Gospel in Art: On them a light has dawned

Fireworks at Castel Sant'Angelo by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1774-1778 © Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Trust

Source: Christian Art

25 January 2026
Matthew 4:12-17

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 'The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.' From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

Reflection on the painting

Matthew presents the opening of Jesus' public life as a sudden explosion of light into a shadowed world. He recognises in it the fulfilment of an ancient promise in Isaiah: a people long accustomed to darkness now find themselves illuminated; those living under the shadow of death discover that light has reached them. And what was this light?: Jesus himself.

The effect was immediate and magnetic. People began to stream towards him from every direction - from Galilee and beyond, from Syria, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judaea, and across the Jordan. Above all, those who were weary, wounded, and burdened were drawn to him. Matthew captures something electric in those early days: a sense of explosion of expectation, joy, and new possibility. That first surge of light, however, was not confined to the past. It has not faded with time. The same Jesus, now risen and living, remains powerfully present among us. Matthew ends his Gospel with the words 'he is with us always', meaning that the Light is til with us, always.

That sudden breaking-in of God's light could be imagined as fireworks: a dark sky held in suspense, then, without warning, an eruption of brilliance that transforms darkness into beauty. It is precisely this moment that we see captured in Fireworks at the Castel Sant'Angelo by Joseph Wright of Derby. Wright, active in Rome during the mid-1770s as part of the Grand Tour, was fascinated by light, whether scientific, artificial, or celestial. He became famous for painting dramatic nocturnal scenes illuminated by a single, powerful source. Here, painted between 1774 and 1778, the night sky over Castel Sant'Angelo (with St Peters in the background) is suddenly pierced by an explosion of colour and radiant light. For a moment, everything is changed: stone, river, and crowd are caught up in the glow. When Christ entered history, his light burst into a darkened work, but unlike fireworks that glow only momentarily, His light is eternal.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-4-12-17-2026/