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The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, To those who sat in the region and shadow of death, To them did light spring up."
Verse Takeaways
1
The Meaning of Light & Darkness
Commentators explain that "sitting in darkness" and the "shadow of death" are powerful metaphors for a state of profound spiritual ignorance, sin, and hopelessness. Jesus is the "great light" who brings truth, salvation, and life, piercing through this gloom. His arrival is like the dawn, bringing a new era of hope and knowledge of God.
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Book Overview
Matthew
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9
18th Century
Presbyterian
The people who sat in darkness. This is an expression denoting great ignorance. As in darkness or night we can see nothing and do not know…
Saw a great light (φως ειδεν μεγα). Matthew quotes Isa 9:1f. , and applies the words about the deliverer from Assyria to the Messi…
19th Century
Anglican
This citation is remarkable, as it is the only reference in the New Testament to what seems to us the most wonderful and majestic of all Messianic …
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Baptist
Oh, the tender mercy of our God! Where the darkness is the deepest, there the light shines the brightest. Christ selects such dark regions as Napht…
Jesus’ move fulfilled Isa 9:1–2, a prophecy that is part of a large structure looking to Immanuel’s coming (). The point of the quotation is clear …
17th Century
Reformed Baptist
The people which sat in darkness The inhabitants of Galilee, who sat or "walked", as in Isaiah; that is, continued i…
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It is just for God to take the gospel and the means of grace from those who disregard them and thrust them away. Christ will not stay long where he…
13th Century
Catholic
The Evangelist showed how Christ was tried and approved, specifically by conquering the devil; here he shows how Christ began to teach. In this reg…
