THE LIGHT HAS DAWNED

This morning, we're going to turn to Matthew chapter 3, actually, I'm sorry, Matthew chapter 4, and we're moving our study that had been at night, the gospel of Matthew 2, to this morning. I do need your encouragement for my night series. I wasn't quite ready to start a new series yet, so I'm wrestling with whether to—10 years ago I did Romans and this church has changed a lot so I thought maybe doing a side-by-side with Romans and what we believe in the Heidelberg would be good to go again through at night or to just do the Heidelberg or to do a series on the canons and the five points of Calvinism. If you hit me at the door and say something that'll help me like it did last time. So tell me what your thoughts are and I'll pray to the Lord to guide me where we should go for our night series. But this morning we're in Matthew chapter 4 beginning at verse 12 to the end of the chapter and we look at Jesus beginning his earthly ministry his earthly ministry and let's give our attention this morning to the word of the Lord beginning at verse 12 of Matthew chapter 4 now when he heard that John had been arrested he withdrew into Galilee and leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali by the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. And for those dwelling in the region of the shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. from that time jesus began to preach saying repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand while walking by the sea of galilee he saw two brothers simon who's called peter and andrew his brother casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen and he said to them follow me and i will make you fishers of men immediately they left their nets and followed him and going on from there he saw two other brothers james the son of zebedee and john his brother in the boat with zebedee their father mending their nets and he called them immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him and he went through all galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people so his fame spread throughout all Syria and they brought him all the sick those afflicted with various diseases and pains those oppressed by demons those having seizures and paralytics and he healed them and great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and from Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan may the Lord bless this morning the hearing of his word well one of the things that I'm at least I know I have and I think it's easy for all of us to do is to take for granted the time in which God chose to give us life under the sun you know you live at the end of the world the end of history that God chose to give you life have you ever thought about that you ever thought of when God specifically chose to give you life and to place you under the sun to live you could have been born at very different times and in very different places and that's a real important thought to think about paul does challenge the ephesians to remember that that they at one point were without god and without hope in the world the circumstances that you have been brought into you could have been a philistine worshiping Dagon at some point. Think about that. Growing up in the house of Dagon. You might have been a child reared up in Egypt at some point with the gods of Egypt and Pharaoh bowing down to Pharaoh as your god. Demanding loyalty to him. Well, you could have been born today in a Muslim family. not worshiping the Lord. Where would you be right now if it were not for the Lord's hand upon you? Do you ever think about that? Do you ever think about all that you've been given, all the blessings that you have, and where you could be? It's a big world. We often talk about how bad and how evil things are and the times and all the problems that we have. I want you to look at your life today in an entirely different manner. That's my goal in this sermon. I don't think we could give enough thought to how blessed we really are. Oh, we say it, but I'm not sure we comprehend it. In all of history, we have been given, and you live in the time of the greatest light this world has ever seen. That's a positive message. It's a happy message. It's a joyful message. Think of Hebrews that says, Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see it. And to hear, what are you doing today? To hear what you hear and did not hear it. When the apostles preached in Acts, this so touched them, this so moved them about the time God put us on this earth, the time of this ministry, it was so compelling to them that they said this in their gospel proclamation to the ends of the earth, in past generations, in bygone generations, God allowed the nations to walk their own ways. But, putting it together, these times of ignorance God overlooked. But now, right now, commands all men everywhere to repent. They saw that as the best time to live in which you could ever have been chosen to live. For a day has been set when he will judge the world with justice by the man that he has appointed, who is Jesus. He has given proof of this by raising him from the dead. Jesus is risen, everything's done, he's seated. The only thing left on the time calendar is for him to come back and judge the living and the dead. What that means is you live in the time of history of the greatest light that has been given to this fallen world. And what a message to come to the table this morning and to celebrate. And that's what I want to think with you this morning about. My goal in this sermon is that you would be overwhelmed with God's love for you and His calling upon your life and the blessing of being brought into His kingdom. The text before us this morning in Matthew chapter 4 is wonderful. It shows us three things. It shows us the arrival of the kingdom. And it shows us the power of the kingdom. And it shows us the evidence that the kingdom has come. And that's how we're going to look at this great text this morning, beginning with the power of the arrival of the kingdom and then the power and evidence. In the last section, we looked at, this was last Sunday night, we looked at the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness by Satan himself. And that little glaring phrase in Matthew chapter 3 said that Jesus was doing all of this, putting