Of the passages in the Hebrew prophets Christians cite as oracles about Jesus, the one the church proclaims this week from Isaiah 8 makes one of the more distant connections. The prophet was speaking very specifically about a particular set of historical circumstances: the birth of a hero-king who would—but not yet had—bring hope to the Northern kingdom of Israel the Assyrians had carved up into provinces. So why did Matthew mention it? He was at some pains to explain why Jesus left Judea to minister in Galilee; the stuff in Isaiah about bringing light to the people of “the way to the sea” fit the bill. What Jesus did, therefore, was God’s will.

What that will was more concretely, something much more important, becomes clear in what the gospel says next. Jesus delivered his message, very similar to John the Baptist’s: Redirect your entire life—repent—because everything God has wanted to do with the world is happening now.