No one likes to be considered ignorant, not knowing important information, instructions, or benefits. No one willingly wants to be kept in the dark, however sometimes they are ignorant through their own stubbornness and refusal to hear or accept the truth. That is why it is important that someone brings them the information that they need. In our Scripture this week from the Gospel of Matthew, we read of a group of people who had been in the dark, but now Someone brings them the truth they need to hear.
As our Scripture opens, Jesus left Nazareth and headed to the village of Capernaum, which was located at the north end of the Sea of Galilee (vs 12-13). It was the hometown of four of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, his brother Andrew, and the brothers James and John. The disciple Matthew had also worked as a tax collector in Capernaum before Jesus called him to follow Him. The village was on an important trade route coming from the north and east as merchants made their way south into Galilee and on to Jerusalem and Judea.
Matthew saw Jesus’ move to Capernaum, setting up a type of home base there, as a fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2 (vs. 14-16). Capernaum was in the territory of Galilee, which was on the route through which all Gentiles (non-Jewish foreigners) would pass through both in and out of Israel. This was the case both in Isaiah’s day and hundreds of years later in Jesus’ day.
It was into this area that Jesus came at the start of His ministry, an area that had been in spiritual darkness for many centuries. The Gentiles did not have the Word of God, nor knowledge of Him. Instead they worshiped pagan idols. Many of the Jewish people living in the area had weak or superficial faith in the Lord, going back to the days when the Kingdom of Israel split into two after the reign of Solomon. They were in darkness, and now the Lord Jesus came with the truth of God, bringing light into that darkness. No longer would they be in spiritual ignorance, as the Son of God came with the truth. He would bring knowledge of salvation to people who did not know God’s Word.
What was the first message that Jesus preached? We read that in verse 17, where Jesus said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Some preachers today like to say that Jesus didn’t preach about repentance, and that neither should people today. They like to say that repentance isn’t important. They often say that because Jesus kept company with sinners and accepted them, it is not necessary for anyone to turn from sin and repent. Yes, Jesus did eat with sinners, but He never let them stay that way. When sinners came to Him, He always told them to go and sin no more. It is very clear here that Jesus did preach repentance. In Jesus’ closing message before He returned to heaven, He told the apostles to preach repentance, as well (Luke 24:47).
The word “repent” is like the military command “about face”. We need to turn from going one way, our own sinful way, and start going another way, that of following Jesus. Jesus pointed out sin in His ministry, and He called people to repentance. Becoming a follower of Jesus means turning away from our sins, and turning our lives over to His direction and control.
The Gospel message is not about feeling good about oneself just because God loves us. Yes, God does love us, but the Gospel is about realizing that it was because of our sins that Jesus died upon the cross. Jesus loves us, and gave His life for our sins. Without understanding our sin, we miss the depth of His sacrifice. We need to realize that it is because of our sins, Jesus died on the cross. We must repent and turn to Him.
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