Welcome to the Banner of Truth broadcast. This program is brought to you by the Free Reformed Churches of North America. Your host is Pastor Jack Schuman, pastor of the Emmanuel Free Reformed Church of Abbotsford, British Columbia. And now, here is Pastor Jack Schuman. I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, as we read the verses 12 through 16. And these words also form the text for the sermon today. Let us hear God's holy word. 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.'" Well, this ends the reading of the Holy Word of God. And the text for the sermon, as I said, are these verses, Matthew 4, the verses 12 through 16. May the Lord bless the reading and the preaching of his holy word to our hearts. Dear friends, the Bible uses many metaphors to describe the Lord Jesus Christ. He's compared in scripture to a vine, to a shepherd, a pearl, a door, bread, and many other things besides. But of all of the metaphors which the Bible uses to describe Christ, one of the most striking by far is light. Many times, in fact, the scriptures refer to Jesus as light. After introducing him as the creative word of God in John 1, the verses one to three, John writes these words. He says, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. He then goes on to tell us in verse eight, that John the Baptist was sent from God to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. Now Jesus also compared himself to light. In John 8, verse 12, Jesus said to the Jews, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And in John 9, verse 5, he said, as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And again, in John 12, verse 35 and 36, Jesus said, yet a little while is the light with you. He was referring, of course, to himself. And then he exhorted his disciples, walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. And so Jesus is light, not just any light, but the ultimate light. He is the light to which all other lights point. He is the light of the world. Well, our text passage this morning also refers to Jesus as light. We read of that in Matthew 4, the verses 13 through 16. There again, he is compared to light. The people which sat in darkness saw great light. And it's to this thought that we turn our attention with the help of the Lord today. The theme for the sermon is Christ the light shining in darkness. And we'll consider two thoughts. First of all, the location of this light, and secondly, the reaction to this light. The events of our text took place towards the end of the first year of Jesus' earthly ministry. For reasons of his own, Matthew does not record what transpired during most of this period, but John does in John 1 through 4. From these chapters, we learn many things that happened during this period of Jesus' public ministry. And all of this took place in Judea. There we read that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan. He was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness. John the Baptist declared him to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus had called his first disciples. He had performed his first miracle, the changing of the water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana. and he had chasted the money changers out of the temple in Jerusalem. So many things had happened. What is more, Jesus' ministry was richly blessed. He had won many followers. In John 3, verse 26, we read that the disciples of John came to him one day and informed him that Jesus and his disciples were baptizing and that all men were coming to him. And in John 4, verse 2, we read that Jesus made and baptized more disciples even than John himself. And then rather abruptly and unexpectedly, Jesus departs to go into Galilee. Now, why did he do that? Why did Jesus depart from Judea to go to Galilee, especially when the work in Judea was going so well? Well, Matthew hints at the reason in the first part of verse 12 of our text. And there he refers to the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Sometime earlier, John had rebuked Herod Antipas for marrying his brother's wife Herodias. And Herod didn't appreciate this, and so he promptly put John in prison. Now hearing this, Matthew says Jesus departed. We read in verse 12, now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee. So there's a connection here between Jesus' departure and John's imprisonment. You see, Jesus knew that with John in prison, there would be no one to preach the gospel of repentance. And Jesus could not and would not allow that to happen. And so he continued the work which John had started. We read in verse 17, from that time began Jesus to preach and to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Now that's the same message that John himself preached, only Jesus preached it not in Judea, but in Galilee. Now, why did he go to Galilee? Well, there's several possible reasons. First of all, the people of Judah had already heard this message through the mouth of John the Baptist. And now it was time for him to preach this message in the other territory of the Jews in the region of Galilee. Secondly, the situation in Judea was becoming very dangerous. In John 4, verses one to three, we read these words. When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee. Now you notice how John here connects the departure of Jesus into Galilee with the fact that the Pharisees knew that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John. And so we get the impression that the Pharisees were worried about Jesus. He was becoming even more popular than John the Baptist. And as a result, they felt threatened by him. Perhaps some of them were even at that point already plotting to get rid of him. But Jesus' time had not yet come. He still had a lot of work to do, and he knew that, and so he retreated north into Galilee. But Matthew directs our attention to yet another reason. Jesus went to Galilee in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. You notice what Matthew writes in verses 13 to 16 of this fourth chapter. He says, in leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the seacoast, in the borders 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 Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who sat in darkness saw great light, and to them who sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up. Now Matthew here is quoting from Isaiah 9, the verses 1 and 2. In this passage, Isaiah describes the people of Zebulun and Naphtali. Zebulun and Naphtali were located in the northernmost region of Palestine, where Galilee was located. And the people who lived here, Isaiah says, lived in great darkness, spiritual darkness. And that's because for centuries, this region was greatly influenced by her pagan neighbors, the Syrians to the north and the Phoenicians to the west, and the Samaritans to the south. And the people who lived in Galilee came into contact with these people on a daily basis, some of them even intermarried. And the result was that over the centuries, the people of this particular region were regarded, especially by the Jews in Jerusalem, as kind of half-heathen, which explains why Isaiah calls this region Galilee of the Gentiles. Now, these attitudes persisted into the New Testament period. You may remember when Philip informed Nathanael that he had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael, rather indignantly, said, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nathanael simply could not believe that the Messiah would come from a backward, irreligious place like Galilee. To the Jews living at that time, especially in Judea, Galilee was a land of darkness and death. It was Galilee of the Gentiles. Now concerning this region, Isaiah makes an astounding prophecy. He says that the day will come when a great light will shine on this land. Matthew declares here that this prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus left Nazareth and dwelt in Capernaum, which was located in the ancient territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. Now, in what sense was Jesus a light? The word light, as we read here in our text, is often contrasted with darkness. Darkness is often associated in scripture with ignorance. For example, people who do not know or who do not have a right understanding of the word of God are said to be in darkness. Light, on the other hand, is often associated with knowledge, knowledge that is usually imparted by means of revelation. And so people who do know and who do have a right understanding of the truth of the Word of God are often said to be in the light. Now that's the meaning here. Christ is the light in that he revealed the truth of the Word of God to men who otherwise would never have known it. Now this is exactly what happened during the earthly ministry of our Lord. When Jesus began his earthly ministry, many people, not only in Galilee, but in Judea as well, were walking in darkness. There was very little evidence of true religion. The religion of the Jews had become a complicated system of do's and don'ts. It was outward, formal, and legalistic. There was nothing of the heart in it at all. But when Jesus came, he restored the religion of the Jews to its original purity. He taught the people that salvation was not a matter of do's and don'ts, that sinners rather were saved by grace through faith in himself. And in so doing, he shone as a light in the darkness. He revealed the true religion, which for centuries had been shrouded in darkness. What is more, he revealed it to people whom we would least expect to come into contact with it. We might have expected Jesus to shed his light on the people of Judea. After all, that's where the temple was and the holy city of Jerusalem. And that's where the political and the religious leaders of the Jews lived. But he didn't do so. He bypassed Judea and he went to Galilee, to that dark region of Galilee, to the outcasts, to the people who were despised and rejected and ignorant, to the people who lived in darkness and in the land of the shadow of death. Why did he go there? Well, he went there to signal the kind of people that he had come to save. Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus associated with the most unlikely people. Women and children, publicans and prostitutes, lepers, the sick, the outcasts of society, the people no one cared about and even despised. He ate with them. He healed them. He taught them. He befriended them. He associated with them so much. that toward the end of his ministry, his enemies accused him of being a friend of publicans and sinners. But what was meant as an epithet of scorn and ridicule was for Jesus a badge of honor. Jesus was indeed the friend of publicans and sinners. For they are the ones whom he had come to seek and to save, not the self-righteous, not those who were trusting in their religion and their good works, but those who were empty of self, who have nothing, who were driven to an end in themselves, and whose only hope was in him. Jesus himself said he had not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, unworthy, hell-deserving sinners. Sinners who are nothing in themselves, whose only hope is in the grace and mercy of Christ. And my friend, nothing has changed. This is still true today. Still today, Jesus comes to call sinners to repentance. Let me ask you, have you responded to that call? Never think that you are too sinful or too unworthy. Listen, if Jesus went to Galilee, if he ate with publicans and sinners, if he went to the people who sat in great darkness, then he is able and also willing to have dealings with a sinner like you. And so Jesus departed into Galilee. That's where he let his light shine. Now, what was the reaction to this light? We turn to that under our second point. Aside from a few short trips to Jerusalem, usually to celebrate one or the other feast day, Jesus spent most of his public ministry in Galilee. This is where he performed most of his miracles. The turning of the water into wine, the healing of the nobleman's son, the raising of the widow's son at Nain, the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the feeding of the 5,000 and the 4,000, the calming of the wind and the waves, and so many others. This is also where Jesus did much of his teaching. Many times Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum. This is where he delivered his famous discourse on the bread of life, which is recorded in John chapter six. This is also where he preached his most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. And what was the reaction to all of this? What was the reaction of the people to all the miracles and all the teaching that Jesus delivered at this time? Well, at first, the people received him gladly, and they followed him in droves. Multitudes flocked around him. But as time went on, they rejected him. And we have a foreshadowing of this early in Jesus' ministry. Jesus was in his hometown of Nazareth among the people that he grew up with, his friends and relatives. And on the Sabbath day, he went to the synagogue as was his custom. And while he was there, the ruler of the synagogue handed him the scroll of Isaiah and invited him to read a passage. And Jesus turned to Isaiah 61. And he read these words. The spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind. to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And having read these words, Jesus returned the scroll to the ruler of the synagogue and sat down. Meanwhile, the people waited to hear what he would say. And after what must have seemed like an awkward silence, Jesus opened his mouth and he said, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And the people were amazed at this. They couldn't believe that Jesus could say such things. "'Is not this Joseph's son?' they said. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "'You will surely say unto me this proverb, "'Physician, heal thyself, "'whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, "'do also here in thy country. "'Verily I say unto you, "'no prophet is accepted in his own country, "'but I tell you of a truth. Many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land. But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elijah the prophet, and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. And we read that when they heard this, they were incensed. They were filled with wrath and they rose up and they thrust him out of the city and led him to the brow of a hill whereon their city was built that they might cast him down headlong. Later in his ministry, Jesus preached in Nazareth again We read about that in Matthew 13, verses 54 to 58. Once again, the people were astonished at his teaching. And they said, whence hath this man this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother Mary and his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas and his sisters? Are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And we read in verse 57, and they were offended at him. Commenting on their reaction, Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house. And in verse 58 we read, and he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Mark says in Mark 6 verse 6 that he marveled because of their unbelief. The reaction was no different in the other cities of Galilee, including Capernaum. which served as Jesus' home base for most of His public ministry. In fact, only halfway through His public ministry, Jesus rebuked these cities for their unbelief. In Matthew 11, for example, we read how He began to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done because they repented not. And He said, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you." And then Jesus turned his attention to Capernaum, and he said, And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell. For if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee." So in spite of the many miracles that Jesus performed, in spite of the many sermons that he preached, the vast majority of people in Galilee did not believe on him. On the contrary, they rejected him. They despised him. As John writes, the light shone in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not. He came unto his own and his own received him not. And it's still the same today. Whenever Jesus is preached, the vast majority of people reject him. Why? Jesus tells us in John 3, 19 to 21, there in his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus says these profound words, and this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deed should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Jesus came as a light in the darkness, but men love darkness rather than light and nothing has changed. Why do so many people today ignore and even oppose the Lord Jesus Christ and use his name as a common curse word? It's because they love darkness rather than light. Why? Because so long as they live in darkness, they can do the deeds of darkness. They can seek their own pleasure rather than the pleasure of God. They can live the way they want to live and not the way God wants them to live. They know that the only way they can do this is by avoiding the light because the light exposes them for who and what they are. And that is something they cannot and will not tolerate. And so they flee from the light and they choose instead to live in the darkness. Oh, my friend, does that describe you today? Dear friends, the Lord has come to us. We commemorated his birth only a few weeks ago. He came to this world. He he lived as a man. He suffered and died and rose again so that sinners like you and me could be saved. Are you saved by him today? Have you responded to his invitations? Have you come to him as a poor, miserable, undone sinner confessing your sins? Are you looking to him as the only hope and ground of your salvation? Oh, do not be like the people of Galilee. On them a light shone. But they love the darkness rather than light. And now most of them are in hell. Forever lamenting the fact that they did not repent and believe when they had the opportunity to do so. My friend, don't let that happen to you. But respond to his summons. Come to the light. Repent and believe, and you shall be saved. Amen. We always appreciate hearing from our listeners. If you were blessed by or have a comment on the message you've heard today, we would very much appreciate hearing from you. Our mailing address is Banner of Truth, 3386 Mount Lehman Road, Lehman is spelled L-E-H-M-A-N, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, V4X2M9. If you would like to listen to the message you've just heard again, or if you would like more information about our program, including how to contact us, and how to listen to other messages on this program, please visit our website at banneroftruthradio.com. Support for this program is provided by the Free Reform Churches of North America. 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