Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Kenneth Davis is a New York Times best-selling author of a series of books, each titled “Don’t Know Much About…” There is “Don’t Know Much About History,” “Don’t Know Much About Mythology,” and “Don’t Know Much About Geography.” He wrote about the study of geography: “It is impossible to understand history, international politics, the world economy, religions, philosophies, or patterns of culture without taking into consideration geography.” Mark Twain said of geography in America that God created war so that Americans would learn geography. Jimmy Buffett said, “Without geography, you’re nowhere.”
Geography matters, and it matters in the ancient world as well. Knowing something about the geography of the Middle East is helpful in understanding the Old Testament and Gospel lessons for this morning. When Isaiah wrote, “He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,” his prophecy was being shaped by geography and the politics of the day.
Zebulun and Naphtali are territories about sixty miles north of Jerusalem, bordering each other, Zebulun to the south and Naphtali to the north. If you were going to invade Israel and take Jerusalem, you needed to plan your attack according to the geography. The northern territories were part of the promised land, taken under Joshua’s leadership. Zebulun and Naphtali got prime real estate: beautiful, fertile land. But there was a dramatic downside. Their geography made them vulnerable to attacks from foreign invaders. When foreign countries wanted to invade and go south to Jerusalem, there was only one way, militarily speaking: right through the middle of Zebulun and Naphtali. The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River formed the eastern border and barrier, and the Mediterranean Sea a natural barrier on the west. Invaders heading south were funneled through these lands. They were constantly on the front lines of potential or actual war.
When Isaiah wrote chapter 9, the Assyrians were already at war with the northern territories, and the outcome was never in doubt. Within a year the entire northern kingdom was gone. Then came Babylon a century later: first Babylon conquered Assyria, then marched on Zebulun and Naphtali as the Assyrians had. These empires were tools of the Lord God, tools He employed to inflict discipline upon His people for their sins, to move them toward repentance and back to trust in His promises.
The whole situation came about because of the unfaithfulness and idolatry of the people. Isaiah had been sent to call them to repentance, but they did not repent. The Assyrian and Babylonian occupations were part of God’s judgment to bring the nation back. In the words of Isaiah, God treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt. The immediate situation was caused by King Ahaz in Isaiah chapter 7. Ahaz was concerned about a military alliance forming to the north, an existential threat. Rather than lead the people in trust in the Lord God, Ahaz trusted in his own political machinations, which included bringing the pagan religions of foreign countries into the temple in Jerusalem. Idolatry as foreign policy: he thought if they worshiped the same gods, the attack would not happen. But idolatry threw the nation into spiritual darkness and brought them to war and all its hardships.
Isaiah described the results in chapter 8, verse 22: “They will look to the earth, and behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, and will be driven away into darkness.” Their beautiful land was becoming a land of death and darkness. This is the context of the Old Testament lesson: “He treated the land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make it glorious, by way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”
Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 9 is a stunning reversal. The same God who is treating these territories with contempt is going to make the same land glorious. The contempt is an act of Law: judgment pronounced upon their sin, meant to break them and drive them back to trust the Lord God. So how does this land go from contempt and judgment to glorious and joyful? It will do so by the coming of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and by Christ Himself into the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, which we know as Galilee, Capernaum to be exact.
That is what is happening in the Gospel lesson this morning. This time, though, the invasion is not coming from the north; it is coming from above, from the heavenly realm. When Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew to Galilee, and leaving Nazareth, He settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. As He walks north into the land, He brings with Him what the north had been missing for centuries: fidelity to God’s Word, sinlessness, love, faith, the Word of God itself, none of which any Old Testament king could provide. He does not come like other invaders. He comes from heaven above, so that what was spoken through Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.”
The light comes into the darkness, and He preached and taught and lived the Gospel. The land became His base of operations for the next three years. Jesus was a different kind of conqueror. He brought a different kind of kingdom. He leads a different kind of invasion: He takes no hostages, plunders no grain, requires no taxes, and the only blood shed in His invasion is His own. His weapon is the Word of God, sharper than a two-edged sword. He brings life to the spiritually dead, light to a dark land. He preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He calls His disciples out of darkness so that they too will become fishers of men, and He will teach them to preach, teach, baptize, cast out demons, and even heal the blind and make the lame walk.
Jesus is the light that dawns on the land of darkness. He says it: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He does not hold the land in contempt; He says, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.” Instead of fleeing the land in the north, people flowed into it. They came to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali to be rescued from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
When outsiders invade, they make claims upon people: financial support, service, their very lives to protect the ruling of the land. But Jesus makes His claim upon people too, and it does not come with oppression, because His kingdom is a kingdom of freedom. They are not won by threats, because His kingdom is governed by grace. They are not extorted, because His kingdom is built on the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. They are not won over by intimidation, because His kingdom is a kingdom of love.
When Jesus left Zebulun and Naphtali and marched south to Jerusalem, He entered the great city to shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” The shouts of praise turned into shouts of “Crucify Him!” on Good Friday. Then darkness came over the land. But on the third day, the darkness was pushed back at the rising of the sun. The light that first shone beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles, in Zebulun and Naphtali, made its way to Jerusalem, to Samaria, to Judea, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8.
That is why Jesus called the disciples in the Gospel lesson to three years of training, so that when He ascended, they would carry on the work of rescuing and bringing the light into the darkness, spreading the kingdom of grace.
The darkness that once covered Zebulun and Naphtali is not limited to one place or time. Wherever there is a human being, the darkness lives, because it lives in us. It is not hindered by geography or weather or circumstance, because it is not an alien darkness. It does not come from outside of us; it is something we bring. As Jesus said, “It is not what goes into a man that makes him unclean; it is what comes out of him.” Our darkness is local; it is homegrown; it is self-inflicted. Our darkness is our own sinful flesh.
But the light of Christ has come to you through the Word and Sacrament ministry. 2 Corinthians 4:6: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:8: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” You are by grace and faith people who now live on the other side of the Jordan. You were born in darkness and death, but now you are light. Christ dwells in you, and you are now the light. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.” Live as the light, for your sins are forgiven. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.