There are a few times in people’s lives that world wide seminal changes occur. For many in this room, World War II meant the removal of an evil atheistic empire. In my lifetime, the fall of Communion in Eastern Europe allowed a new freedom of worship and the proclamation of the Gospel. For those living now events in Yemen, Egypt, Libya and other middle-eastern nations are wholesale changes of despotic regimes. People are becoming more and more sensitive to democratic abilities and rising up to seize freedom.
Jesus Christ came not only to make man sensitive again to sin, but to restore the life and health that sin has destroyed. He came not only to reveal the darkness that sin causes, but also to bring the light that overcomes the darkness. (Luke 2:30–32; Isa. 42:6; 49:6; 52:10).
As you consider your own life, do you notice that you become more and more sensitive to sin? Do you find yourself craving the word of God more and more? Do you desire to worship with the people of God? Do you desire to spend time studying the word with other Christians? Do you desire to be a reflective light of hope and truth for others? These are signs of the light of Christ dawning in believers lives.
In Matthew 4:12–17, Matthew gives three features of Jesus’ early ministry that show God’s perfect work through His Son, "the Light that Dawned". They show how Christ was to be a light and how he came: 1) At the Right Time (Matthew 4:12a); 2) The Right Place (Matthew 4:12b-16); and with 3) The Right Proclamation (Matthew 4:17).
Jesus’ early ministry was:
1) The Right Time (Matthew 4:12a)
Matthew 4:12a [12]Now when he heard that John had been arrested, (he withdrew into Galilee). (ESV)
In Matthew’s presentation, Jesus’ official ministry began when the herald of the King went to jail. There may well have been a time interval of about a year, during which the events related in John 1:19–4:42 occurred. If so, the date when Jesus set out for Galilee to begin the Great Galilean Ministry was probably about December of the year A.D. 27 or a little later. (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (238–239). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
The Son of God always worked on His Father’s divine timetable. He had, as it were, a divine clock ticking in His mind and heart that regulated everything He said and did. Paul affirms:
Galatians 4:4 [4]But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, (ESV)
• Jesus spoke of His hour as not having yet come (John 7:30; 8:20) and then of its having arrived (Matt. 26:45; John 12:23; 17:1).
Jesus chose not to use His supernatural powers to accomplish things that could be accomplished by ordinary human means. He submitted Himself to human limitations. Although He knew what was in every, human’s heart (John 2:24–25), He learned of John’s imprisonment by common report, just as did everyone else. It was only when He heard of John’s arrest that He went back to Galilee.
John had been arrested/taken into custody by Herod Antipas and thrown into the dungeon at the palace at Machaerus, on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.
Luke 3:19-20 [19]But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, [20]added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison. (ESV)
John’s reproof of Herod for his great wickedness, including the taking of his half-brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, for himself (14:3–4; Luke 3:19–20), cost the prophet his freedom and eventually his life. This non-Jewish Idumean was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea and, like his father before him, held office by Rome’s appointment. He was one of several sons (by several wives) of Herod the Great who were appointed over parts of the region ruled by their father before his death. Herodias was the woman-vile even by Roman standards-who would induce her daughter, Salome, to trick Herod into serving the head of John the Baptist on a platter before his guests at a royal dinner (Matthew 14:6–11). The act was so unusually barbaric that even the hardened Herod himself “was distressed” (v. 9, NIV ).
John the Baptist’s imprisonment and death, just as his heralding the King of kings, were in God’s divine plan and timetable. The end of the herald’s work signaled the beginning of the King’s. Herod and Herodias believed they freely controlled their province, and certainly the destiny of the insignificant Jewish preacher who dared condemn them. It is amazing how the proud and arrogant think they act in perfect freedom to accomplish their selfish ends, when in truth their decisions and actions only trigger events that God scheduled before the foundation of the world.
• It is always dangerous to confront evil, and John’s fearless condemnation of moral wickedness in high places led to his being beheaded.
• With similar bravery John Knox of Scotland stood ground against a corrupt monarchy. Standing before the repressive and corrupt Queen Mary, who had just rebuked him for resisting her authority, he said, “If princes exceed their bounds, madam, they may be resisted and even deposed.”
• Recently, in nations like Yemen, Egypt, and Libya, we have seen and continue to see people after people rise up against their wicked oppressors in the middle east.
