Wednesday 21st January
Read Matthew 4:12-17
“When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali – 14 to fulfil what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
15 ‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles –
16 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.’
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” (NIVUK)
Why might Matthew have quoted Isaiah 9 in such a way that no known ancient manuscript contains the variation he chooses? Perhaps, like scriptural authors before him, the changes he has made are very deliberate and he is as conscious of inspired writing as they were?
Without giving away the immense amount of joy one can find in exploring the context of each of the changes Matthew has made, what Matthew has done is subtly adjust the Isaiah 9 passage to show not only how it is filled full within Isaiah but finally fully filled by Jesus. Matthew has included phrasing that links Isaiah 9 with Isaiah 42 and Isaiah 60. He has linked the promised hope with the suffering Servant (Isaiah 42) and the realised joy (Isaiah 60) and presented the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as the fulfillment of all the Davidic and Abrahamic promises of scripture.
So, not a mistake.
But equally, not straightforward either. Matthew, at the end of his introduction to the ministry and teaching of Jesus, longs for the people reading this gospel to wrestle with who Jesus is and what His arrival means for them. On the surface it may look like he has placed seven ‘proof-texts’ that establish that Jesus was predicted to come. But looking deeper prompts us to wonder exactly who He is and what He sought to do. For the radical teaching that follows is transformative for individuals, communities and indeed the whole world…
