Leaving the Dark Lands

We would have done things differently. We would have Jesus in Jerusalem where all the bright spiritual activity was manifest, where his ministry would be seen in the brightness of the gleaming city. But God does not think like us. And it surprises us. At least, it surely surprised the people of Jesus’ time. Although Jesus is now residing in Capernaum—it is the base of his ministry—we may well apply Nathaniel’s query specifically to a city in the Galilee. “Can anything good come out of” Capernaum?

The Jews would have expected the Messiah to come out of a so-called land of light and religion. Capernaum was anything but bright. The place where the Light of the World set up shop was a dark land. This dark region had long been subjugated by foreign invaders, as well as heathen influences. The people were dwelling in darkness. “Dwelling” is a fine enough translation, but the Hebrew and Greek actually means “sitting.” The people in this land were sitting in the dark. There is a strangeness to the statement when put that way. They were content to sit in the darkness, as though this were a natural thing to do, like sitting in a church or sitting in a restaurant. Through the generations, they had become so accustomed to the darkness that they knew no other condition.

We understand instinctively that this kind of darkness as something other than the absence of sunlight. Theirs was a spiritual darkness. The darkness where they sat was without the bright, good news of forgiveness and salvation. But it was even darker than that; the darkness where they sat was full of the dark power of evil. Although this evil was manifested in horrifying ways, it was particularly obvious in the false religious notions of the people. They were led astray and had become deluded in their dark imaginations. We see so much of this today that it needs no examples.

But there is a more insidious version of the self-deluded darkness that must be mentioned, for it typically escapes our notice until too late. Dr. Lenski puts it best, so I quote: “The true gospel light had gone out under the power of Jewish formalism and work-righteousness.”

This is the darkness that plagues us still. We delude ourselves, thinking that we can work our way into God’s favor, into heaven, into the light. Worse, we begin to imagine that we are the light—or at least a necessary little bit of the light, that God can’t actually save us without us lending our little lights to the cause. We know that we are saved by his grace alone but we seem to forget it from one Lord’s Day to the next. So, we must be reminded, else we remain seated in our self-imposed darkness.

God sends his ministers to proclaim Isaiah’s old news like it is a fresh headline for us every morning.

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

There in Galilee, in the land of an evil shadow, the darkest section of the whole Jewish land was chosen to receive the light through the extended ministry of Christ. Extended ministry because Capernaum was seated among populous areas around the Sea of Galilee, and it was situated along the Via Maris, that Way of the Sea, that connected the empire. From here, Jesus could bring his light to many villages and cities. As such, the light of the gospel dawned in the dark lands and spread throughout the world.

So, I wonder what God would have us do. Where would he have us work? My mind goes immediately to our missionaries. I think of the work of Naomi’s Heart and Spiritual Orphan’s Network, who have gone into areas where the gospel light was either snuffed out or was nearly so. Because of their untiring efforts, the light of Christ is dawning again. The light is shining upon those who had been sitting in the darkness. And you have helped them proclaim the light of Christ. Thank you.

Of course, that light is Jesus. He is the light of the whole world and the power of God for salvation. Those who follow him now walk in the light—though they dwell in lands of great darkness. Why should it be any different for his followers than it was for Christ himself?

Both darkness and light were part of the life of Jesus. He grew up in the so-called dark lands of Galilee. The Jews called Jesus a Samaritan (John 8:48), and he did not deny this assertion (John 8:49). Nothing good could come from there, Nathaniel insists with a question (John 1:46). It was considered evil, backward, and dark. Moreover, Galilee was looked down upon even by other Samaritans. Yet from such ignoble gloom shone the Light of the World.

We too, live in the dark Galilean landscape. These are the feelings, at any rate, that threaten to snuff out all light. We are afraid; we seem to be assailed by foes on every side; armies of evil surround us. The psalmist shares our difficulty; he lived in just such a place. Nevertheless, though he was really hounded and surrounded in the darkness, the Lord was his light and salvation. When sin, that greatest and most suffocating darkness, threatens to snuff out the light of Jesus, we must be repenting. And what does this always present condition of repentance mean but to gaze upon the fair beauty of the Lord instead of sitting in the dark, staring at our sinful selves? We too are then lifted high upon the Rock. We too can be encamped in God upon the Rock who is Christ. From there, we have the best vantage of the Light.

This is why God would have us remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. I do not mean Sundays only. The Lord’s Day is the great Sabbath rest. But every day should be a day of resting in the Lord’s light. You don’t take time off from sinning, so you should not take time off from prayer. This includes talking to God but also listening to him. Let me be clear: this listening is accomplished in the Word, not in your head. God speaks to you in the Scripture, not in your imagination. Turn to the Word every day, indeed, often every day. Listen to God speak first, then speak to him. This is honoring the Sabbath and keeping it holy in your life.

Instead, many take the easy road and follow the latest promise-maker on the television or internet when they should be following Christ Jesus, the Promise of the Father. Counterfeit light is after all, only darkness, perhaps the worst kind of darkness since it would have us trust in false light rather than Christ. When we are burdened under the weight of sin and the threat of evil, we must not turn to shadowy distractions but to the only clear Light in the darkness, who shone brightest on the world’s darkest day (Mark 15:33). This is the bright promise of the cross. Trust God even in the gloomiest fog. Believe!

This “word of the cross” seems a foolishness that verges on madness to those who will not trust God’s Light. But to those who believe—who are being saved—it is the very power of God.

It is from the vantage of this believing trust that we spy the baptizer again. He has been arrested and sits in the darkness of a prison cell. He is on death row, awaiting Herod’s order. John knows his end is near. It is within this dark context that the evangelist (and you and I) must again proclaim the truth to ourselves: “light has dawned.” It does not matter how dark and desperate are the times we live in, for Jesus is still the dawning light of a new day. The call remains the same: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In such dark times, disciples are called to follow Jesus. He is the only way out of the dark.