This year during the season of Lent through Easter Sunday morning we will continue what we started during our Advent season, that is we will be looking at some of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, passages including His life, trials, suffering and crucifixion and finding the New Testament passages that confirm their fulfillment in our Savior, Christ Jesus. Today we begin with the prophecy of Jesus’ ministry.
Isaiah the prophet writes, “1But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:1-2). Isaiah’s prophecy speaks of a time after the dispersion when the children of Israel returned to the promised land, looking some five hundred or more years into the future.
Because of the constant rebellion and sin of the children of Israel, God sent other nations to discipline them, that is to bring His punishment on them. As other nations overthrew the nation of Israel the brightest and the best were carried off, dispersed to other nations. Years later God would stir in the hearts of pagan rulers to allow the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city walls and the temple. By inspiration of God, Isaiah is seeing and prophesying of the time of the Messiah coming into the region of Zebulun and Naphthali to bring good news of salvation.
Isaiah is seeing the time of Israel’s punishment and oppression coming to an end and describes the coming of the Messiah as a light shining in the darkness. Indeed, Jesus is the light of life, the light of forgiveness shining in a land of darkness of sin and its consequences. For the children of Israel in dispersion the words of Isaiah are words of comfort and assurance that God has not forgotten them and will once again, as always, to rescue them.
In our reading from Matthew, he gives the history of Jesus’ fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. As he says, “12Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so 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—16the 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’” (Matthew 4:12-16).
Our reading comes after the beheading of John the Baptists and as Jesus begins His earthly ministry. Jesus was baptized by John identifying Himself with us who have been brought into the church through the waters of the sacrament of Holy Baptism, and His baptism ordained Him into the work of a prophet, priest and king. As we have heard, He who was without sin became sin for us, fulfilling all the law for us, in our place, perfectly, as our substitute.
During His three years of work, preaching the Gospel, forgiving sins, healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons and the like, Jesus traveled from place to place, always ready, willing and able to share the good news. Matthew tells us that after leaving Nazareth, Jesus came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim. As Isaiah prophesied, so now Matthew attests to the fulfillment of his words that this Jesus is the One promised by God to come into the world to save the world.
Matthew attests to the spiritual condition of these people that is that they were sitting in darkness, theirs was a life of oppression. As one commentator put it, “The spiritual condition of the people was such as to represent and increase in religious blindness even over the time of Isaiah, nearly 700 years before.” “The shadow of death had enveloped them. It effectually shut out the light of life streaming from the Old Testament prophecies.”
But now, Jesus, the Light of Light, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world has come into their region and has brought good news and hope to the people. Jesus, true God in human flesh. Jesus, Lord of all. Jesus the true prophet, priest and king has brought a message of hope and salvation, but not only has He brought a message of hope and salvation, He has come to effect that hope and salvation.
What does this mean? In the beginning, soon after creation, Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s one command and sinned, bringing the curse and God’s promise of a Savior. Out of all the people in the world God called Abraham and promised that the Savior of the world would be born through his family line. God continually reiterated His promise that through the nation of Israel, through the line of Jacob, God would send a Savior, one who would bring forgiveness of sins. Indeed, God’s promise was always the promise of a forgiveness of sins Savior.
As we know their history, as we have heard time and again and have studied time and again, God’s chosen people, the children of Israel rebelled and were punished, sought forgiveness and were delivered, rebelled and were punished, sought forgiveness and were delivered, rebelled and were punished, sought forgiveness and were delivered, again and again and again, and although they lost their earthly conditional promise of an earthly land and nation, the unconditional promise of a forgiveness of sins Savior was never negated.
As the Gospel writers and in particular in our text, Matthew writes, Jesus came, according to God’s perfect timing, to bring salvation. When all the world was at just the right place according to God’s perfect plan and timing, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, born to redeem those under the law. Jesus came, God in human flesh to do for Adam and Eve what they could not do, to do for the whole nation of Israel what they could not do, and to do for us what we cannot do, be perfect according to God’s command. Jesus was perfectly obedient, fulfilled all of God’s law and commands and substituted Himself for us.
Just as the people of the Old Testament including the children of Israel were saved by faith, that is faith in the coming Savior, not by DNA or genetics, so too, we are God’s children, the new Israel, by faith in Jesus. It is faith in Jesus, that is that He is the Savior that brings salvation to all in our world today.
Yes, even today we still live in a darkened sin filled world. The devil, the world and our sinful flesh continue to tempt us and to lead us to all kinds of sin and evil. In and of ourselves we have no hope, but with Jesus there is hope, that is a certainty of our salvation.
And so, even today, Jesus’ brings us good news, the fulfillment of God’s Word to bring us salvation. We have God’s Word which points us to Jesus and His life, suffering, death and resurrection for us. We have the sacrament of Holy Baptism which marks us, like circumcision, as God’s children. We have Holy Absolution through which our sins are forgiven. And we have His Holy Supper wherein He gives us His body and blood to eat and drink marking us so that the angel of eternal death passes over us. Just as the old nation of Israel were saved by faith in the coming Messiah, so we are saved by faith in Jesus, the One who was sent by God, as attested to by the Gospel writers.
As we being this season of Lent we are reminded that God continually spoke His words and promises before they happened so that when they happened we would know that what happened was according to God’s good and gracious will, His perfect plan and timing and we would believe as He spoke by the prophets of old. So, as we look at God’s promises and as we see their fulfillment in the person of Jesus we can know that our faith is not in vain. As a matter of fact we can be reassured and strengthened in our faith and then as always, with the help and by the power of the Holy Spirit we will be ready to give an answer for the hope and faith we have in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And ultimately we will stand with all the saints at the Lord’s throne and rejoice and say, to God be the glory, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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