• It is easy for us in the west to look at immediate self-interest and say that we should stay out.
• Yet, it is always the right thing to denounce evil, wherever it is found. As the light dawns it exposes evil and evil must then be destroyed.
Illustration: But what of Evil and time?
The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for God. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came and the farmer had his finest crop ever—the best in the entire county. When the harvest was complete, he placed an advertisement in the local paper which belittled the Christians for their faith in God.
Near the end of his diatribe he wrote, “Faith in God must not mean much if someone like me can prosper.” The response from the Christians in the community was quiet and polite. In the next edition of the town paper, a small ad appeared. It read simply, “God doesn’t always settle His accounts in October.” (William E. Brown in Making Sense of Your Faith as found in Galaxie Software. (2002; 2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press.)
Jesus’ early ministry was at:
2) The Right Place. (Matthew 4:12b-16)
Matthew 4:12-16 ([12]Now when he heard that John had been arrested), he withdrew into Galilee. [13]And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, [14]so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: [15]"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles-- [16]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." (ESV)
Nothing is accidental or circumstantial in the Lord’s work. Jesus did not go from Judea, through Samaria, and into Galilee because He was forced to do so by Herod or by the Jewish leaders or because He had nowhere else to go. He left Judea because His work there was finished for that period of His ministry. He went through Samaria in order to bring light to the half-Jew, half-Gentile Samaritans. He then withdrew (anachôreô, used often to convey the thought of escaping danger) into Galilee because that was the next place where the divine plan scheduled Him to minister. By divine determination Jesus went to the right place at the right time.
It was not Herod Antipas from whom Jesus needed to withdraw himself, but the Jewish religious leaders in Judea. The question may well be asked, however, “But why did Jesus have to withdraw himself at all? Was he afraid? Did he lack courage?” Perish the very thought! The real reason was this, that he was well aware of the fact that his own great “popularity” in the country region of Judea would bring about such keen resentment on the part of the Judean religious leaders that this resentment, in the natural course of events, would lead to a premature crisis. The Lord knew that for every event in his life there was an appointed time in God’s decree. And he also knew that the appropriate moment for his death had not yet arrived. As soon as that moment arrived, he would voluntarily lay down his life (John 10:18; 13:1; 14:31). He would do so then, but not before then. Hence, he must now leave Judea (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001). Vol. 9: New Testament commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. New Testament Commentary (240–241). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
• There are things that we are often called upon to do that in human terms we would rather not. It is easier to have everything we ever want. When the light of Christ dawns in us, real Christian growth happens when we do the things that are necessary. God has put us right here and right now to accomplish His plan. We can either wish for something different, or allow His light to shine through us, calling others to repentance and faith.
Please turn to Luke 4
When Jesus withdrew into Galilee after hearing of John’s arrest, it was not out of fear of Herod. He feared no one, and was surely no less brave than John.
Had He wanted to escape possible trouble from Herod, He would not have gone to Galilee, because that, too, was under Herod’s control.
It is evident from the text that Jesus was in Nazareth for a while.
Luke explains that, after Jesus came from Judea through Samaria:
Luke 4:14-30 [14]And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. [15]And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. [16]And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. [17]And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, [18]"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19]to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."[20]And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. [21]And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." [22]And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph’s son?" [23]And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ’Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." [24]And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. [25]But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, [26]and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. [27]And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." [28]When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. [29]And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. [30]But passing through their midst, he went away. (ESV)
• At first “all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’ ” (v. 22).
• But after Jesus exposed their true spiritual condition, “all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things.” They would have thrown Him over a cliff to His death had He not escaped (vv. 23–30).
• When the Light of the Gospel is shown on people’s lost condition, more often than not, they respond with hostility. But this is the calling of God’s people reflecting His light.
After Jesus’ hometown rejected Him, just as He had said they would (Luke 4:23–27), Matthew 4:13 notes that Jesus went and lived/settled in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory/region of Zebulun and Naphtali. What makes this emphasis especially striking is that verses 13–16, the heart of the section, are unique to Matthew. They do not occur in Mark, Luke, or John. Matthew does not want us to forget, at the start of the Gospel, at the end, or anywhere in between, that his message about this Jewish King and Savior is not only for Jews but for everyone (Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (62–63). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.).
