Ted Weiss

Matthew 4:12-17 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

            “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—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.”

From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Reflection:
Why did Jesus start his preaching career by calling on his listeners to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”? And what did Jesus mean when, at the beginning of his public ministry, he urged his followers to “repent”? My understanding of the word “repentance” has changed fundamentally during the course of my life as a Christian. As a child, I was taught that “repentance” meant “to be sorry for your sin,” to seek God’s forgiveness, and to resolve not to commit the sin again. As the following discussion will reveal, the word “repentance” means something significantly different to me today, and this revision results from a major change in my faith.

The passage above tells us that after learning of John’s arrest, Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown, and settled “in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.” Perhaps he left Judea because he was just beginning his public life and did not want to be arrested before he completed his mission as the Son of Man. Or perhaps it was significant for another reason: it fulfilled a prophecy from Isaiah that the people in this region who lived in darkness and the shadow of death would see “a great light,” presumably a reference to Jesus and the brilliant message he would bring. It is interesting that Isaiah’s prophecy says that Zebulun and Naphtali are in “Galilee of the Gentiles,” which suggests, as we now know, that the light of Jesus’ wisdom would spread beyond the Jewish people to the entire world.

In this context, at the end of the passage, we read that Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Why is this command the first message Jesus preached to this group of people? There is no indication that he was instructing those who heard him to confess their sins and ask God for forgiveness. Rather, we are told that the reason for repentance is that “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” In recent years, I have learned that “repentance,” as used in Scripture passages like the one above from the Gospel of Matthew, means to experience a change of mind. Matthew uses the word metanoeō for repentance and translates to a transformative change of heart, or in more modern terms, a spiritual conversion. In his contemporary translation of the Bible called The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases this word as “change your life.”

The need for repentance I was taught as a child seemed to impose a burden of fear and guilt; the consequences of not repenting could be severe. Unlike this negative connotation, my more recent understanding of the word “repentance” is positive and hopeful. God is not threatening to punish me if I fail to repent. Instead, God is showing God’s infinite love by encouraging me to make a radical transformation of my heart and mind. This change in outlook is a foretaste of living in “the kingdom of heaven,” which I have come to believe is the Presence of God on Earth in the person of Jesus. If I become his follower and disciple, eternal life is available to me now, and there is no need to wait for the world to come after my death. 

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you did not come to Earth to terrify or punish me, but rather to show me how to love my neighbor as you have loved me. Help me to let you transform my heart and soul so I can live in the kingdom of heaven by experiencing eternal life here and now. As I seek to be your disciple, teach me to see your face in everyone I meet, and to be your face for everyone I meet.