Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand - Behold it is in your midst

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 happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, on the other side of 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 his brother Andrew, 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 people.” 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 his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

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

²⁴ And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them. ²⁵ Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Previously in Matthew 3:1-3 it said: Now in those days John the Baptistcame, 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 calling out in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,Make His paths straight!’”  In today’s text it says: 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 happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, on the other side of 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.”  Jesus message from the beginning was the same as the message of the one who came before Him to prepare the way: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Jesus did indeed associate with sinners and outcasts, but it was not because He embraced or even tolerated their sin, as some people say. Rather, in Luke 5:31-32 Jesus says: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

The text says: Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people. And the news about Him spread throughout Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and severe pain, demon-possessed, people with epilepsy, and people who were paralyzed; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.  Jesus called His disciples to walk with Him and work with Him, to declare that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. The miracles and the healings that took place were not for Jesus to gain notoriety, they were the evidence that the kingdom of heaven had come. In Luke 17:21 Jesus says: “Behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”  Jesus taught us to pray saying: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

In Acts 1:8 Jesus says: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  Like His disciples then, Jesus also calls us to be His witnesses, to walk with Him and work with Him, to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What must we do though if we want to do more than say it is coming? What must we do if we want to behold the kingdom of heaven in our midst? Perhaps we need to return to the message of Jesus and of John saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In Mark 16:15-18 Jesus says: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  The miracles, signs and wonders follow the believing. They are not meant to entice people to know and believe in Jesus, but rather are the evidence that the kingdom of heaven is in our midst. Mark 16:19-20 says: So then, after the Lord 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, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.