Living in Darkness Is Not Living

"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." "

- Why does Jesus spend much of His time in Galilee instead of in the capital Jerusalem? Galilee has many Gentiles whom the Jews look down upon. Christ coming to such an area shows that God does not always act the way people expect; oftentimes, He can be found doing amazing things among those who are considered the lowest among us. These Gentiles are people living in darkness--so close to death that they are in its shadow! But now a great light is dawning upon them. Jesus tells them that the kingdom of God is near and that they must repent and prepare.

Responding at Once

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering sever pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him."

- Jesus calls His first disciples, telling Simon Peter and Andrew that He will send them out to "fish for people." Neither brother could have known Jesus very well at this point, nor could they have possibly known what He meant by this cryptic promise. We see now that they were called not to catch fish from a lake but to fish people out of darkness. Simon Peter and Andrew obey "at once," leaving their nets behind. These fishermen abandon their way of life immediately to follow Jesus, and this is the same kind of obedience that Jesus desires of us.