In regards to Matthew’s quotation of Isaiah 9:1 in Matthew 4:15, the region of Galilee originally had been given by the Lord to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali when Israel began to settle in Canaan (see Josh. 19:10–39). But, contrary to God’s command, Zebulun and Naphtali failed to expel all of the Canaanites from their territories. From the beginning, therefore, these unfaithful Jews suffered the problem of mixed marriages and the inevitable pagan influence which that practice brought.
The effect of his reference to Isaiah 9:1–2 is to designate Galilee as the place of light, as opposed to the darkness which we shall eventually find to be settled over Judea.
The dawning light is heralded in Jesus’ proclamation, and the succeeding section of the gospel set in and around Galilee will be essentially one of light and hope, as light shines on the people at large and they respond gladly to it, despite the hostility of some whose special interest keeps them from welcoming it (France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (139). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.).
As Matthew here reminds his readers in Matthew 4:16, Isaiah had long before prophesied that in Galilee of the Gentiles-[16]The people dwelling/sitting in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling/sitting in the region/land and shadow of death, on them a light dawned ( Isa. 9:1–2). That these people are dwelling/sitting indicates more than a passing moment. The people in question are habitually in darkness, a darkness of the mind or spirit. And it is those benighted people who came to see a great light (the position of great seems to give it emphasis; it was no usual light that they came to see). The thought is repeated in the second couplet with some variations. They are still dwelling/sitting, so the thought of a continuing state is repeated. But they are now seen as in the region/land and shadow of death; a territory is assigned to death, and that is where they sit. They are close to death, for they are in its shadow, a term that also points to lack of light. The people in mind are those whose horizon is bounded by death. Death is a tyrant, and their whole life is lived in its shadow, subject to its nearness, under its threat... For those people Light has dawned. They are not seen as producing light; the light dawned for them as a new day dawns. The light that dispels their darkness is God’s good gift (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (82). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
The fact alone that Jesus so accurately and completely fulfilled Old Testament prophecy should be enough to convince an honest mind of the Bible’s truthfulness and authority. Just as Isaiah had predicted eight centuries earlier, the despised, sin-darkened, and rebellious Galileans were the first to glimpse the Messiah, the first to see the dawning of God’s New Covenant!.
As the new day of the gospel dawned, the first rays of light shined in Galilee. Into this land of oppression, dispersion, and corrosive moral and spiritual influences-and impending death at the word of divine judgment-Jesus came with words and deeds of mercy, truth, love, and hope: those dwelling/sitting in the region/land and shadow of death, on them a light dawned. Matthew’s aorist tenses (LXX/Septuagint has an imperative and a future) make it clear that for him the prophecy has now found its fulfillment in Jesus (France, R. T. (2007). The Gospel of Matthew. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (143). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publication Co.).
• We should not expect those in darkness to come to us to be enlightened. We are called to go with words and deeds of mercy, truth, love and hope. This is where "The Light Dawns".
Illustration: There was a couple who took their son, 11, and daughter, 7, to Carlsbad Caverns. As always, when the tour reached the deepest point in the cavern, the guide turned off all the lights to dramatize how completely dark and silent it is below the earth’s surface. The little girl, suddenly enveloped in utter darkness, was frightened and began to cry. Immediately was heard the voice of her brother: “Don’t cry. Somebody here knows how to turn on the lights.” In a real sense, that is the message of the gospel: light is available, even when darkness seems overwhelming (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (308). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
Jesus’ early ministry was:
3) The Right Proclamation. (Matthew 4:17)
Matthew 4:17 [17]From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (ESV)
Preaching was a central part of Jesus’ ministry and remains a central part of the ministry of His church. From that time, when He went to Galilee, Jesus began to preach. Kçrussô (to preach) means “to proclaim” or “to publish,” that is, to publicly make a message known.
Quote: R. C. H. Lenski comments, “The point to be noted is that to preach is not to argue, reason, dispute, or convince by intellectual proof, against all of which a keen intellect may bring counterargument. We simply state in public or testify to all men the truth which God bids us state. No argument can assail the truth presented in this announcement or testimony. Men either believe the truth, as all sane men should, or refuse to believe it, as only fools venture to do” (The Interpretation of St. Matthew’s Gospel [Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1964], p. 168).
