EPIPHANY • 4

Who Will You Follow in 2023?

SET PRAYER

God of Blazing light,

through the power of the cross you shattered our darkness,

scattering the fears that bind us

and setting us free to live as your children.

Give us courage and conviction

that we may joyfully turn and follow you

into new adventures of faithful service,

led by the light that shines

through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen.

SONGS FOR PRAYER


reading for: Tuesday Night, 17 JANUARY

Matthew 4:12-23

Following the Call of Jesus

  • READ

    In today’s reading, we see Jesus moving to Capernaum and making it his home base for the duration of his ministry in Galilee. Jesus’ move to Capernaum fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would be a light to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali (Isaiah 9:1-2). Hence, Jesus’ move was intentional and implied that the great light has come. The Messiah that the prophets spoke of is here.

    Thus, v17 marks a significant turning point in the gospel of Matthew as Jesus begins his public ministry in Israel. At this point in time, Jesus is still an obscure figure. No one knows who he is and no one has heard him preach. And so he launches his ministry by building upon the message of John the Baptist – proclaiming the Kingdom and calling for repentance.

    As Jesus goes around preaching the good news, he starts to gather a small following and eventually calls Simon, Andrew, James and John to follow him. And surprisingly, these fishermen responded to Jesus and decided to follow him.

    By emphasising that they left everything behind and followed Jesus immediately, the picture that Matthew is painting is that whoever Jesus is, there is something very compelling about this man and the message that he is proclaiming. There must be something about Jesus that triggered the fishermen to respond in the way they did. And true enough, these first disciples of Jesus got to see him in action – proclaiming the Kingdom and healing the diseased and afflicted.

  • REFLECT

    The kingdom of God is near! Each new year is a year closer to Jesus’ coming again. As we celebrate CNY and enjoy much food this week, let us stay sober and not allow the festival to drown out the voice of God. Hear the words of Jesus:

    “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” -

    “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!” -

    1. Do you believe? (What is holding you back from belief?)

    2. Have you repented? (What have you been stumbling over?)

    3 .Will you follow? (What will you leave behind?)

    As we embark on a new year, may you and I come to see Jesus afresh and discover for ourselves who this man is and understand the message he came to deliver. If Jesus is who he says he is and his message is true, nothing will hold us back. All of us would want Jesus.

reading for: Wednesday Night, 18 JANUARY

Isaiah 9:1-4

Following the Light of Jesus

  • READ

The connection between today’s and yesterday’s readings become apparent once we read it. It is the exact same passage that Matthew had quoted in his gospel to persuade his audience that Jesus is the fulfilment of this ancient prophecy. So let’s dig a little deeper into the context of Isaiah 9:1-4.

When Isaiah spoke these words, it was a time of doom and gloom. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali, which represented the Northern Kingdom of Israel, has been conquered. It was a terrible time of oppression. And it was in this time of great darkness and despair that God promised to send a light that will shine on everyone living in the shadow of death.

And if we continue reading beyond v4, we come to one of the most well-known verse in the Bible:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.”

In other words, the great light that will dispel the darkness is a person. A child would be born and he would grow up to become Israel’s deliverer – the Messiah. And when the Messiah comes, there will be great joy as he delivers his people from their oppression.

Jesus grew up in the region of Galilee and began his public ministry in Capernaum, which was in the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. Therefore, Matthew quotes these verses to validate Jesus’ ministry and to acknowledge that he is the child, the deliverer and the great light that was promised through the prophet Isaiah.

  • REFLECT

    In the opening of John’s gospel, John describes Jesus as the light of men and the true light – “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:4-5; 9)

    And in John 8:12, Jesus proclaimed that he is the light of the world and that whoever follows him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Jesus is the true light, the light of the world and the light of life.

    The fullness of life is found in Jesus and when we find him, we find the light that we so desperately need to navigate this life. Perhaps the irony for us who live in a city of lights is that we don’t realized how dark this world is and the despair that many are facing.

    There is as much darkness and despair in our world today as there was in the time of Jesus. And just as the people of Galilee were the first to see a great light, those of us who have come to know Jesus are the first to see a great light.

    CNY is a time of joy for families who are reunited. CNY is also a time of despair for families that are broken. As we go about celebrating CNY, let us not forget the orphan, the widow, the poor, the foreigner and the broken-hearted.

    1. Do you know someone who is going through a difficult time?

    2. Do you know someone who will be alone during CNY?

    May you and I bear witness to the Light that we have seen. May the people we encounter and interact with this CNY see the light of Christ in you and me. And may we reach out to those in darkness and despair, should the Lord calls us to. Amen.

reading for: Thursday Night, 19 JANUARY

1 corinthians 1:10-18

Following the message of jesus

  • READ

    Today’s reading takes us into a time of division in the church of Corinth. Paul had founded the church in Corinth on his second missionary journey and in his absence, the church has been spilt into different factions – Some preferred Paul. Some preferred Peter. Some preferred Apollos.

    Though Paul, Peter and Apollos had preached the same message, the believers were divided by which messenger to follow. Hence, Paul appeals to the believers in Corinth to seek unity and insists that Christ cannot be divided. He reminds them that they have been baptized in the name of Jesus and into the body of Christ. Thus, they are one in Christ.

    Paul confesses that it was not eloquence that had won them over to Jesus. The message of the cross is foolish. Only fools would believe such a message. Yet many of them believed. The power of the cross is not found in Paul or Peter or Apollos’ rhetorical ability. The power of the cross is found in the message that they preached. It is the message that they have heard and the Spirit of God who was working through the words of Paul, Peter and Apollos that had awaken the believers and brought them to faith. Such is the wisdom of God.

  • REFLECT

    We probably heard it before but it is worth repeating why the message of the cross was a foolishness and stumbling block to both the Greeks and the Jews. For the Greeks, the gospel was foolish because no good man would be crucified and death is defeat, not victory. Thus, the message made no sense to the Greeks because Jesus was crucified like a criminal and died on a cross.

    For the Jews, the gospel was a stumbling block because they believed that the Messiah would be a conquering king who would restore the Davidic kingdom. The Jews saw the Messiah as a strong figure who will sit on the throne. Hence, the message was offensive to the Jews because Jesus is weak and he did not overthrow the Roman Empire to reign as Israel’s king. Jesus is certainly not the Messiah they were promised.

    The Gospel still sounds foolish to the ears of many today. Many people think that Christians are foolish to hold onto to their beliefs. At our homes and workplaces and social gatherings, many of us have probably interacted and conversed with non-believers about our faith, and witnessed their bewilderment. For those who do not yet know God, the gospel is perplexing and stumbling.

    And for those of us who have come to faith, we must be careful not to be swayed by charismatic speakers. There are individuals who are extremely gifted and listening to them is very stimulating. There is nothing wrong with that. However, the problem that Paul was addressing that is also common today is chasing after the speaker and making it central to our faith (e.g. settling for a church based on how good the pastor/preacher is).

    Nonetheless, the key question each of us must contend with is:

    1. Are we following the Message or the Messenger?

    2. Are we overly concerned with our own ability to share the Gospel?

    In this CNY, there will be plenty of opportunities and conversations and interactions. How will we be witnesses of God and His Kingdom? Let us examine our own hearts and intentions in following certain pastors/preachers/authors. And let us not be fixated with appearing foolish or not being eloquent in the way we present the gospel to our families, friends and colleagues. The wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. His ways are higher than ours.

reading for: Friday Night, 20 JANUARY

PSALM 27:1, 4-9

following the presence of jesus

  • READ

  • REFLECT

Season of EpiphanyCNL