Light has Dawned

What the Prophets Foretold
Jesus and the Davidic Covenant
A Messianic Priest-King

Matthew 4:12-17

The Message

Teaching and Healing

^12-17 When Jesus got word that John had been arrested, he returned to Galilee. He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. This move completed Isaiah’s sermon:

Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
    road to the sea, over Jordan,
    Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
People sitting out their lives in the dark
    saw a huge light;
Sitting in that dark, dark country of death,
    they watched the sun come up.

This Isaiah-prophesied sermon came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here.”

 
For Reflection

Don't you sometimes wish time travel could take you to the time of Christ?   I wonder what we would think about the terror of those times?    Imagine, for a moment, that you are there.  Imagine your life in a loving family encased in poverty, hopeless politics both in the faith and in government your only hope is in the promise to David that in over a thousand years has not yet been fulfilled.

To be baptized by John and to hear Jesus teach and see Jesus heal might be a far different experience from reading poetic biblical descriptions in the comfort of our homes.  And yet, today, Many prefer to sit in the dark, having experienced the sun.

 

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving for the living God.  Pray that those who have seen the sun believe and throw off the cloak of darkness that sully their lives.  Pray that all who live in the light of the Son have the courage and compassion to serve into the dark.