Matthew 4:12-22: The Best Opportunity Ever

I can vividly recall my first assignment in my Preparing to Preach course at United Theological Seminary. It was a course I was very much looking forward to, particularly because the professor was none other than the Rev. Dr. Richard Eslinger. The man is a master sermon crafter, and if I was going to learn, it was going to be from him.The first assignment he gave us was to write a one page sermon on the theme, "The world is full of darkness, but Jesus is the light of the world." As a know-it-all, 27 year old seminarian, I thought that was a piece of cake. The night before the class I sat down and wrote down what I then thought was a magnum opus, I now know that it wasn't. It wasn't even close!Dr. Eslinger read all of our papers with little to no comment, then when he was finished he stood before us and said, “I have two observations for you. First,” he said, “you’re understanding of the world’s darkness does not touch 90% of the congregations that you will serve.”Then he said this, “if you do not understand how each and every person’s life is touched and affected by the darkness of this world, you will never help them see why they need the light of Christ.”His observations have remained with me since that day, but they rushed forcibly into my mind this week as I heard Matthew say of Jesus, "the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16).As I prepared to preach this passage I couldn't help but revisit the mistake I made in my preaching class. What I did then was locate the darkness in the deed. For example, the darkness was rape, war, terrorism, and other wicked things. To be sure, those things to represent the darkness, BUT THEY ARE NOT THE DARKNESS. Rather, those evil deeds are come because the people who do them dwell in darkness.So the darkness is not the deed, the darkness is the idea from which the deed emerges. Think about it, What was it that initially plunged humanity into darkness? Was it not an idea believed?“Did God really say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'? God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."See, when the idea is taken hold of, the action follows. This is the way people sit in darkness. They take hold of false ideas, and as they believe them, their actions begin to conform to that which is untrue. It is this world that Jesus enters and shines light on the erroneous idea systems that were, and are, governing reality.So instead of a God who was believed to be judgmental, vindictive, distant, or impassible, Jesus reveals a God who is just, loving, merciful, and concerned. Instead of the idea of scarcity that caused people to pinch and hold fast to what they have while others suffered, Jesus reveals the idea of God supplying all that is needed, thus encouraging generosity. Instead of the idea that a persons worth is determined by what they have or do, Jesus reveals that all people are worthy in the eyes of God.This is the reality he comes to reveal to everyone who will place their trust in him. That is what he means by, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." He is not asking people to feel a certain way, as repentance is often understood. He is asking them to change their mind about their thinking, and organize their lives to live into this newly revealed reality called the kingdom of heaven.This is the opportunity each and every one of us has been given. It is the chance to learn from Jesus how to live our lives as God intended for us to live them. Or, as Dallas Willard says, "As Jesus’ disciple, I am his apprentice in kingdom living. I am learning from him how to lead my life in the Kingdom of the Heavens as he would lead my life if he were I."This is, quite frankly, the best opportunity that we will ever receive. Please do not miss out on it.