Shining from Matthew to Revelation
New Jerusalem is a city of light and the entire New Testament presents the Lord Jesus and His believers as light.
Matthew 4:13 tells us that Jesus “came and dwelt in Capernaum.” Matthew 4:15-16 then quotes Isaiah and declares “The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, to them light has risen.”
The Lord Jesus is the Light of Life (John 1:4; 8:12). In Matthew His first impact on people was not His speaking nor His healing nor His casting our demons; it was His shining. Then, when He spoke to His disciples on the mountain, He told them, “You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden” (Matt. 5:14).
How are we the light of the world? It is because we have received Him! He has become our life to live in us and we “are now light in the Lord” so we should “walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8). In ourselves we are not light. We “were once darkness” (5:8) but the gospel has turned us “from darkness to light” (Acts 26:18).
This shining life wants to expand in us, by Jesus Christ living in us until He is formed in us (Gal. 2:20; 4:19). His shining being formed in us is a part of the preparation of New Jerusalem. (more in the next post)
Photo courtesy of NASA and ESA.
Posted by Don on July 18, 2025
https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2025/07/18/shining-from-matthew-to-revelation/
