Matthew 4:12-17 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—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.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
The kingdom of God represents a new age, a different environment. John the Baptist talked about this kingdom when he called out the Pharisees and Sadducees: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. (Matthew 3:7-9) John was telling them the covenant between Abraham and God would not save them. Their position of genetic inheritance would not save them. Even their supposed dedication to the law would not save them, and their imagined position of favoritism with God because of being priests would not save them. A new kingdom was coming that would be so righteous that every jot and tittle of the law would have to be completely fulfilled, slavishly obeyed or they would face eternal damnation. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:10) This kingdom Jesus talked about was a place of great light with no darkness. The kingdom held so much light that eternity was there. This light goes far back to Genesis 1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:1-4) The creative power of God in and through Christ, the light of the world, had come to Earth, and this regenerating light came to Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—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. Jesus Christ, He is the pure light, the complete light. Jesus represents the opposite of darkness—no darkness or sin is found in him. People walk in darkness, blind, at best in the shadows of light. The law helps to reveal light, but does not penetrate the souls of men outside of Christ. Consequently, they walk in the shadows, seeking goodness and purity, trying to be lights. But lacking light in their souls, they are not lights. The redeemed are the lights of the world, for God has made them new creatures, capable of holding the light of God in their souls. But without this light within, they are but people who walk on the fringes, trying to be good, but never quite good enough to please a righteous, pure, and eternal God. By faith, Jesus completes the task of holiness for us, for He is holy. Jesus governs everything, and He alone separates light from darkness. Jesus is the full manifestation of God, illustrating all that is good, all that is truly creative, new, alive. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
After John the Baptist’s imprisonment, Jesus withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum. He continued John’s mission of preaching repentance: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. John was in prison, but the message must go on: repentance. The people were becoming sensitized to the need of changing their lives to the better. Even the priests must change the way they lived and ministered, for God was not satisfied with the Jewish people’s way of life. John’s message called them to come out of their darkness into the light. Of course, seeking a better life through obedience to the law had always failed the Jews. The Old Testament explicitly tells this story of failure of faithfulness to God by following laws and regulations. But due to John and now Jesus’ ministry, a religious revival was taking place in Israel. People’s ears were opening to the truth. They flocked to Jesus, gathering around him to hear his ministry. But Jesus did something John could not do and that was to perform miracles testifying of a supernatural kingdom beyond what the people had experienced in their present sinful world. The people realized Jesus was greater than John the Baptist because He could do supernatural wonders, and they were amazed. Consequently, not only John’s followers gathered around Jesus, but many others, even some of the priests, became followers and advocates of his teachings. Jesus’ ministry was validated constantly by the healings, miracles, and works He performed. These miraculous happenings surpassed their ability to understand; they were impossible, beyond mathematical probabilities. Because of these marvelous acts of Jesus, the crowds were eager to hear his teachings, introducing them to a realm many of them could not believe, a supernatural existence, life after death. When Jesus talked to the Sadducees, He told them they were sadly mistaken about their view of another existence after death. The Sadducees were very skeptical about life after death, even though they were the chief priests of the Temple, where the eternal Spirit is supposed to abide. Their teachings were firmly implanted in many people. Jesus told the Sadducees that they were ignorant of the word, their supposed area of expertise. “About the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32) They were not only ignorant of life after death, they also were ignorant about the power of God. He changes people dramatically after their demise; there is no need of marriage after death, the relationships between people will be changed completely. In heaven, people will be more like the angels without these natural needs and relationships. The power of God is a creative force; new creatures will be made by their trust and faith in Jesus, the Christ. The knowledge and wisdom of man is far surpassed by the knowledge and wisdom of God. We cannot perceive or even imagine God’s dimension, his kingdom, eternity, his likeness outside of Christ. Our thinking is encased within the chemical, electrical impulses of our fleshly brain, trapped in a creation made by the word of God, unable to understand the full reality of God and existence.
The great light, Jesus Christ, came to earth to release people from bondage to sin, and to make them new creatures, capable of existing forever in a perfect dimension, spiritually alive, known as the children of God. Laws and regulations could not have changed the people of Israel enough to enter into the reality of God. Eternity would not be inherited by those who are trying to perfect themselves by following laws and obeying regulations. The imperfections of humans are part of their Adamic DNA. The decision to disobey God at the beginning of time changed them from being dependent on God’s presence, his life, to those who wish to navigate life alone without God’s companionship, leadership. By breaking the covenant between man and God, man became temporal, not eternal. His sin was too degrading, too evil, to allow existence forever. Jesus, the great light, brought a creative light to the world. New creatures were to be made, and this new creation would depend upon faith, not laws, or efforts. This new creation would be a gift of God. He gave himself to mankind, by giving mankind Jesus. Jesus is life—through Jesus people now have life eternally. But faith is necessary for new life to spawn in men and women. Faith in the perfect one, makes people in the image of the perfect one: Jesus Christ. No other avenue of belief or dedication will lead men to eternity. Jesus is the gate, the path, the river, the sea to eternity. The children of Israel escaped the prison of Egypt by going through the sea. Jesus is the sea: He is the way of escape from the bondage of sin. No other escape is possible without going through the sea. We who are in Christ have passed through the sea; we are eternal, alone with Christ forever. Jesus said John the Baptist would be the least in heaven. John knew Jesus and who He was: the Son of God. He said he wasn’t worthy to baptize Jesus; Jesus the Son of God should be baptizing him or putting him right with God. But even though John lived a perfect life of dedication to God, he is the least in the kingdom of God. Why? Perfection comes from Jesus, not dedication, not self-will. Perfection is a gift from God, not man’s efforts, even the best of efforts as John the Baptist’s life reveals. Breakfast friends, glory in the work of Jesus and not your works, no matter how good they are. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! (1 John 3:1) Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment