Matthew 4:12-17 "Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Jesus came to fulfill the law and to do His Father’s will. He was born a Jew of the tribe of Judah. He forbade His disciples at one point to preach to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:6) and said of Himself that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). Both Zabulon (Zebulon, a son of Israel) and Nephthalim (Naphtali, also a son of Israel) were Jewish cities, although there would certainly have been some Gentiles (anyone not a Jew) living in the area.
If, during His earthly ministry, Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, why did Isaiah prophesy that He would go by the way of Galilee of the Gentiles? Thayer’s Greek Definitions also defines the term Gentiles as meaning “individuals of the same nature.” Approached from this view, the term Gentiles could certainly apply to the Jews as well. They rejected the notion that Jesus was the coming King they had been looking for over the previous generations and continued to glory in their own self-righteousness and legal religious zeal.
The glorious truth in all this is that both Jew and Gentile would be brought by God’s grace to see a great Light! Even though they had together sat in the region and shadow of death, the Light had come suddenly and banished the shadows. There was something at hand that was better than their service of self-righteous legality or the worship of idols that only sat in darkness. Jesus Himself declared that His kingdom was at hand, and that declaration called to those who saw the Light.
Beloved of the Lord, if we have heard the call to repentance, it is because the Sun of righteousness has risen upon us (Malachi 4:2). We have felt the healing in His wings. We understand that our place in the family of God has nothing to do with who we are by nature and everything to do with the Great Light. Let us rejoice today that we no longer sit in the darkness of the shadow of death!