LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
From Darkness to Light
"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light; and to those who sat in the region of the shadow of death, light has shined" (Matthew 4:15-16).
The Gospel of Matthew was written to reveal Jesus as the King. It is possible to approach this gospel from several approaches, and one of them is to consider geography as a criterion for its study.
At the time of Jesus, Israel was divided into two great provinces: Judea and Galilee. The former was the center of religious and political life. Galilee, to the north, was contemptuously called "Galilee of the Gentiles". However, Jesus visited those lands of darkness, and there he announced the gospel of the kingdom of heaven and did the greatest wonders, showing himself to be the Messiah announced by the prophets.
It was also from those places that he called his disciples. They did not belong to the cities of Judea, nor did they come from a priestly class or family of prophets. Geographically, they were closer to the Gentiles than to the religious center, and perhaps also in terms of their spiritual life in some cases.
Those disciples dwelt in lands where the shadows of death loomed over their lives. However, the light of life shone upon them. Jesus burst in with an announcement that shook their hearts, but at the same time attracted them, was stronger than they were. They began to feel how life penetrated to their bones and filled their whole being. The darkness receded; the light of Life had come.
From there, Jesus called his first disciples. Coming out of a Gentile land, where darkness was thick and alien to the teachings of the Scriptures, they were chosen by God to be the apostles of the Lamb, and became the foundations and precious stones of the new Jerusalem.
So also we, coming from places no better than those dark lands, the Light shone upon us and we were called to communion with Jesus Christ, and called to dwell, forever, in the city that has foundations: Jerusalem the heavenly.