himself into this kind of test, to fulfill all righteousness, beginning with his baptism. But now we transition today to the crucial moment where he begins his earthly ministry. And it's always wise to think about what is the great first words of our Lord? What is the great emphasis at the beginning of his ministry? What are those words that sound out right at the beginning from his mouth as he begins to minister? That's what we have here in Matthew chapter 4 this morning. And we pick up in verse 12 where we read, Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. We'll pause there for a minute. Matthew is unique in what he emphasizes as opposed to the other Gospels. And it's important to kind of stay with what the Gospel you're reading, what the author is doing. Jesus' ministry, now John has been put in prison. Jesus' ministry is now front and center. John has already decreased off the scene. Jesus is increasing. And now his ministry is front and center. This was a unique place, of course, that he chose to go. Galilee was a settlement on the northwestern shore of the lake, and Josephus records that there were 204 cities in that settlement, in that region, a settlement which belonged to the two tribes of Israel, Zebulun and Naphtali. At least 20 of these cities were Gentile. Matthew records this move by Jesus right at the beginning to head purposely for Galilee. and for Matthew, the cue is that it provides an opportunity for Matthew to provide and record one of the longest Old Testament quotations that we have in the book of Matthew right up at the beginning. Verse 14 tells us that he specifically went there to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet isaiah well you know this we looked at this at christmas time in isaiah chapter 9 the land of zebulun and the land of naphtali by way of the sea beyond the jordan the people in darkness have seen a great light and upon those who sat in darkness the region of the shadow in the region of the shadow of death light has dawned this is the fulfillment of isaiah chapter 9 right here the period when isaiah gave that prophecy was one of the darkest in history and that's captured in the i think the language of the prophecy here do you notice it that people who sit in the shadow of death right out of psalm 23 that region had been war-torn that region had faced terrible judgment that region had been full of sorrow that region had been one awful region to live for many years because of the judgment of god the old testament really does kind of single this out in isaiah's prophecy as one of the darkest places on earth. All the people sat in the shadow of death and darkness and gloom and anguish. No hope and without God in the world. In the midst of the prophecy, Isaiah said at some point, the greatest light that the world has ever known or will ever see will be found in this land. And there's that surprising statement in the prophecy of Isaiah that's captured here that Galilee of the nations will see this light. Now this is a very Jewish book. Matthew's the most Jewish of all the Gospels and right from the beginning he is celebrating the great plan that this region would represent the light that would go out into the world of Jew and Gentile. Light going out into the world. A strategic location historically of death and darkness. Here is the beginning of Matthew and Matthew is saying to us, Jesus has fulfilled this. The light has dawned. Light to us has come into the world. And very light that goes out to all the nations. Have you thought in this congregation alone today how many nations are represented? How many peoples? And that leads us to the very first words of our Lord's ministry. Matthew says, at this very moment, he began to preach. This is what he came to do. He came to preach. He came to preach the gospel. He began to preach and say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I was in the parking lot here for the school the other day and I see a lot of bumper sticker verses put on cars, but on the Calvin parking lot, some parent had put on chalk on the back window, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I was stunned. You know, I usually get the Jeremiah verse. You know the plans I have for you. Plans to bless and prosper. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Right on the back of the car. That verse should truly surprise us. Does it? This is the beginning announcement of Christ and his ministry to the world. What does it do to you when you hear it? What do you think it means? What is He saying to us? Someone said to me, Pastor, there are more people burdened here in the church than you realize. More people struggle with depression, hope, sorrow. There are many who come to church every week and they have no confidence in this. Many are just here. They've gone to church their whole lives. But they've not yet found joy and freedom. Comfort and release. They're not quite sure God could love them. is that true? Is that true? This is where you have to listen carefully to the words of our Lord. Matthew is saying, the moment of light has dawned on this world. Maybe you look at all the things happening in the world along with all the sorrow, all the death, all the evil, all the conflict. And you wonder, does God even care? Does God even act? What does God do for us? This whole scene, beginning, comes across from our Lord in this first chapter here of His ministry as bright, as happy, as joyful, as the most joyful moment in all of history. What do you feel when you hear it? Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew records Jesus saying, kingdom of heaven, that should mean something to us. Every Old Testament prophet, everyone longed for this. This was when God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar and saying, you will know heaven rules. You will know that the kingdom of heaven rules. Everyone was looking for the rule of the Messiah. Everyone was looking for the rule of God on the earth. All the history has been looking for it. And of course, people have looked in all the wrong places. They've looked for outward power and show and pomp and greatness. They've looked for the kingdom in all the wrong places. Matthew wants us to say and notice that the kingdom of heaven began its rule with Jesus preaching. And that would take place in him raising up preachers in the next section. And when he said the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he just announced, this is not far off. This is not over here. The kingdom of heaven has now arrived in history. It's broken into history with my coming. I'm now taking control. everything that the Old Testament looked for is come. It's come. And what is the first thing Jesus does? Repent. Ties this together with verse 23. He came preaching the good news of the kingdom. Let gospel be translated there as it is. He came preaching the good news of the kingdom. I think we hear repentance as a fearful word in life. Maybe it's kind of been that nagging word we've never quite known what to do with. I think we've been somewhat confused by it. As if this is something that we really can't do or if we can, what does it even mean for us? What is this intrusion upon life? What is this intrusion that now I've got to do this hard thing that I know I can't do? The old writers distinguish between sort of legal repentance and evangelical repentance. Jesus did both. There were times at which he was hard-hitting in his preaching. He was combative in the preaching. remember when um the tower of siloam fell fell and people were saying they must have been worse sinners than others that that thing happened jesus said i tell you unless you repent you'll all likewise perish that's very legal that's that's coming hard down this is the tone in which john the baptist came with when he preached and as soon as he said it there come the scribes and the pharisees ready to pounce on him and he says listen who warned you to fully from the wrath to come The axe is laid to the root of the tree, bare fruits worthy of repentance right now. This is combative. I'm of the conviction that here, he speaks in a way of freedom. He came preaching the good news of the kingdom. I think we have to listen carefully to Jesus here. Light has dawned, says the author. Light has come. He didn't begin with legal threats of judgment right away. He will certainly announce judgment. He will certainly preach judgment. But he begins with this phrase, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He could have said to you, Repent, for the kingdom of hell is coming on you. But he didn't. He could have said to us, and he does say it, you've all been so wicked, I'm here to bring hell and wrath on all of you. You get a sense here of compassion to those in darkness. When he says the kingdom of heaven and he preached the good news, He's saying to you, do you know what kingdom I've brought down on you? It's a kingdom of mercy. It's a kingdom of grace. It's a kingdom of free forgiveness of your sins. I'm bringing. I have opened that up to you by coming here. How many of you have struggled with sins you've done? And the sense is you think there's no way you could be forgiven. And God's wrath and such a holy God and just, there's no way He really means it for you. There's no way. He probably in the end won't forgive you. The opening call is a call of freedom. It's your light in the darkness. You are in the valley of the shadow of death. Any of you could die tonight. You realize that? It's over. And the Lord's saying to begin His ministry, turn to me. There's a kingdom I'm giving and offering to you that's a kingdom of grace and forgiveness of all your sins. He fills this out in Matthew 9. Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls. That's what I'm bringing. That's my kingdom. Remember when I was preaching last week in Daniel, that end verse of Daniel, Multitudes will sleep and the dust of the earth will awake on the last day. Multitudes who are dead already are going to awake on the last day. Some to everlasting life. And others to everlasting shame and contempt. If you die tonight without Christ, you go into the grave. At the resurrection of the last day, a lot of people who didn't take any of this seriously will rise to everlasting shame and judgment eternally. This is pretty heavy. Are you burdened by that at all? This is a call to Jesus. I'll release all your sins. I'll forgive them all. All your rebellion in life, all that you've done, that pathway can be overturned. If you take my story, everyone has a story. Take my story. I was raised in a Christian home. Christian school, public school. I was an athlete. Christian influence, Christian parents. Went to church. I can't, never remember a time I didn't go to church. Baptized. Decades of my life. Christian, Christian, Christian, Christian. That verse meant nothing to me. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come. Okay. Great. It didn't touch my life at all. I went on without any real concern. because I had all this. Jesus wasn't really speaking to me. Speaking to the bad people out there. Because I wasn't burdened about coming myself. But I needed to come. I needed to turn. I needed to repent. I needed Jesus. Repent and believe the kingdom has come. There's no neutral place. All of this can be reversed. You can be conveyed out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light right now. You say, well, what does that look like? I don't really know what that looks like. I didn't either. And I think the passage that follows this is meant to help you with that. As Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee, he sees two brothers. Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for their fishermen. This was very lucrative business back in the day. Josephus records hundreds of boats in the Sea of Galilee, hundreds in the lake. And they were rough, tough fishermen. You've seen deadliest catch, haven't you? They smoked. Here's a display of his sheer power. Jesus walks up to Peter and Andrew. Follow me. And I'll make you fishers of men. Same is true here of James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother. As they're mending their nets, he calls them. And Matthew chooses a word here that's way more common to Mark, but since Matthew does it, I think it's meant to stand out the way he does. Don't want to miss it. Immediately they followed. Follow me. Immediately they followed. And did you notice the last one? Left behind dad. Big theme. You can't follow Christ and still have more loyalty to your parents, you see. I think this was meant to be a huge encouragement to us. Jesus calls for repentance. In the next scene, he