When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭5‬
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

From the beginning of time, God created light. He saw that light was good. And he separated it from the darkness. Since that day, darkness has been a spiritual analogy for sin, evil and death; and light is an analogy for life, goodness, and justice. The prince of darkness is Satan. The Prince of Peace and the Light of the World is Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful prophecy from the book of Isaiah! The Jews must have been on the lookout for this light that would give them light and life amidst the darkness and fear of Roman occupation. Leaving Nazareth to live in Capernaum, Jesus fulfilled this old prophecy.

One of the beautiful word pictures here is: “on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned!” It reminds me of a journey at night over a treacherous mountain range, stumbling, falling, getting cut up and bruised; but never giving up. Why? Because there were those whose deeds were dark and evil pursuing. And then, all of the sudden, a light dawns. It starts out as a small glimmer of hope cresting over the mountain range far away. As the sun rises, it illuminates your mountains and you can now see a cut out path forward. And your dark pursuers shrink back into the darkness, afraid that the light will show off their evil deeds.

Jesus is a light for us spiritually. He comes into our lives and lights the way out of darkness and into a life of light and purpose. When we follow him, we see beauty, where once we saw only pain, misery, and darkness.

Lord, thank you for being the light that dawns in my heart each day. You surprise me with your goodness and I am blessed by your provision! May your Spirit reign in me, so I act as a spiritual candle of light for all to see, that points back to you.