Darkness and Light

JESUS BREAKS THE DARKNESS: 3rd Sunday after the Epiphany, January 26, 2020

Sometimes we use the phrase "in the know" to describe someone who has been brought up to speed about a topic. And, if you're not "in the know" you're probably "in the dark." When the family makes plans for dinner but doesn't tell mom, she's in the dark.

For a lot of history, Gentiles were largely in the dark about God's plan of salvation. It's not that God hadn't made plans, and it's not that God hadn't included Gentiles in those plans. His revelation of those plans was to and through the prophets of his chosen people, Israel. You might say that Jews were "in the know" and the Gentiles were "in the dark."

This week's lessons expand on that light/dark metaphor. Seven centuries before Jesus, the lands of Zebulon and Naphtali (Galilee) had been overrun by the Assyrians. Galileans were deported, and the land was resettled with people from all over the Middle East. Once they lived in the light of God’s promises, but now Galilee had become a land of darkness, a hotbed of crass unbelief.

With the birth of Christ, light penetrated the land of Galilee. Matthew mentions that Jesus’ ministry made it north to the land of Zebulon and Naphtali, both a fulfillment of prophecy and a compelling proof that Jesus was God’s Messiah. For more than seven centuries, the land of Galilee was in the dark. With Jesus’ arrival, they learned again that God’s grace was for all. He demonstrated that by his visit, with his preaching, and by recruiting disciples from there.

The light of Christ that shone in Galilee now shines around the world. When God’s grace in Christ is proclaimed freely for all, when unbelief is driven back, when sin is confessed and forgiven, when Christians put away the deeds of darkness and replace them with deeds of faith, Christ’s light shines in and through us. Jesus Christ is the light of the world! He’s also the light of your heart and life. Let your light shine!

► Readings:
• Isaiah 8:19-9:4: God's Word reveals Jesus for the Gentiles.
• 1 John 2:3-11: Light of the world.
• Matthew 4:12-23: Jesus calls disciples in Galilee.
• Psalm: 27

► Sermon theme on 1 John 2:3-11: "Darkness and Light" (Sermon Video) (Sermon transcript)