The people who sat in darkness saw great light; and to them who sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.
All Commentaries on Matthew 4:16 Go To Matthew 4
Theophylact of Ochrid
AD 1107
. "By the way of the sea" means "which is situated along the road of the sea." The "great light" is the Gospel, for the law, too, was a light, but a small one. "The shadow of death" is sin, for sin is the likeness and silhouette of death. Just as death overpowers the body, so too does sin overpower the soul. The light has dawned on us, for we were not seeking it, but it appeared to us as if it were pursuing us.
