Text: Matthew 4:12-25
Date: Epiphany III + 1/26/14
Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. But what or who is that light? It is Christ. It is Jesus—Him who at Christmas the prophet and the Evangelist had us call Emmanuel, God with us.
It would be a strange thing if God were to prepare, work out and provide His Gospel of salvation without also providing a way to deliver it to the objects of His love. Therefore, at the very beginning of our Lord’s earthly ministry He began to lay the foundation of His Church, which will be the means and instrument for the delivery of the forgiveness of sins and gift of life to the whole world throughout the ages. That “foundation,” says the Apostle Paul, is “the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:20). So certainly the first thing that may pop into our minds today is the second half of today’s Gospel reading, the calling of the apostles Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. Salvation is delivered through the apostolic preaching that is the same as the preaching of Jesus, which is the same as the preaching of John the Baptist, namely, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The kingdom of heaven is at hand when Christ is preached into our ears, minds and hearts, the Holy Spirit working through the mighty Word of God repentance of sins and faith in Christ “when and where it pleases God in those who hear the Gospel.”
But the light of salvation shining into the whole world is also seen in a more hidden way in these inaugural words of Matthew’s Gospel. For these words describe what will also be Jesus’ final command of the Great Commission at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.
As St. John says in his Gospel, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5), so the darkness of the conflict with the enemy of the light Jesus noticed “when he heard that John had been arrested.” This was for Him a signal to begin the bloody journey of conflict that would finally result in victory. So, Matthew says, “He withdrew into Galilee.” He wants us to ask, “why Galilee?”
On one level this is yet another Old Testament prophecy fulfilled that, says the Evangelist, proves that this Jesus is the promised Messiah. We heard Isaiah 9 earlier and now Matthew recalls it by telling how Jesus left Nazareth and “went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Zebulun and Naphtali, Zebulun and Naphtali! Oh, yeah, Isaiah said something about “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali” and “Galilee of the nations.”
But beyond merely the fulfillment of words, it is the significance of these locations that also speaks to us. For these were the lands of the northern regions of Israel conquered and ravaged by Assyria as far back as the eighth century BC and by others since. This resulted in both Jews and pagan Gentiles residing in this land intermingled to the extent that their religious life and expectations were confused. Remember how the Jews despised the Samaritans as half-breeds and foreigners to be avoided. This is where Jesus now goes. The result? Isaiah and Matthew proclaim, “the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”
Isaiah and Matthew had just told us in the beginning of the Gospel story that Jesus Christ is “Immanuel,” “God with us.” Now, already, through the continued preaching of repentance, before the teaching, before the miracles of healing and raising from the dead, before the drama of events from the nighttime scene in the Garden of Gethsemane to the appearances before the high priest and Pilate, the mockery and cruel punishment leading up to His innocent death on a cross; now, already, before also the victory of His resurrection and appearance alive to His disciples, just before His Ascension into heaven He proclaims Himself “Immanuel,” “God with us” one last time as He sends His apostles to go into all the world, making disciples not only of Jews but also of Gentiles, of “all the nations,” and promises, “I am with you always,” “Immanuel,” the “with us” God even to this day.
So now the light of God’s salvation has shined through the ages through His Church until it has reached your eyes and ears and hearts. Now the crucified, risen Lord of life is truly with you, his baptized, repentant, believing disciples of the twenty-first century. He is with you to forgive all your sins, to create in you a new, clean heart, to make of you a new creation, a brand new person the product of God’s own will of love and life. That being the case, do I detect a certain light shining, being reflected in you? Come, let us walk in the light, life and love of the Lord.