Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.”
The Gospels are filled with many events from the birth of Jesus and His first miracle at Cana to His resurrection and ascension. In between are challenges to individuals, parables, confrontations and more miracles. In the midst of it all, what is the central message that Jesus was conveying? Grace, love, forgiveness? Early in his Gospel, Matthew makes it clear. After recording the victory of Jesus over the tempter in the wilderness, Matthew declares the beginning of His ministry with these words: “From that time Jesus preached this message; ‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.’ “
If we remain the enemies of God, this message should be frightening. Watch out! Judgment day is coming to town. Yet, if we embrace the message in humility, it is one of great encouragement, because the primary tone of His message was, and is, that we CAN change – because the kingdom of God is near. This was the message Jesus extended to sinners who were broken and poor in spirit – not merely the opportunity to be forgiven, but the possibility to actually change, to be renewed, transformed, reborn! “Go and sin no more.
“James, the brother of Jesus, would later write that peering into the Word of God is like seeing one’s reflection in a mirror. In other words, God’s word reveals what needs to be changed. In contrast to Michael Jackson’s song, “Man in the Mirror”, there are actually two reflections in this mirror. If we open our eyes, we see ourselves beside the image of God’s own Son. Repentance is the action of hearers that transforms them into doers. We are not called to simply be better, kinder, or more compassionate; the goal of our transformation is the very image of Jesus Himself. It is overwhelming and, at the same time, incomparably desirable. Though we will never reach that lofty goal, we can always move one step closer by the grace extended through the nearness of His kingdom. That message persists everyday by the witness of His Spirit to all of us: “Don’t stop now. Continue. Repent! Change, for the grace and power of God’s kingdom is near!”