Matt 4:12-17 Light In The Darkness Series

18 Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight.

Now there was a prophet living in this time. His name was Isaiah. He prophesied a grim future for these people because of the disobedience. He said

Isaiah 822 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

Distress. Darkness. Gloom. Angusih. Thick darkness. Judgement for their sin and ingoring the one true God. And then in the midst of this darkness, this shadow of death, in the midst of war and suffering and deportation, Isaiah brings a glimmer of hope in chapter 9:

Isaiah 9 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.

2 The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

on them has light shined.

Notice in Isaiah 9:1 that Isaiah refers to situation of the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. The area also known as the way by the see because of the road to the sea that ran through it. Known also as Galilee of the nations - nations – which means the Gentiles – non-Jewish nations. Remember that “nations” and “Gentiles” is generally the same word in both Hebrew and Greek. Galilee of the Gentiles – that is, non Jews - why did Isaiah call it that? Because remember that when the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser captured the area around Galilee, he deported the inhabitants, and later the Assyrians brought in non-Jews to Galilee to live there instead. We read about it in 2 Kings 17:24

2 Kings 1724 And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel.

A massive population transfer. And so this area and the people that used to live in it, in verse 2, Isaiah describes as a people who walked in darkness. Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness. Which can also be translated – as the NIV does - as the land of shadow.

But in these verses is good news! What is it?

Verse 1

There will be no gloom for her who was in anguish!

In the latter times He has made this part of the world glorious

verse 2

They have seen a great light

On them has light shined!

Currently, as Isaiah writes, these people are in the shadow of death, in darkness. But it will not last forever - there is hope! But when when would this hope come? Well, now we have to fast forward by about 750 years - that’s a long time! Zebulun, Naphtali, the area around Galilee, fell under shadow around about 720 BC, so 750 years on

brings us to about 30AD, the time of Jesus’ ministry. Remember we’ve been in Matthew. A few weeks ago we looked at John the Baptist baptising in the Jordan, somewhere around here on the map, and Jesus came to John and was baptised by him. Then last week we looked at how Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by satan. That would have been somewhere here in the Judean wilderness, a long way from Galilee – at least by Israelite standards of distance! But now we read in Matthew 4:12 where Jesus went next