The people who sat in darkness saw a great Light

"The people who sat in darkness saw a great Light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned." Matthew 4:16

Our verse today is quoted from Isaiah 9:2, as Matthew writes his account of the life of Jesus, who came and brought light to Capernaum by the sea at the start of His ministry on earth.

The people who sat in darkness - Isaiah renders it "the people who walked in darkness." There's quite a difference between sitting in darkness and walking in darkness. You and I can find ourselves in either condition, and both are quite hopeless, if one stops to think about it. To be sitting in darkness brings to mind a picture of one who has given up entirely. Darkness has swallowed this person up and they have stopped moving - all they can do is sit. To be walking in darkness presents a picture of one who is groping around, feeling their way in the dark, bumping into objects and trying to go somewhere, without success.

Saw a great light - The time before Jesus came was a time of gloom and darkness. It was similar to the state of things at the creation of our world, when all was dark. Then God said, 'Let there be light' and there was light. When Jesus arrives, there's always light. Thank God for the One who brought Light to a sin-darkened world. It is again a time on earth before Jesus returns. There's lots of darkness. People don't have hope, because they don't have Jesus.

If you've been sitting or dwelling in the region of darkness - the shadow of death - lately, look at the eastern horizon: Light has dawned - what a blessing!

May the Light of heaven shine on you and on your path today.