Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali
Zebulun and Naphtali were among the first places to experience the Assyrian exile. It may have seemed that something like this could only happen if Israel was forgotten by God, something which people did in fact feel.
Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you (see Isaiah 49:15).
As evidence that God did not forget it was to the first people who experienced the darkness of exile that Jesus would first shine the light of his ministry. They had, it was true, sat in darkness and been overshadowed by death. But in Jesus they were the first ones privileged to see a great light. It was on them that the light of Jesus chose to arise.
Maybe if all Jesus had planned to do was to restore Israel to its preexilic condition it would have seemed like too little, too late. But his plan went much deeper than merely resolving geopolitical problems. The Kingdom that was now at hand was not merely that of a world power like Assyria nor even an elevated and empowered nation of Israel. His Kingdom did not have its origin in this world but rather in heaven. But the fact that it was not of this world did not mean it had no impact on this world. Instead it was precisely because it was the Kingdom of heaven that it had the power to transform the earth. And it would do this in a way that went beyond politics. It would actually address the root causes of the problems in the world: lack of truth, sin, disease, and death.
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
It was important not only to see the light present in Jesus but to abide in the light. In order to get on board with the Kingdom plan it was necessary to repent. This meant to transcend old and limiting beliefs about oneself, others, the world, and God, and choosing a new and spiritual way of thinking. The source of this new mindset was not the self, nor the media, but was rooted in the same place the Kingdom of heaven was revealed: Jesus himself. This was the reason for the criterion John the Evangelist gives to test the truth or falsity of and spirit:
This is how you can know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh
belongs to God,
and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
does not belong to God.
Let's not make things excessively complicated. The commandment comes down to belief in Jesus, hope in his promises, and a response of love to the love he first showed for us. He gave us his Spirit to protect us and guide us along the way. It was never meant to be about what we could do on our own apart from God. Instead we must remember, "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world".
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