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Jesus begins his public ministry by preaching, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near” (Matt 4:17). This is the only message that Jesus is explicitly said to have preached. The so-called “Sermon on the Mount, for example, is actually an extended section of the teaching of Jesus.

Many students of Matthew’s Gospel consider 4:17 “From this time on Jesus began…” as a major heading for the middle portion of the Gospel (4:17-16:20). Careful readers will note that 16:21 begins in identical fashion: From this time on Jesus began…. Thus, 4:17 is not only a snippet from the preaching of Jesus but also a heading for the presentation of Jesus’ public ministry. This raises a number of questions for us. What is the meaning of Jesus’ sermon “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”? How does it function as a general heading for Jesus’ ministry? Why does Jesus begin his ministry in this fashion?

I cannot answer these questions exhaustively, but let us begin by breaking down the passage itself.

Repent
The central exhortation is Jesus’ call for repentance. Repentance involves changing or turning. It is a radical “about face” in one’s life.

Often times this text is misread as a one time event in a person’s life. Repentance is typically associated with a person’s conversion experience. This is certainly true, but it misses some of the force of this text. This text does not exhort a one time “Repent” but rather it could accurately (although somewhat clumsily) be translated, “Be repenting” or “Repent continuously.” In the Greek, the verb is in the present aspect which suggests that this verbal form carries on-going/durative force. This is an important observation because it suggests that repentance is a way of life for a follower of Jesus rather than one time event or precondition for salvation.

It is also worth observing that our text does not indicate of what one needs to repent. I think that this carries two implications. First, Jesus’ call to repent is comprehensive. Second, what it means to repent can only be discovered by reading further into Matthew’s Gospel. In other words, following Jesus involves a continual willingness to realign one’s life with the ethos of the Kingdom of heaven.

Kingdom of Heaven
Instead of giving specific directions on repenting, Jesus provides a single rationale for his exhortation “for the Kingdom of heaven is near.” This clause however has much that needs to be unpacked.

First, the phrase “kingdom of heaven” is synonymous with the more common “kingdom of God” which is found throughout the other three Gospels. “Kingdom of heaven” is a distinctive of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew routinely makes use of indirect ways for referring to God. Many scholars attribute this phenomenon to Matthew’s Jewish-Christian audience, which would have been used to such efforts to avoid taking God’s name in vain per the Ten Commandments.

Second, “Kingdom” may perhaps better be translated “reign.” In other words, it is a more dynamic term that the static term “kingdom” suggests. It is the active realm of God’s rule. It is the sphere in which God’s will is done “on earth as it is in heaven” as the familiar language of the Lord’s Prayer says.

The power in the phrase “Kingdom of heaven” comes as one attempts to flesh out or define the ethos implicit in this. The phrase “Kingdom of heaven” begs at least two questions: What sort of King? What sort of kingdom? This would have been a burning question for the hearers of Jesus who were all too well acquainted with powers, kings, and kingdoms of the world.

The Gospel answers both of these questions in due course. God is of course the King, but Jesus is portrayed as the regent who has come to inaugurate the eternal reign of God. By observing Jesus, we can gain insight into the nature and character of his kingship, the kingship of God. Let me highlight briefly two elements of the Kingdom:

1) Jesus came to bring salvation. From the report of his birth to his death and resurrection, the mission of Jesus was “to save his people from their sins” (1:21).

2) Jesus expanded the reach of God’s grace. By “expanded” I am by no means suggesting that God was somehow limited in terms of salvation before the coming of Jesus. Rather Jesus incarnated and modeled for God’s people the necessity of moving to a missional engagement model for ministry. With few exceptions, God’s people in the Old Testament embodied a “Come to” missiological practice. In other words, the nations were invited to come to Israel to experience God’s best. Yes, we can point to Jonah and certain oracles in Isaiah to dispute this, but these exceptions point to the reality of an essential “come to” practice in ancient Israel. In contrast, the modus operandi for Jesus was go. Jesus went and sought out lost persons in order to bring them back into God’s fold. After his resurrection, Jesus fully unleashed his disciples to make disciples of all nations. This involves going.

What sort of ethic is found in the Kingdom? It is one that subverts the power structures of Jesus’ day. It invites the outsider to the table.