Quote: For many people today the word “preach” has negative connotations. Dr. Donald Miller has said that “One of the signs of the 20th century is the statement, ‘don’t preach at me.’” But the atheist Voltaire once said of John Brown of Haddington, “Yon’s the man for me; he preaches as though Christ Himself was at his very elbow.” (Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 24: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 24 : Matthew. The Preacher’s Commentary series (18). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.)
Please turn to 2 Timothy 4
Jesus preached His message with certainty. He did not come to dispute or to argue, but to proclaim, to preach. Preaching is the proclamation of certainties, not the suggestion of possibilities. Jesus also preached “as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Matt. 7:29). What He proclaimed not only was certain but was of the utmost authority. The scribes could not teach authoritatively because they had so mingled biblical truth with the interpretations and traditions of various rabbis that all certainty and authority had long vanished. They could no longer distinguish God’s Word from men’s words, and all that remained were opinions and speculations.
Preaching the plain truth of the Word of God on God’s authority is the main work/task/calling of a faithful Pastor:
2 Timothy 4:1-4 [4:1]I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2]preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3]For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4]and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (ESV)
Jesus not only preached with certainty and authority but preached only what He was commissioned by His Father to preach. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God” (John 3:34). Jesus Himself said, “I speak the things which I have seen with My Father” (John 8:38). Later he gave the same testimony even more pointedly: “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak” (John 12:49).
It is in His own authority that Jesus sends out His ministers to the world:
Matthew 28:18-19 [18]And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19]Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (ESV)
• That is God’s commission to everyone who preaches in His name. The faithful preacher and teacher will proclaim God’s certain truth, with God’s delegated authority, and under God’s divine commission.
When the King’s light dawned, the message that His light brought was clear. He began where His herald, John the Baptist, had begun: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (3:2). The “kingdom of heaven” means the same as the “kingdom of God” in Mark and Luke. Matthew used “heaven” instead of “God” because the Jews, out of their intense reverence and respect, did not pronounce God’s name. The Old Testament prophets often spoke of the future kingdom, ruled by a descendant of King David, that would be established on earth and exist for eternity. Thus, when Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” the Jews understood him to mean that the Messiah had come to inaugurate his long-awaited earthly kingdom (Barton, B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (66). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.).
Jesus began with the same emphasis as John the Baptist had. The two go together: (since) the kingdom of heaven is at hand, then clearly people cannot be complacent. They must prepare for that kingdom, and that means repenting of their sins. Jesus calls on them to realize that they are unfit for the kingdom of heaven and to repent accordingly. Such preaching is a clarion call to action, not a recipe for slothful complacency. We should not overlook the importance of this call to repentance at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry; everything else follows from that (Morris, L. (1992). The Gospel according to Matthew (83). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
The darkness in which the people lived was the darkness of sin and evil. Jesus was saying, “The great darkness has been upon you because of the great darkness that is within you. You must turn from that darkness before the light can shine in you.” To turn from sin is to repent (Metanoeô), to change one’s orientation, to turn around and seek a new way. Repent (Metanoeô) literally means a change of perception, a change in the way we see something. To repent, therefore, is to change the way a person looks at sin and the way he looks at righteousness. It involves a change of opinion, of direction, of life itself. To repent is to have a radical change of heart and will-and, consequently, of behavior (Matt. 3:8).
Israel would not be ready for or worthy of the King until she repented. Repentance, of course, had always been in order and had always been needed, but now that the kingdom of heaven [was] at hand, it was all the more imperative. The King had arrived, and the kingdom was here. Messiah’s time had come-to usher in the age of righteousness and rest, to subdue Israel’s enemies, to bring all of God’s people back to their land, and to reign on the throne of David. The culmination of the kingdom of Heaven will not be fully realized until all evil in the world has been judged and removed. Christ came to earth first as the suffering Servant. When he returns, he will come as King and Judge to rule over all the earth. The kingdom begun with Jesus’ birth would not overthrow Roman oppression and usher in universal peace. The kingdom of Heaven that began quietly in Palestine was God’s rule in people’s hearts (Barton, B. B. (1996). Matthew. Life application Bible commentary (66–67). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers).
The kingdom presently exists in the hearts of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ, the King. "The Light Dawns" ushering in a new kingdom, with the physical presence of the King. The time has come to turn from the darkness and come into the light of His presence. He will rule in the hearts of His subjects and He has called His subjects to announce His kingdom through the message of repentance and faith.
(Format Note: outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. (1989). Matthew (100–109). Chicago: Moody Press)
