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.
Isaiah 9:2 (ESV)
Silent Light?
The prophetic words of Isaiah chapter 9 found their fulfillment and ultimate meaning in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For some odd reason, there are systems of theological interpretation that debate this reality. While everyone is certainly given the freedom to believe what they want about Scripture, the fact remains that the Bible itself and the way that the Bible interprets itself is authoritative, not man’s systems. The reason we can say with certainty that Isaiah wrote concerning Jesus Christ in Isaiah 9, is because of the declaration we find in Matthew 4:12-16. When the New Testament makes such a clear statement concerning an Old Testament text, such as this, we must agree with the Bible. Furthermore, when such a clear statement is made, the context from which the New Testament author is making application to Christ from the Old Testament, must also be in support of the interpretation applied by the New Testament author. Otherwise, the New Testament author would be guilty of the error of eisegesis (reading into the text a meaning or bias that is not actually there).
The people referred to in Isaiah 9 were the residents of the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. According to Matthew 4, following Jesus’s temptations in the wilderness, He began His earthly ministry by leaving Nazareth and going to Capernaum. The people there are described as those who walked in darkness. Scripture often uses the analogy of darkness to illustrate sinful immorality. Capernaum was a place of deep darkness. In other words, immorality was prevalent. A culture that is patterned by unbridled sinfulness is indeed a dark place. The darkness of lawlessness and a people who are given over to the passions of their flesh have a deep-seated hatred for that which is true and good.
It was into this kind of darkness that Jesus went boldly. Matthew 4:17 states, From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (ESV) Into the deep darkness went the light of the world. Jesus did not enter the morally depraved community of Capernaum with a silent light. Without question, Jesus walked in a perfectly pure way. The watching world seen in Jesus a vivid contrast to what was commonplace in their neighborhood. But it didn’t stop there. Isaiah wrote, on them has light shone. The light that Jesus brought, according to Matthew’s account, was a life and a message. The message was simple, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Preaching repentance has never been popular, but it has always been necessary and urgent. It is urgent because life is short and necessary because judgement is sure. The presence and preaching that Jesus brought was indeed light that shone into darkness. He called mankind to turn from their sin in unbelief, to trust in Him and follow His life-giving gospel.
The necessity and urgency of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the same today. Darkness dwells in prevalence all across our land. People need to have the light of Jesus and His gospel shone into their hearts. But that light cannot be silent. As followers of Christ, we must speak up and speak out against the lies of immorality and sinfulness. We must lovingly preach repentance in faith toward Jesus Christ. He is the light. His light is truth. His light overcomes darkness. His light leads the dying to life. His light defeats the darkest of hearts. His light is love! There’s nothing silent about the light of Jesus. Will you shine His light today? Who will you tell?
