Title: The effect of the Light of Christ
Reading Is 9v1-4; Mt 4v12-23
Prayer
Father,
I pray that through these words, we may come closer to the Light of Christ, and be better reflectors in our world.
Background – Zebulun
[Slide 1 - Map]
First, a little geographical background. Zebulun and Naphtali, along with Asher are the northern territories of the promised land. Asher is on the coast. Naphtali borders the sea of Galilee, and is on the route for invading forces from Assyria to get south towards Judah and ultimately the other large power in the region – Egypt. Zebulun would also be a target. They have been invaded or under threat of invasion for years, decades even. Neither tribal area is a nice place to live, with those sorts of threats hanging over them.
Background – Galilee
In Jesus’ day, they roughly match to Galilee. Galilee, now a Roman province, was a mixed area, with Israelites and Gentiles living side by side. After the Assyrian invasion it had been sparsely populated for many years, but about a century before Jesus, Israelites had moved from the south, repopulating the area.
Darkness
[Slide 2 – Dark Skies]
Have you ever experienced true darkness? In our country, there are only a few places that you can get away from the street lighting. Even in areas known for dark skies, such as the Suffolk coast, we still didn’t really need the torches we took with us to walk from the B&B to the pub. The only time I have known true darkness was in Tanzania in 2002. We left a meeting and had to get back to our dormitory. I have a poor sense of direction at the best of times, and struggled to find my way. Listening for voices and trying to follow paths, when you can’t see the bushes they go around, is not a great experience.
It’s not surprising then that we use darkness as a metaphor when we are confused and don’t know what to do next, or when circumstances make planning the future next to impossible.
Promise of Light
Light is what we need, and is exactly what’s promise to the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali. You might think that just being part of the Roman Empire was enough – and it certainly brought a kind of stability – but there is still oppression. An occupying force is not the promise, though, the promise is in verse 6.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given …
That’s how light will be bought to the lands, through the child.
We, of course, understand that this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus, born as a child in Bethlehem.
Nazareth and Capernaum
When Joseph and Mary returned from Egypt, they did not go back to their home town of Bethlehem, but instead settled in Nazareth.
[Slide 3 - Map]
This is where Jesus grew up. His baptism took place in Bethany, on the opposite side of the Jordan from Jericho, (way off the bottom of the map) from there he was tempted in the desert and then returned to Nazareth.
Then He hears that John has been put in prison, that seems to act as a prompt for Him to start His preaching ministry. It is probable that Jesus chose to move to Capernaum specifically to fulfil the prophecy in Isaiah.
So, the light has dawned for those living in darkness, in the shadow of death.
Kingdom of Heaven
Then see what he preaches:
“Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is near.”
We should not assume that the phrase ‘kingdom of heaven’ is any different to the phrase ‘kingdom of God’ used in the other gospels. Matthew was writing primarily for a Jewish audience, and ‘kingdom of heaven’ is just a mechanism for him to avoid using God’s name. We can see that by looking at the Gospel of Mark, 1:15, which is telling the same story:
“The time has come,”
Jesus said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the
good news!”
Good News for them
The good news at this stage, for Jesus’s hearers, is that God is with them in a way they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams or at any point in their history. Matthew tells us in verse 23 that:
Jesus went throughout
Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the
kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Disease (body and spirit)
In a time when there were no antibiotics, little understanding of how the human body worked and no vaccinations, Jesus’s healing ministry was what drew large crowds to follow him. He does not discriminate, healing Samaritans and Gentiles as willingly as Israelites.
He knew, though, that more than just physical healing was required, and began to teach them about how God intended them to live with one another. We have examples of that in the sermon on the mount and the sermon on the plain.
Light has dawned
So the light had dawned in Zebulun and Naphtali. But light can be dangerous when you’ve been in the dark for a long time.
[Slide 6 - bugs life video]
This light is beautiful too, but it will not kill, of course, but it could ruin your reputation, it could even put you in jail, if some of the things you have been doing warrant that sort of punishment.
That’s why Jesus needs to teach. They do not know how to live their lives. They have a lot to learn, as the light will expose all their wrong doing, all their evil plans, all their careless disregard for the people around them.
Tunnel
Imagine another scenario. You have been walking through a tunnel for a long time. You begin to see light at the other end. If it is not the exit, you are in trouble. If it’s getting noticeably bigger, you are in trouble. There’s a train coming. Now’s the time to repent and move back in the direction you came from as quickly as it is safe to do so.
Repent
‘Repent’ is a military term in the Roman army. It means turn around, so that you can start heading in the opposite direction. That’s what Jesus is saying in verse 17.
The Israelites have been headed in the wrong direction, and they’ve been going that way for a long time. Now God is here, it’s time for a change – a very noticeable change.
Also Gentiles
It is not just the Israelites, it’s also the Gentiles, and some of them will hear Jesus’s message, but the main mission to the Gentiles happens later, after Jesus has completed his work and died for our sins, and risen again as ‘proof’ that He's God.
Repentance forever
The message that Jesus is giving comes through time to us too. Before we knew Jesus, our lives were going in the wrong direction. When we accepted Jesus into our lives, we should have also repented of our old life.
As Paul says when he writes to the Corinthians
“Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
If the old has gone, our old way of life has gone with it, if the new has come we live our life under the direction of Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
Light of Christ
The light of Christ is still there, showing up all the deliberate failings and errors that we keep on making.
Children in the Church
We can see that in our national life, as the church (the followers of Christ) all have to repent of the poor way we have treated children under our care.
We have turned around, instead of being careless and allowing all sorts of nasty things to happen, we are now very careful, and make a huge effort to ensure that we all remain very careful. If you don’t know, it’s called safeguarding, it may seem over the top, and it probably is, but going in the other direction, into the light, out of the darkness requires effort.
Personal Life
We should see the effect of the light of Christ in our personal lives too. Each Sunday, when we attend church, we say some sort of confession together. Some of them carry real meaning, and some less so, but each of them is designed so that we can at least be sorry for our failings.
If we are genuinely sorry, then we will try to do better in the future.
Christianity has a reputation in some places for being a religion of prohibition, so instead of leaving you with a list of don’ts, I will leave you with a list of do’s.
Jesus said: (Matthew 22)
37 “ ‘Love
the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with
all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and most
important commandment. 39 The second is like it:
‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’
and Paul expanded what love means in his first letter to the Corinthians:
4 Love is
patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always
hopes, always perseveres.Conclusion
So, as we live with the light of Christ showing us the way, and making us open to our own failings, let’s make sure that we repent and turn towards the light, and as always try to be more focussed on God and others than our own selfish desires.
Here it is on youtube, before so script changes and corrections. https://youtu.be/LohOeOI72cs
References
https://sermonsfrommyheart.blogspot.com/2017/01/isaiah-91-4-light-of-christ.html?m=1
https://www.jesuswalk.com/isaiah/maps/galilee-of-the-gentiles-936x1000x300.jpg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUQyEr-sg0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIdqxVrYjsg
