Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this evening comes to us from Matthew’s Gospel, the 4th chapter:
Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Thus far the text.
Dearest Capernaum,
The Lord chose you. The Lord Jesus picked you out of all the cities He could live in, and He lived in your city limits. Of course, had you known the Scriptures, this may not have been a surprise to you. But it is easy to forget the Scriptures, isn’t it, when you are so busy with your daily trades in fishing and building.
I know, O Capernaum, you don’t have much time for this Scripture thing. But if you had, you would know that the Messiah would be in your midst one day. You would be looking for Him. For indeed, ever since the time of Joshua, when he led you into the promised land, and when he divvied up the land among the twelve tribes of Israel, a plan was set in place. This plan would be that in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, a land which once belonged to Gentiles, a light would dawn.
This land, O Capernaum, was the first defense against Gentile invaders. When the Syrians would come down to take over Israel, they went for you first, didn’t they? They besieged you, took you over, killed your men, stole your women, and ran you into the ground.
But do not think, O Capernaum, that you did not matter to your Lord. This is why Isaiah prophesied, “But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.” The Lord told you, all the way back to the time of Isaiah, that in you, in your land, in a place by the sea, the way there would be glorious.
And is there a more glorious thing than to see the work of the Christ in your midst, O Capernaum? It was here that Jesus told the disciples to cast their nets off the side of the boats. It was here that the Lord told Peter to find a shekel for the tax in the mouth of a fish. It was here that the Lord cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue, here he raised a centurion’s servant from the dead, here that he raised a paralytic, here that Jesus did many miracles.
But, Capernaum, you did not turn and repent did you? You felt pride that Jesus had decided to live in your midst. This great teacher, this great rabbi, He did many miraculous signs in your midst. But you did not turn. You did not repent. You did not see that this man was the Lord of all creation, the God of Gods.
And so, O Capernaum, you felt great indignation. You were incensed when the Lord preached that repentance against you. You, this little city on the shore of the sea of Galilee, what did you do to deserve the Lord saying of you, “And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.”
How upset you were when He said this against you? You shall not be brought up to heaven, but brought down to hell. What had you done to deserve this? The Lord tells you: you rejected Him. But how did this happen? You had accepted Him in this town! You knew where Jesus lived! Some of His apostles came from here, too. Did you not accept Him? Did you not accept them?
You did not. For the Lord doesn’t care if you marvel at His works. He’s going to do them no matter how you feel about them. The Lord will continue to give you all blessings whether you realize it or not. He doesn’t care. He’s giving because He loves you. You don’t deserve it, but He gives all those blessings anyway. What the Lord cares about is that you repent, that you turn from your sin, that you turn your hearts to Him, the person of Jesus Christ.
Repentance, O Capernaum, is more than just appreciating Jesus. It’s more than knowing who He is, even the demons do that, and tremble at His name. You do not tremble. You trample over who He is, in order that you have some pride that Jesus is in your midst. How heinous a crime you have committed. The light of God, Jesus Christ Himself, has been placed in your midst, HE CHOSE YOU, and you did not repent.
So, He will destroy you, O Capernaum, for your iniquity. Jesus even tells you that it will be more tolerable for Sodom, that great and evil city, whose immorality would have imposed itself upon God, raping the Lord Himself, it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for you. And why? Because they did not yet see the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. They, at least, had some excuse.
But, you, O Capernaum, you had Jesus living with you. And not as a little boy, but as the man Jesus, the rabbi Jesus, the messiah Jesus, the ministerial Jesus. You should have seen Him for who He is. You should have seen Him as the Lord of Lords. You should have seen Jesus for all the preaching He did in your city.
Yet, all you had, regarding Jesus, was pride. You were prideful that He resided within you. And you did not repent. Let this be a lesson to those who hear this letter. Jesus is not a man to look up to, not in that sense. Yes, we should follow after this Jesus. Yes, we should love this Jesus. Yes, we should be glad that Jesus sill performs miracles in our midst even today, healings, giving us food, bringing us breath, and moreover, that faith is given to each and every person that is baptized in the font, that the Lord’s body and blood are present in the Sacrament of His altar, that faith is strengthened by the hearing of His Word. These are miracles that we receive each and every week.
Marvel at these things, yes, but, know the Lord who does these miracles in your midst. Know that He, by faith, is calling you to repentance. He does not desire for any to go the way of Sodom, Gomorrah, Tyre, Sidon, or Capernaum. The Lord has declared that these cities, for their lack of repentance, will fall into the pit of hades. But the Lord does not desire that for you. Rather, the Lord desires your repentance. He desires to give you a new heart. He desires to make you whole.
And just as the Lord desires these things for you, He works to make you desire Him. He works to make you look to Him. He gives you the freedom to reject Him, as you have done, O Capernaum, but when you turn to Him, when you rely on Him, He, and only He, has done this great work in your midst.
This season, let us be reminded of Bach’s great work, Jesú, Joy of Man’s Desiring,
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring,
Holy wisdom, love most bright;
Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring
Soar to uncreated light.
Word of God, our flesh that fashioned,
With the fire of life impassioned,
Striving still to truth unknown,
Soaring, dying round Thy throne.
Through the way where hope is guiding,
Hark, what peaceful music rings;
Where the flock, in Thee confiding,
Drink of joy from deathless springs.
Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure;
Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure.
Thou dost ever lead Thine own
In the love of joys unknown.
This is what the Lord desires for you, O Capernaum, and all hearers of this letter, that where the peaceful music of Christ’s own desires for you is found, here in this place, that you would drink forever from deathless springs, and lead us, in repentance through the Word of God, unto everlasting life and joys unknown. Repent, O Capernaum, and be forgiven, for indeed the Lord is coming, and He is adventing soon. Trust in this Lord, for He has forgiven you of all sin, even of your pride, and moving you to continually repent in Him. In Jesus’ name, we write you in love and concern. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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