places a call on their lives and they immediately follow. It says twice. Immediately they follow. There's no human way of explaining that. If I'm walking out in Escondido the other day and I'm out there and I see a couple guys and I say, hey, follow me. I'd be a crazy man. Who would do it? I guess it depends on how I act. This is crazy, all of it. He walks up to some rough, tough fishermen who are out in the boat, who don't know him at all, and with one word, two words, follow me. They get up and they follow. What a powerful summons on their life. grace laid a hold of them. Their whole life is now redefined. They become fishers of men. They would devote their lives to following their set apart to the Lord, to the ministry of the gospel, to save people, to preach this message. It's a remarkable moment. You realize when this call comes in your life, It's personal. And it's effectual. There's an external call that goes out all the time. I'm going to say here, repent and believe the gospel. And for some it may go just like it did me. But what happens when it comes in the power of the Spirit? C.S. Lewis, of course, using that famous poem by Francis Thompson, Describe God as the hound of heaven. It's a title. By that phrase, he said, God doggedly pursued him and would not let him go. The king's call is so powerful in our lives, there's nowhere to go but to flee back to him. John Stott said, My faith is due to Jesus Christ himself, who pursued me relentlessly, even when I was running away from him in order to go my own way. And if it were not for the gracious pursuit of the hound of heaven, I would have today be on the scrap heap of a wasted and discarded life. Changes your whole course. This is repentance. That's why it's evangelical. Because this is what happens. You're going his way. It happens and it changes everything. It changes how you view worship. It changes everything about you. See how encouraging it is for prodigals like us? Maybe you have a son or a daughter who's wandered. You pray for the external call to be given, but more importantly, you pray for that effectual call because when it comes, they're not getting away. The whole picture here is one of power in the kingdom. Do you see it? The kingdom arrives, the announcement comes, and then the power comes. He's building an army. They leave all and they follow. And the whole picture here of Christ coming, announcing, repent, return to the Lord, demonstrates his power now for that to happen in his people. Now let me pause and ask, where do you fit into this? You've either come or you haven't. There's no middle ground. There's no, I'm just kind of waiting. No, then you haven't come. Have you repented? Have you turned away from sin? Have you felt the burden of this? Has his powerful call come to you? Has he taken your guilt away? Has he taken your shame away? You know, as of late, we've had in this church about, count four men who have been attending this church who just recently or in the past years got out of prison. one a few Sunday nights told me he became reformed in prison he said my burden is I feel alone in the church because I don't feel like anyone has a story like mine reality all of our story is the same we're all under bars until we're released and when you talk with people who know this deliverance there's a humility that comes out God laid hold of me at the lowest point in my life and he set me free that is no less true for all of us who've lived the externally righteous life we have to be freed too we have to be freed too that's why jesus says to all no matter your station no matter your place no matter where you've been what you've done repent turn to me for the kingdom has come the kingdom of mercy the kingdom of grace the kingdom of forgiveness you're not in a neutral position you have either heard the call to repent confessing your sins professing faith why would anyone delay that you're not in a neutral place and you'll have your life turned upside down and you'll be a follower of him and Matthew ends this initial presentation of the ministry by providing evidence that the kingdoms come to encourage you jesus goes all throughout galilee doing these teachings doing three things teaching in the synagogues preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing all kinds of diseases among the people casting out demons in the end it says his fame spread all throughout syria healing all kinds of people great multitudes from notice galilee and decapolis jerusalem and Judea and beyond the Jordan followed him he went about teaching in their places of worship the kingdom he explained the gracious kingdom he was bringing in and what a merciful savior he is and he preached the gospel of the kingdom to them he said come in enter today come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and let me show you the power of the kingdom as he healed people to demonstrate it's come. And don't ever think this is not a success. For Matthew says, the multitudes were great that followed. Don't think the kingdom of heaven is not winning. It's an overwhelming success. The kingdom of heaven is full of every last one whom he called because they come. Have you come? You live in the best time ever. Do you know that? I don't know all the stations here, but my guess is many of us have been raised in the kingdom. I say to you, a great light has dawned. why would anyone who's been given all this light not come? This is the day of good news. Today you can receive the forgiveness of your sins. That's the greatest light in this world of darkness God's ever given. It's the best you're going to get. And today he sealed it by giving a table for all who repent and believe the gospel come. What this declares to you today is, I love you. I've forgiven you. I'm not going to hold your sins against you. I gave my body and my blood to release you from the bars of prison that you're in. be free and live in the joy of this comfort let's pray heavenly father thank you for your word to us today thank you for blessing us and encouraging us i pray that lord all of us would hear this great call to repent to turn from sin to come to you to believe the gracious gospel that's been spoken to us through your son may that be powerful and effective in our lives as we follow you wherever you will have us to go in jesus name we pray amen