A Light Has Dawned - January 22, 2017

Matthew 4:12-23 Epiphany 3

A Light Has Dawned for Us

When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond 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.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

Dear friends in Christ,

About 15 years ago, Michael Massimino climbed aboard a space shuttle with one job in mind. His mission was to repair an instrument that had failed on the Hubble Space Telescope. After years of planning and practice Massimino and his fellow astronauts shot off into space. When they reached their destination, he climbed out of the shuttle to do his job.

In an article about this mission, Massimino describes what it was like to walk in space, 350 miles above the earth. He says, “Because we travel 17,500 miles an hour, 90 minutes is one lap around the earth. So it’s 45 minutes of sunlight and 45 minutes of darkness. And when you enter the darkness, it is not just darkness. It’s the darkest black I have ever experienced. It’s the complete absence of light…” Later in the article Massimino describes what it was like to come out of that 45 minutes of darkness into the light of the sun again. That light in space was “the brightest, whitest, purest light I have ever experienced.” [1]

What Mike Massimino experienced in space reminds me of what we have been talking about during the season of Epiphany and what we read in today’s Gospel. In the middle of deepest darkness, a light has dawned for us. Not the light of the sun. But the light of the Son of God, the light of Jesus Christ.

I. The Light Shines in Darkness

The setting of today’s Gospel is this. Jesus went into the Judean wilderness to be baptized by John. When John questioned why Jesus would need baptism, Jesus told him, “It’s proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Although Jesus had no sin, he was taking the place of every sinner and starting his public ministry as the promised Messiah.

As Jesus began to preach and teach God’s message, his popularity began to grow. People recognized that he taught with authority and not as the teachers of the law. When John’s followers became concerned that Jesus’ popularity might overshadow John, John told them, “I’m not the Messiah. He is. He must become greater. I must become less.” And John practiced what he preached. One day, when Jesus was walking by, John pointed two of his own disciples to Jesus and told them: “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” The two disciples then left John and spent the rest of the day with Jesus (cf. John 1:29-39).

It seems that one of those disciples was another John, John the son of Zebedee. The other disciple was Andrew. After spending that day with Jesus, the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon. He brought Simon to Jesus, and Jesus gave Simon the name “Peter” (cf. John 1:40-42) For the next year these men, and others, began to spend even more time with Jesus. They listened to him explain the Scriptures. They went to the wedding at Cana in Galilee together where they saw Jesus change water into wine. They were convinced that Jesus is the Messiah and they put their trust in him (cf. John 1:43-2:11).

For many, the logical place for the Messiah to carry out the bulk of his ministry would have been the southern region of Israel, the region called Judea. This was the region of the holy city of Jerusalem and of the temple of the LORD. This is where all the important religious leaders, like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, spent their time. But after King Herod threw John the Baptist in prison, Jesus didn’t remain in Judea. Instead he traveled north again, into the region where he had grown up, the region of Galilee.

The prophet Isaiah called Galilee “Galilee of the Gentiles” or “Galilee of the nations,” and for good reason. About eight centuries before Jesus began his ministry in Galilee, the Assyrians had swept through the land. They carried away many of the Jewish people who lived there and repopulated the area with their own people. The influx of Gentiles and of their pagan practices had an effect on the spiritual life of God’s chosen people for years to come. Eventually the worship of the LORD became only an routine of rules, regulations and traditions. Spiritual ignorance and unbelief set in, which in turn led to a lack of godly love and to all forms of wickedness. Galilee became a region of spiritual darkness.

But now, at the appointed time, in the midst of that darkness, a light dawned. Jesus came and began to preach a message of repentance. He called all sinners to turn away from their sin and to trust in him for God’s forgiveness. He called them to follow him because had come to take the penalty for the sins of the world, to drive out the darkness of sin and death, and to reestablish the light of a right relationship with God.

Read the news today and you will see evidence that this world is a dark place. The deadly and devastating effects of mankind’s rebellion against God are everywhere. In our own country and county we witness injustice, idolatry, immorality, slander...

It’s relatively easy to see the darkness out there. What is often more difficult for us to admit, however, is that by nature that same darkness dwells in each of our hearts. Jesus had to explain this to the Pharisees. He told them: “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19). Who of us can say that we have always had pure thoughts, that we have always spoken loving words, that we have always taken the words and actions of others in the kindest possible way? Who of us can honestly say that we’ve never wanted to take revenge against someone who has hurt us or to get back at someone who has caused us grief? Those kinds of thoughts, words and actions are evidence of the deep darkness of our naturally sinful hearts.

But here’s the Good News: A light has dawned for us, the light that drives away the darkness! At some point in your life God graciously used someone to introduce you to Jesus, just like Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus. The Holy Spirit used the Gospel of Jesus to call you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. The result is that now, by faith in Christ Jesus, you are a new person. You are a redeemed and forgiven child of God. Now, in Christ, you have a new heart, with a new attitude and new desire. The light of Christ now shines in you! And that affects the way you live in this dark world. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul reminds us, “For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light… and find out what pleases the Lord.”[2] In other words, now be what God has made you.

II. Follow the Light

The light of Christ that has changed our lives also changed the lives of Andrew, Peter, James and John. As Jesus began his public ministry, these men put their trust in him and spent a lot of time with him. Then, about a year later, Jesus approached each of these men and called them for a special form of ministry. “Come, follow me,” he said, and I will send you out to fish for people.” Without hesitation, these men left the nets, their boats and their occupations behind. From that time on, fishing for fish became their hobby and fishing for people became their vocation.

For years these men had learned the fishing trade, probably from their fathers. They knew how to cast the nets into the Sea of Galilee. Now Jesus would train them to cast the net of his Gospel into the world. After he trained them he would send them out as his ambassadors, to proclaim the same message that he was preaching, the message of repentance, forgiveness and life in his name. Through their message Christ would to bring more and more people into his kingdom.

One of Christ’s fishermen, the apostle Peter, reminds us and all Christians, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). With Peter, Andrew, James and John, we now follow our Lord and declare his praises. Each of us reflects the light of Christ in our words and actions and pray that his light will attract many more to him.

Perhaps, someday, the light that shines in your heart will also lead you to consider training to be a full time fisherman in Christ’s kingdom. We need well-trained men to serve as shepherds in the congregations of our synod. We need well trained men and women to feed God’s people in our schools and missions, both now and in the decades to come. So moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, talk to the children you know about this privileged calling. Teens and children, consider the awesome privilege of full time Gospel ministry. You might think that the public ministry of the Gospel isn’t for you or for your children because you and they are just ordinary people. But so were Andrew, Peter, James, and John. Jesus called them, enabled them, and sent them out to work in his kingdom. He can do the same with you and your children.

After being in the deep darkness of space, Mike Massimino rejoiced to see “the brightest, whitest, purest light” that he ever experienced. After being in the deep darkness of unbelief and sin, Christians, you and I have experienced a light even more bright and white and pure. The Light of Christ has dawned for us. It shines for you and in you. So continue to follow the light. Let the light shine in your life, and praise God for it. Amen.

Pastor Karl M Schultz

First Lutheran Church

Lake Geneva, WI

January 22, 2017

1. “Eight Hours at the Edge of Darkness,” Reader’s Digest, June 2016, pp 68-75. ↑
2. Read Ephesians 4:17-5:21 ↑