Christians read the Hebrew Scriptures with different eyes than do their Jewish neighbors. For Jewish readers their Scriptures are primarily about—well, themselves. That is, the goal of their sacred history remains the nation of Israel, established and secure in their own land, each one sitting under his vine and fig tree, and worshipping in the Temple. For Christian readers, the Hebrew Scriptures are primarily about Jesus of Nazareth, and all that sacred history finds its ultimate goal in His life, and Kingdom, and in the salvation He offers in His Church. That is, Jesus has so touched and transformed our lives that we find Him everywhere—in the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. All the Hebrew Scriptures—not just the writings of the official prophets—are prophetikos for us [see Romans 16:26], and point ultimately to Him.
Thus we read the Old Testament with an eye to its prophetic fulfillment in Christ. Saint Matthew, writing especially for a Jewish audience, makes this point again and again. “This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet” is his constant refrain [Matthew 1:22, 2:5, 15, 17, 23, 3:1, 4:14, 12:17, 13:35]. We can see this dual nature of the sacred Old Testament texts when we examine Isaiah’s prophecy about Galilee, and the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death, light has dawned” [Isaiah 9:2].
We may begin by asking what it was that made the land so dark in the first place. The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali seemed to have existed in perpetual gloom, so that their land was called “the region and the shadow of death.” Why were those two tribes in such continual distress and darkness? The answer may be found by locating them on a map of the Holy Land. These two tribes received their allotted portion of the Land in the far north of Canaan, and it was from the north that foreign invasions usually came. The enemy’s army could not come in from the south, for that was mostly desert, nor from the west, for that was the Mediterranean Sea. Invasion therefore usually came from the north, as the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali discovered to their terrified cost when the Assyrians and then later the Babylonians swept down from the north to burn, terrorize, rape, and slaughter. No wonder they sat huddling for fear “in the region and shadow of death.”
But light was promised. A Child would be born in the nation, a Son given to them, and the government would rest upon His shoulder, and such was His power that His Name would be called “Wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” [Isaiah 9:6]. He would bring peace and security to His people, and the bright light of hope would shine upon those who sat in the shadow of death.
This was the text and the prophecy which lay before the apostles as they read the old Scriptures. Then they encountered Jesus, and found that though He was born in Bethlehem, He did not make His headquarters there when He began His ministry. Though baptized by John way down south in Judea [John 4:22f], and though Jerusalem was the city of destiny where He would fulfil His mission [Luke 13:33], He did not settle in Jerusalem or anywhere in Judea either. Rather, He returned to Galilee, and settled His base in Capernaum.
Soon enough strange stories began circulating around Galilee. Whenever Jesus would enter a synagogue or public place where there were those who were demon possessed, the demons within the afflicted persons began crying out in terror. And instead of being rattled or flustered, Jesus simply ordered the demon to shut up and leave, and it did so instantly. Soon everyone who had such problems brought their demonically afflicted to Jesus for healing. And people brought others too—the blind, the deaf, the lame. Even lepers came and were healed, and some of the dead were raised. What did all this mean?
It meant that the people in the old lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, those who sat in the shadow of death, were seeing a great light. In meant that the ancient prophecies were becoming front page news before their eyes, and finding its fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. Seeing all this occurring in front of them, the apostles had no choice but to conclude that the ultimate fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures centered on Jesus. The final goal of the Old Covenant was not in a people’s national security, but in Christ and His salvation.
That is good news for us also, for whatever our mailing address, we live in Galilee, in the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. That is, we live in the region and shadow of death. All of us are marked for death, whether that doom comes from an Assyrian sword, or a Babylonian spear, or from heart disease, or a traffic accident, or cancer. Like those ancient tribes, we also look to the horizon and the coming morrow and know that death can approach at any time. But upon us and upon our gloom, light has dawned. For us a Child was born, to us a Son was given, and the Prince of Peace shone the eternal light of hope into our darkness. Now we need no longer fear death. Christ dwells in our midst, and saves us from all enemies, even the last enemy, which is death.
It is as C.S. Lewis once wrote to a child in one of the last letters he wrote upon earth, less than a month before his own death: “If you continue to love Jesus,” he said, “nothing much can go wrong with you.” Indeed, nothing can go wrong with us—we live in Galilee, and Christ is in our midst.