In the Name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

The Third Sunday after the Epiphany (2011)

Follow Christ, the Light of the World Rev. Toby Byrd

Matthew 4:12-25 (ESV)

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."

[17] From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

[18] While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. [19] And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." [20] Immediately they left their nets and followed him. [21] And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. [22] Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

[23] And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. [24] So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. [25] And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Led by the Holy Spirit, St. Matthew once more opens our eyes and hearts to the fulfillment of prophecy in the life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, when he quotes from Isaiah that, “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” (v. 16).

The lands of which the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun had occupied in ancient Israel had been overrun numerous times by warring factions; mostly the Syrians and the Assyrians. As such the original people had been dispersed and assimilated into the pagan cultures that conquered them. Deprived of God’s Word, the land fell into spiritual darkness, a dark and empty night filled with unbelieving people, a people dwelling in the dark shadow of death. Moreover, this darkness of which Isaiah speaks is not limited to the lands of Naphtali and Zebulun alone, but it also includes all the people of Israel. Salvation would not break forth until the land of Jehovah had become a land shadowed in eternal death on account of the apostasy of its inhabitants.

I cannot think of a more fearful description of people. To be without God, without the Word of God! To be utterly alone in this world, relying solely on our own initiative to fulfill our hopes and dreams; dreams which do not go beyond this earthly existence, is a horrible reality. Miserable does not express such hopelessness. Yet, much of what we witness today all around us can be accurately described as misery. People living from day-to-day, groping for their existence with no hope beyond the grave describes the majority of the people in our community, our country, and the world. Moreover, what’s worse, they believe they are living the good life while truly living a life sheathed in the shadow of death. However, it need not be this way.

Isaiah prophesied that a day would come when people dwelling in darkness would see a great light, a light which shall dawn bold and bright illuminating the darkness; removing the shadow of death over the land; this prophecy is fulfilled in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

St. Matthew begins the Gospel Reading for today telling us that Jesus had heard of John the Baptizer’s fate; he had been taken captive and was being held prisoner in Herod’s dungeon. Upon hearing this, our Lord knows that the time has come for Him to begin His ministry in earnest. Thus He leaves the populated areas of Judea and settles in Capernaum, a city on the Northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee; a city located in the middle of what was once the regions of Naphtali and Zebulun.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, our Lord Jesus begins to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy. The apostle John tells us that our Lord Jesus, “was life, and the life was the light of men” Furthermore, he tells us that this, “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5 ESV). As our Lord Jesus ministered to the people He shined the light of truth upon all men removing the shadow of death from their lives while illuminating the path that leads to life eternal. All that our Lord said and taught are the very words of salvation that all men should hear. They are the words that clearly teach that in Him alone rests our salvation; His death upon the altar of the Cross is the one, final sacrifice that atones for the sins of all mankind, making full satisfaction between God and men. This message is what He taught in Galilee and everywhere He went. Furthermore, His life, death, and resurrection are all about accomplishing man’s salvation from sin and this is why He began His ministry with these words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (v. 17).

St. John also tells us that, “the light has come into the world” however, “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21 ESV). What was true in the days of our Lord Jesus and in the days of the Apostles is true today, the world loves darkness; it loves the things of the world, the carnal things that lead men to place their trust in their own works over and above the work of Christ. Sadly, there is no other way for it to be as long as they do not follow Christ, the Light of the World.

Jesus alone knew the importance of His ministry. He knew it would begin in earnest in Galilee with His call for repentance and end in agony and disgrace in Jerusalem with His plea asking His heavenly Father to, “forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34(ESV). Although He knew that His life, death, and resurrection would be the perfect atonement for the sins of the world, reconciling man and God, He also knew that the time for His ministry in human form would be short; therefore He called and trained disciples to carry on His Word after His ascension to the right hand of God. St. Matthew tells us that our Lord Jesus called His first disciples as He was walking by the Sea of Galilee.

These men were fishermen, men accustomed to hard work. They had calloused hands and strong backs. These were men who could identify with the common man; men without formal educations; no Harvard degrees in this crowd. Yet these were just the very men our Lord needed to carry on His ministry after He was gone; men who would eventually confess Him as Lord, men who would continue to proclaim Him as the light of the world, the Savior of all men. As for their training, our Lord Jesus would be there seminary professor. Moreover, when our Lord called these men there was no hesitation on their part; according to St. Matthew, they immediately left their nets and followed Him. Then, for the next three years they were exposed to the divine teachings of Jesus and to His miracles. Oh, to be certain, there were times when it was questionable if they were learning anything, but to our great relief, we know that they not only learned, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and enabled to continue the work of our Lord Jesus, building His Church even losing their lives in the process. In fact, all the apostles, with the exception of John, were martyred in their service to Christ.

They apostles willingly gave their lives in His service teaching and preaching His Word, because the Word of Christ is the light that exposes sin while illuminating the truth that salvation is found only in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. St. Paul tells us, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18 ESV). This word of the cross is the doctrine by which the cross of Christ is set before our hearts. The word that we may believe; the word that we can trust above all others words because it alone leads us from the darkness of sin to the light of life eternal; our Savior, Jesus Christ.

As I grow older I have come to rely more and more on light as an aide for sight. I find that when I am reading, I need more light; when I am driving, it easier to see the road if I’m driving in the daylight, and if I’m helping Sue clean the house, it’s always easier to see in those corners when the light is brighter. When I want to truly focus on something, it’s always easier when it is well lighted. My reliance on light is something that I share with most of the world. However, with the exception of God’s heavenly source of light, the Sun, the light that I rely on at home is an artificial light, one that also casts shadows throughout the house. Such is the light of our self-righteousness; our supposed goodness.

This is the way of the world; it craves artificial light, a light that casts a glow of comfort and prosperity, a light that says all is well and good leading men to rely on the things of the world while ignoring the things of God. However, such a light only illumines the path to the darkness of the shadow of death. But our Lord Jesus would not have us stay in the darkness; His desire is for us to be brought into the light of His Word, which teaches that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. The task of teaching this truth fell to the apostles and to every pastor who has succeeded them.

For the apostles as well as pastors to be true fishers of men they must know what our Lord Jesus meant when He told Peter and Andrew that’s what He would make them. They must discover that the bait our Lord wants them to use is not something shiny and bright, it’s not something that glitters or for that matter even appears appealing, but it is something that man usually rejects. The bait is humility, compassion, love, and most of all forgiveness; the willingness to forgive and the fisherman must deliver this bait in jars of clay. The world has problems understanding this type of fishing and most reject the bait and the fishermen. However, for those who receive the bait, who are caught in the all embracing net of Christ’s love; they quickly stop their struggling and eagerly begin to follow Christ, the Light of the World.

Such is the case for the people of Syria who quickly learned of the loving and healing powers of Christ. Oh to be sure, many followed because of their physical needs, however, many followed because they had come to believe that this Jesus was indeed the Messiah promised through Holy Scriptures. They had come to believe that this Jesus was indeed the great light that would lead them out of the darkness in which they dwelt, that He would lead them out of the shadow of death.

You, too, have been called to follow Christ, the Light of the World. How do you respond? Our Lord Jesus says of those who believe in Him that they are “the light of the world” (Matt., 5:14). You who believe in Christ, you have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit to live within your hearts. Thus, He leads you daily to express your faith through word and deed so that others may see Jesus through you. He not only tells you to follow Him, but He tells you to help others follow Him as well. Through your confession of Him you can lead others to believe the words of our Lord Jesus when He says to us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12 ESV). Let us leave here this morning assured of the forgiveness granted us through faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ, evermore committed to follow Christ, the Light of the World. Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.