I’ve been obsessed with light lately. First there was the track light in the kitchen that kept burning out until Rob discovered that I probably hadn’t screwed the bulbs in correctly. And then there were the blinking lights on the router and modem for my computer. Blink. Blink. Blink, blink…blink. Is there anything more agonizing than waiting to see if resetting the system will turn the internet light from orange (sorry no service) to green (surf away!)? Yeah, I’ve been obsessed with light lately and so that got me thinking. If I could have only one source of light, what would it be? Sunlight? No other light can match its beauty and intensity and the emotional satisfaction that light delivers. Or would I opt for the sparking light of electricity? With this light I could see at all times, even at night when there is no sunlight. And I could use it to power computer and stovetop. Or would I choose the warming light that natural gas delivers? Which light would you choose if you could only have one? Before you come to a definite conclusion, think back to the words of our Gospel lesson. There we heard about yet another light, a great light that blazed across Israel starting in the north of that country. Jesus is that light and we’ll be reminded this morning why he is the best light, the one light that we dare not be without. For without Jesus we will end up lost in everlasting darkness.
Our text from Matthew 4 describes what Jesus does when he finds out that John the Baptist had been put in prison by King Herod. Like a soldier who rushes to fill the gap when a comrade on the front lines takes a bullet and falls to the ground, Jesus stepped into the breach left by John’s arrest. Jesus moved from the small town of Nazareth where he had spent most of his childhood to Capernaum which was on the Sea of Galilee. It was an intentional decision to fulfill a 700-year-old prophecy of Isaiah that went like this: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Matthew 4:15).
This area of Israel, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali named after the two tribes of Israel who had settled there, had a dark reputation. Since it was in the north, it was the first place invading armies coming from that direction would hit. This area had become a doormat powerful nations found easy to wipe their combat boots all over. I suppose it would be like living within sight of the Israeli/Palestinian border today; you never know when a stray rocket or bullet will speed your way screaming “Death!”
But there was another darkness covering this land that was even more dangerous than the tip of a soldier’s spear aimed at one’s heart. Since this part of Israel had been overrun so many times by non-Jews, many of them started to settle there and brought their pagan religions with them. This influence as well as the fact that the Israelites who still lived there were far from the temple in Jerusalem had caused many to lose their faith in the one true God so that they went about life on their own terms. They were lost in a spiritual darkness.
It was to this dark place that Jesus went and in the words of the prophet Isaiah it was as if a great light had dawned upon Zebulun and Naphtali. But exactly in what way was Jesus a light? Well look at what he did. Our text says, “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus brought God’s light through the message he delivered: “Repent! Turn away from your sins!”
Is this the message the world today wants to hear from Jesus? “Repent! Turn from sin!” Don’t many say that what Jesus came to deliver was a message of peace and acceptance? “Hey everyone, just keep on doing what you’ve been doing, God’s OK with it and so am I.” No! Jesus came as a light to first of all expose sin the way a flashlight shining under your bed will illuminate all the dust bunnies and who knows what other foul things have been hiding in the darkness there.
But we shouldn’t think of Jesus like a flashlight that shines in your face to blind and embarrass. When Matthew quoted the Isaiah prophecy he actually slightly changed the wording to say that with the arrival of Jesus, a great light had risen and was shining for the people, rather than upon the people. Jesus was the kind of light your companion provides when he shines his flashlight down at your feet so you can avoid tripping over the roots and rocks on that midnight walk through the woods.
What are the roots and rocks that Jesus exposes for us with the light of his Word? With his comments about marriage, that it is to be between one man and one woman, Jesus makes clear that a homosexual lifestyle is not OK. By urging the woman caught in adultery to go and “sin no more” Jesus illuminates how sex outside of marriage, even if it is between two consenting adults is a sin that needs forgiveness. Jesus also points out that when I’m stingy with my money and my time it reveals how much I care for myself and how little I care for others. What makes this sin of greed so offensive is that at the root of it is my lack of trust in God’s promise to provide for me. And so I move through life like a squirrel getting ready for winter. I’m easily obsessed with saving for retirement or for that next trip or just trying to get out of debt that I don’t think I have time to look after the needs of others. “They’re on their own!” I huff.
In light of what Jesus exposes - sin, sin, and more sin, it’s surprising to hear what else Jesus said with his preaching. Matthew reports: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom…” (Matthew 4:23a). Jesus had not just come to throw a spotlight on sin; he also came to highlight God’s love. He had good news for sinners to hear. And that good news wasn’t, “If you clean up your act, God will forgive you.” That’s not good news. It’s a recipe for more guilt because I cannot clean up my act to match God’s standards any more than I can fix, scrub, and polish a rust covered beater-car with 200,000 miles on it to look brand new again. But Jesus’ good news was this: he, the Son of God, had come to fix, scrub, and polish people who were guilty of committing well over 200,000 sins each. It would kill him to get it done, but he would do it, and gladly. Yes, Jesus is a great light, the best light, the only light that leads to an eternal life of happiness in heaven.
I told you at the beginning of the sermon how I was obsessed with light this past week. The light that had most captivated my attention was the internet light on my computer modem. For a couple of weeks now it’s been flashing on and off meaning my internet connection was spotty. Finally on Wednesday it quit altogether. A new modem was ordered, but has yet to be delivered. Do you know what it’s like to be without the internet? I can’t check email. I can’t find answers to questions I’m used to finding with a few clicks of the mouse. It feels like I’m cut off from the world! If you understand my pain, take that feeling and multiply it by infinity. That’s what it will feel like to be cut off from Jesus come Judgment Day. For without Jesus lighting your life, you have lost the only connection to never-ending joy in heaven.
It might not seem like a bid deal now to be without the light of Jesus. Life seems to go on whether or not you’ve had your daily devotion or Sunday sermon and sacrament. But a meaningful life cannot be had without the Savior. That thought was perhaps echoed in what Jesus said to his first disciples, that he would make them fishers of men, women, and children (Matthew 4:19). And that is what we are without Jesus - fish that aimlessly swim around with no seeming purpose. It’s only when Jesus catches us with his Word and his love that we’re of any use. Only then do we see that life is not about us but about serving him who died for us. Take to heart then words of the Gospel lesson today: a great light, the best light is now shining on you in the person of Jesus. Step into this light and soak it up! Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Give two reasons the land of Naphtali and Zebulun (the region of Galilee) was described by the prophet Isaiah as a land of darkness.
How could you respond with today’s sermon text to someone who says, “Jesus preached love and acceptance. It doesn’t really matter how I live. He loves me!”
Jesus came as a light to shine for the people rather than upon the people. What’s the difference?
Like a flashlight that exposes the dust bunnies under our bed, Jesus came to expose sin. But in what other way is he a great light?
