“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:12-25 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; ¹³ and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.¹⁴ This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— ¹⁶ “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

¹⁸ Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

²³ Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.

²⁴ The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

Today’s text begins saying:  Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;  and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:  “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—  “The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light, And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a Light dawned.”  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”   In yesterday’s text, from Matthew 3:1-3, it said:  Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight!’”     Why is it that so much of the preaching today disregards this foundational element of the preaching of both John and Jesus, repentance?    Much of the message today is a message of grace and mercy; of God’s love and compassion, with very little emphasis on repentance. While Jesus did come to demonstrate the love of God, while He lived a life of compassion, mercy and grace, His message, the gospel of the kingdom which He preached called sinners to repent. Romans 2:4 says:  Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?   God is tolerant, patient and shows kindness toward sinners, not toward sin. The time will come when sin and sinners will be judged. Christ will return as the righteous judge, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 2 Peter 3:9 says:  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.   That Christ has not returned to judge is not that He is tolerant of sin, it is to give people time to respond to the kindness of God; to His grace. It is so that all would come to repentance. Our message too, even as we live lives that demonstrate the love, compassion and grace of God, must include the foundationally element of repentance. Like John and like Jesus, we should say: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

The text continues:  Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.   Like the large crowds, many will follow Jesus seeking what He will do for them. Those who are His disciples will respond to His call to follow and serve Him; to work with Him.   

The text says:  Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.  That is how Jesus began His ministry on earth, preaching and teaching, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease among the people. Many today want to walk in the fullness of the power of the kingdom. In John 14:12-14 Jesus Himself says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”   So, many today rightly want to see and to be the demonstration of the power of God to the world. They want to do what Jesus did and heal every kind of disease. They want to open blind eyes, cause the lame to walk; like Jesus they want to even raise the dead. We should do all those things because Jesus said we would. But perhaps we are missing an important element. Jesus says first that those who believe will do the works, then He says, “I will do it.”  In Mark 16:15-18, at the end of Jesus time on earth, after the crucifixion and resurrection, He said to His disciples, those who would follow to serve Him and work with Him:   “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”   Verses 19-20 say:  So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed. Perhaps the reason we don’t see the fullness of the power of God and the kingdom of heaven is that we don’t begin by preaching the gospel. Perhaps if our message was repent of the kingdom of heaven is at hand, we would see the realities of the kingdom of heaven on earth. Perhaps if we proclaim the message Jesus proclaimed, He will work with us, we will do the works He did because it is after all Jesus who will do them to confirm His word.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit; Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Empowered by the Holy Spirit may I be faithful to proclaim the foundational message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that people should repent and believe. Then Lord Jesus, I believe that You will be faithful to do what You have done before. You will confirm Your word by the works, the signs and miracles. I believe You will do it.     Amen.