The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
4 sermons cite this verse
… And we kind of skip over that to get to the better known parts about a people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. We hear that at Christmastime. We hear that in oratorios. That's a well-known part of Isaiah. but it's set up by these first kind of strange lines, that the Lord degraded the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the end, he's glorified the seaward road, so which is up in that direction. So what are we talking about? We're talking about districts of the Holy Land named for the sons of Jacob, who become the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel. So the patriarch Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, has twelve sons. And these twelve sons give rise to families or tribes. And then when the Israelites come into the Promised Land, they kind of arrange themselves in different parts of the country, and so they're named for these twelve tribes. So you've got Benjamin, you've got Judah, and you've got Dan and Asher and these various sons. …
… me. And then God says to the prophet Isaiah, here's what an ideal king would look like. The people, he says, who walked in darkness have seen a great light. So you're terrified and afraid and the people in the north have been obliterated. But the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us. Authority rests upon his shoulders, and his name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom and he will establish and uphold it with justice, that is fairness and righteousness, that is compassion for the poor and those who are in need, with justice and righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. This is one of dozens of messianic prophecies, prophecies about a Messiah, an anointed king who would come from God, who would live the way God wanted them to live and lead the people the way God wanted them to lead. …
… and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 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. Now pay attention close to verse 17. From that time on, Jesus began to preach, repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. Now what we've got to realize is this is the very beginning of Jesus' ministry. Beginning of this chapter, he's tempted, resists temptation, and then he starts his public ministry. And from the very beginning, one message resounds from his mouth. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. That phrase is used, not just the whole phrase, but especially the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven is repeated over and over and over again throughout the book of Matthew. And what it is, it's not a kingdom as in a place. It pictures the rule and the reign and the dominion and the authority of God. …
… We know that because Isaiah, the prophet in chapter 9 of his prophecy in verse 2, says in a prophecy of the coming of Christ, he says, the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. And He's speaking into the future of the darkness of the world before Christ came. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light. That's a prophecy of the arrival of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by His own confession is the light of the world. So the people of the world were in darkness before the light came. Yes, God had shed His light of glory on the world in many ways, but never, never as definitively and as powerfully as He did when the glory of God was shining in the face of Jesus Christ, who in John 8, 12 said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Since He came, the world has experienced the impact of the light that shattered the darkness, namely the arrival of Christ. …