A Bright Light in the Shadow of Death
 

“12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum, which is by the lake, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 For this was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
15 ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
the way by the sea, the region beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the shadow of death, a light has dawned.’
17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach: ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [...]
23 He went throughout Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”
 

In the Catholic Church’s lectionary, the Gospel of Matthew takes centre stage this year. It is the first book of the New Testament. Since the early days of Christianity, it has been held in high esteem as the Gospel. According to Church tradition, Matthew was one of the twelve apostles (cf. Mt 10:3), originally a tax collector (cf. Mt 9:9). He was therefore an eyewitness and ear-witness to the Master: what the Gospel of Matthew says, Jesus said. The many quotations from the Bible found in the Gospel of Matthew (including the core of the pericope quoted above) might suggest that the author had a background in exegetical and scriptural scholarship. In Mt 13:52 there is an interesting, possibly autobiographical remark on this: ‘Every scribe who has become a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things both new and old.’ Is Matthew describing himself here as a Pharisee who has joined Jesus?

The pericope Mt 4:12–23 (which in verses 18–22 also describes the calling of the first disciples, omitted above) serves, following the childhood narrative (chapters 1 and 2) and the account of Jesus’ baptism by John and his temptation in the wilderness (chapter 3), as the overture to the public ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. What Jesus will proclaim in word and deed, starting from Galilee – e.g. in the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7) and in his healing miracles (chapters 8–9) – is summarised in advance in chapter 4. The central, good news is: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ (v. 17)

Matthew first sets the geographical scene. John the Baptist had been baptising in the south, in the Judean desert (cf. Mt 3:1). From there, Jesus returns northwards to his homeland of Galilee. It is the ancient settlement area of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, two of the twelve sons of the patriarch Jacob, from whom the twelve-tribe nation of Israel was formed. It is interesting that Jesus – like many young people leaving their parents’ home – moves out and takes up a new residence. He moves from Nazareth to Capernaum. (It would therefore be entirely possible to call him ‘Jesus of Capernaum’ instead of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’.) The note in Mt 4:13 is the only address given for Jesus in the New Testament.

Typical of Matthew, then, is the biblical grounding of this move. That Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee is no coincidence, but fulfils an ancient prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. That region in the north, which lay relatively far from the heartland of Judah with Jerusalem, was regarded, due to its peripheral location, as gloomy, even overshadowed by death. This was particularly true because, alongside the Jews, many Gentiles lived there, meaning there was a mixed population. The Hebrew ‘land of the nations’ (Isa 8:23) becomes ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ in Mt 4:15. Jesus’ homeland was, quite literally, a land of the Gentiles. The fact that the Messiah came from there and made Galilee the focal point of his preaching is of great symbolic significance: the message of the Kingdom of Heaven is intended for both Jews and Gentiles. From Israel, where Immanuel was born, salvation goes out to the whole world. This is what the name Galilee stands for. It is no coincidence that the risen Christ’s mission to his disciples (at the very end of the Gospel) to go to all nations (‘Gentiles’) also takes place in Galilee (Mt 28:16–20).

The good news of the coming Kingdom of Heaven is a light in the darkness. This symbolic language from the Old Testament quotation touches the heart: a bright light in the shadow-realm of death – even today, this speaks deeply to us, as we too live in a world that seems darker and darker to many.

Jesus is the manifestation of that bright light which was promised in ancient times. In his authoritative teaching on the Kingdom of God and his miraculous power to perform healing deeds, which underpin this proclamation, Jesus Christ was and is the light and sign of hope that overcomes all darkness.

In this hope, I wish all readers of the biblical reflections from the Wort-Christi Foundation a blessed, God-filled New Year!

Gerhard Hotze