection is faith, the presence of this reality is truth.  The light of Christ is His connection and the Kingdom's presence and work in all of us.  Let us listen to His message if we truly have ears to hear it.

Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light

 

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

- Matthew 4:12-17

Yesterday we read that after His baptism by John the Baptist,  Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up,/Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"  Again,  the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."    Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  for it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,/By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: . . ."  My study bible tells us that Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in the region of Galilee.  As it had a mixed population, it wasn't considered a genuinely Jewish land, although many Gentile residents had converted to Judaism during the Maccabean period.  Many of the Jews there had been influenced by the Greek culture and its customs, and so they were generally considered to be second-class citizens by the Jews of Judea.

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,/And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death/Light has dawned."  Darkness in a Scriptural context means ungodliness.  Here it is representative of the Gentiles' unawareness of God, and the Jews being under the shadow of the Old Covenant.  To sit in darkness, my study bible says, means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance.  The great light is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9:1-2.

 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  Jesus' first word of preaching, just like that of John the Baptist, is "Repent" (see Matthew 3:1-2).  The kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand, because it is present wherever Christ is.

Here is the great good news:  The kingdom of heaven is at hand.  When Jesus sends out the disciples on their first apostolic mission, He will teach them to preach the same thing, telling them, "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand'" (Matthew 10:7).  We witness a kind of handing off, a passing down, of this message of the presence of the kingdom of heaven.  And so, we have to ask ourselves what this truly means.  To repent, as we noted in the earlier reading regarding the Baptist's preaching, is to do an about-face.  In Greek (μετανοια/metanoia) literally means to change one's mind, and it is a lifetime process of Christian movement in a spiritual journey.  Our own baptism simply begins the journey, and we move into the life of that kingdom with time, should we internally accept and cooperate with the work of the Spirit.  To be in the presence of that Kingdom is to live the life that Christ invites us into.  It is His presence, as my study bible says, that makes the kingdom of heaven at hand.  This is an understanding that required a type of repentance in its time which Jesus teaches to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well in John's Gospel:  "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).  Those who expected the kingdom of God to manifest as material kingdom, ruled by a worldly messiah, would have to "change their minds," to repent, to understand and accept the word of Christ, this knowledge that the kingdom of heaven was truly at hand -- but not in the way they expected it.   And here is the example of repentance:  it means to discard an old way of thinking for the life and the truth that God gives to us.  We make room, so to speak, through this change.  We grow and we discern.   This is the lifetime project of repentance, a kind of transition that happens as we are willing to adapt and discard the things that just don't fit in with the truth of that Kingdom.  Wherever Christ is present, there is that Kingdom.   Where One of the Holy Trinity is, so is the Trinity, and so to worship in spirit and in truth is to know that the presence of the gift of the Spirit is to be graced with the presence of the Kingdom as well.  It is Jesus who will teach the Pharisees, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (see Luke 17:20-21).  To accept His words would require of them a repentance, an about-face, a change of mind.  We have to open our own hearts and minds to this presence, to accept it, and to make all changes as accommodations to its teachings, its life and its truth in our lives.  So Repent is the first word.  We need to make room for this holy work, the presence of this kingdom of heaven in our lives, our hearts, our minds, our ways of thinking and being.  Where Christ is, so is this Kingdom.  Where we share the love of Christ, where we act in the name of Christ, so dwells this Kingdom as well (see Matthew 10:42).  We let the light into us, in order to dispel the darkness, and we share that light with others by living the life He teaches us to live -- by doing this work of metanoia, of change of mind, and allowing ourselves to be led by the Spirit (just as He did in going to the wilderness to face temptation; see yesterday's reading above).  Christ will teach that in bringing this Kingdom into the world, He brings division and even hardship and struggle for His disciples, those who would carry this Kingdom within themselves.  But our own struggle to discard ways of seeing and being that occlude our sight, our own darkness and ignorance, is no less a part of the work of faith and growth into the life of that Kingdom.  To see a great light is to sometimes be dazzled by it, even temporarily blinded.  To accommodate this Kingdom, the presence of Christ, is to live in His light, to make it a growing part of ourselves, and to allow it to cast out our own darkness.  Don't be surprised at the changes that might bring!