The Mission begins
Matt. 4:12-17
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
15 ‘Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned.’
17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’
After John was arrested, Jesus headed to the northern part of Israel. He was trying to create some distance between himself and King Herod. There is an underlying narrative in the gospels of Jesus controlling when things would happen. He knew he was going to be captured and killed on a cross, but Jesus had things he needed to do before then. For Matthew the most important part of what Jesus did before the crucifixion was teach the disciples about how to follow Jesus and live in the kingdom of heaven (kingdom of God). In Galilee, Jesus will be safe for a while from the powers in Jerusalem who might want to arrest him like they had arrested John. Matthew quotes from Isaiah 9 about the northern part of Israel experiencing the great light, the light of the Messiah. Matthew does this to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan, a plan God had hundred of years before Jesus’ birth.
Jesus’ message was simple – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Humanity has not lived up to the purposes for which God created human beings, this is true of us collectively and individually. All of us fall short of the calling to which we have been called – to live the Jesus’ way. The good news is that having glimpsed the kingdom of heaven, we can turn towards it to live its pattern through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are invited to live changed lives, patterned on the kingdom of heaven.
PRAYER:
We rejoice, O Lord, that your Son, Jesus, proclaimed a message of transformation. Show is glimpses of the kingdom of heaven, so that we might be changed through repentance and the power of the Holy Spirit to live as citizens of your coming kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.