The Light Dawns Matthew 4:12-25

Intro:

At that feast of the Tabernacles the Jews celebrated what they called the illumination of the Temple.

A massive series of candelabra was placed in the middle of the court of the women, and for a week a great stream of light shinned out continuously—to commemorate the pillar of fire that led Israel during the wilderness wanderings under Moses.

As Jesus entered the court of the women, the light had just been extinguished.

The candelabra were still in place, but they now gave no light.

In John 8:12 Jesus declares he is the light of the world

John 8:12 ESV

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus’ declaration that He Himself was the light of the world that would never go out must have struck His hearers with great force

Today we look at the Dawn of that Light

Jesus begins to illuminate the world

Read Matthew 4:12-17

Transition:

One of the most beautiful metaphors used to describe Jesus’ nature and character is that of light.

It conveys the idea of the illuminating, truth-revealing, and sin-exposing ministry of the Son of God.

John 1:4–5 ESV

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The theme for this Christmas season is Love’s Pure Light

We will explore this for the next two Sundays and Christmas Eve

The love of Jesus Christ is the light of our lives

Light to the Nations vs. 12-17

Matthew shows that Jesus is the light to the nations Isaiah prophesied about

When Jesus hears that John has been arrested he departs to Galilee

He leaves Nazareth and sets up camp in Capernaum

This is the hometown of Peter, Andrew, James, & John

It was a fishing village on the northwest of Galilee

Jesus would minister all over the Galilee, but come back to Capernaum

The prophet Isaiah foretold of this happening in 9:1-2

Isaiah also tells us the purpose of the Messiah’s mission

Isaiah 42:6–7 (ESV)

“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Jesus begins his ministry as a light in a dark world

Why is the world dark?

It is full of sin and rebelliousness

That is why Jesus begins with Repent

I talked about this a few weeks ago

Repent means the change one’s mind

Jesus has come to preach the Gospel which starts with admitting one’s sin

Fisher of Men vs. 18-22

As Jesus’ ministry starts, he calls his first disciples

The first four are Peter, Andrew, James, & John

Jesus wasn’t sent to do the ministry alone

He chose 12 men to disciple who then went out and preached the Gospel

We see the beginning of the recruitment in this passage

All four were fisherman so Jesus used vernacular they understood

Fishermen by trade, Jesus calls them to fish for men

Matthew 13:47 ESV

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.

These weren’t the typical disciples that were chosen

Because these men were fishing means that they didn’t make the cut in Torah school

In Israel the boys went to school to learn the first five books of the OT

Only the cream of the crop would pass level one and go on to level two

If they passed level two they were considered worthy enough to follow a Rabbi and become his disciple.

Jesus doesn’t choose from the cream of the crop

He takes normal men who the religious elite would scoff at

It’s from these men that God built the foundation of the church

Matthew 16:18 ESV

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

God chose to reflect the light of His son off of the hearts of men

Solar Farm

Right by the border between California and Nevada, on I-15 is a solar farm

It is massive and unique in its own right

It deploys 173,500 heliostats, each with two mirrors focusing solar energy on boilers located on three 459 ft tall solar power towers.

Those towers have water that is heated until it produces steam which powers steam turbines

The plant generated 500 MW in 2020.

That’s about 2/3 of the power San Francisco needs every year

When light is reflected and directed in one focused area it has a powerful effect

Ministers to the Masses vs. 23-25

The area of Galilee was about 60 miles long by 30 miles wide

Josephus said there were over 200 villages that surrounded the Galilee with none having less than 15,000 people

That means 3 million people lived in the Galilee region

When word got out about Jesus healing people the masses started to gather

When the light dawns and reflects off of others it extends to so many more people

John 18:20 ESV

Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.