Consider these two passages in terms of what they say about culture of God’s Kingdom:

Matthew 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Notice in particular how Jesus subverts power structures but reversing the expectations for who will be considered blessed.

Matt 22:37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Jesus elevates an ethic of love for God and for others.

How does your understanding of the Kingdom of God affect your life and ministry?
What metaphors do you use to talk about the Kingdom?
What questions do you have about any of the above?

Is Near
The verb predicating “The Kingdom of heaven” is provocative. It is in the Greek Perfect tense. I know that most of my readers don’t know Greek, but bear with me. The Greek perfect carries the basic force of completed action with on-going affects into the present/future. In other words, Jesus is declaring that God’s Kingdom has indeed come. Jesus’ ministry involved tangibly demonstrating this truth. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out devils as actions that provided convincing evidence of the presence of God’s kingdom. Yet we have to be careful here because there is a tension present. In the person of Jesus, God has brought near his end time salvation, but at the same time, the present age remains as well. With the advent of Jesus, we live in a time of overlap between the present age and future reign of God. Biblical scholars often talk about the coming of God’s kingdom in terms of a tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” In other words, Jesus inaugurated the reign of God through his life, death, and resurrection, but its full consummation awaits a future date. God’s kingdom is present now wherever and whenever God’s will is done, but there still remains a day in which God will usher in God’s eternal reign and bring an end to the present age. This is the essence of the lines of the “Lord’s Prayer” that read: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10).

The very fact, however, that Jesus is announcing the reign of God in his person is reason enough for responding to his call for conversion. Anyone who desires to be part of the world as God intended it was to take notice. In fact, from our perspective, this gets at the missiological or missional point of this text. Jesus’ proclamation at its core is a call to conversion. This is the essence of the exhortation to repent. Jesus is calling everyone to repentance: from the devoutly religious to the most hardened sinner.

To the religious he proclaimed: Align your beliefs and practices to what God is doing through Jesus. To those on the outside he issued this invitation: Come and join the new community that God is raising up in our times and experience the future NOW.

Community
The last aspect that needs to be highlighted in Jesus’ call to realign our lives in light of the Kingdom of heaven is the communal element.

Jesus call is not merely a call to individuals apart from society. It is “Y’all repent!” Matthew does not indicate any specific response to Jesus’ preaching, but it is vital to notice Jesus’ first action after calling for a realignment of life in light of the arrival of the Kingdom of heaven:

NIV Matthew 4:18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

What does Jesus do in this text? If his first public action was to proclaim the message of the Kingdom, then his second one was to call to himself disciples. This suggests that to repent involves entering into the community of Jesus’ disciples.

What is the mark of a disciple? Here a disciple is clearly marked by one central image: following Jesus. Discipleship involves fundamentally following aspects that revolve around the issue of following:

1) Discipleship is initiated by Jesus. This is a simple but profound truth in this passage. Jesus calls two sets of brothers to “follow him.” It is Jesus (and not the brothers) who initiates the relationship. Throughout the Gospel, Jesus is portrayed on the move. God through Jesus actively seeks out those who will respond to his invitation. This has implications for our ministry efforts today. This text suggests that it is God and not we who seek out new disciples for Jesus. Even in the Great Commission when God sends forth his disciples into all the world to make new disciples, Jesus himself promises his presence on the journey.

2) Discipleship involves following Jesus. Becoming a disciple of Jesus implies an authentic relationship. It is not a matter of giving intellectual assent to a set of propositions; it is a commitment to the person of Jesus. Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, “follow” language is used of those who become disciples (e.g., 9:9, 16:24, et al). This is a personal relationship but it is much more radical than the domesticated version peddled too often in our day. Following Jesus involves an allegiance to Jesus in which the follower turns away from a life of self-centeredness, embraces the cross as the central vocation and chief metaphor of the Christian life, and walks moment by moment in the footsteps of Jesus.

3) Discipleship involves participation in the mission of Jesus. Jesus invites Simon, Andrew, James, and John to follow him, and he promises to transform them from fishermen to fishers of men and women. In other words, mission is central to the call to discipleship. As far as the Gospel of Matthew is concerned, there is no true discipleship apart from an active participation in the mission of God in the world. Mission is one of the chief purposes of the new community that Jesus is creating. This is the component that is missed far too often in our modern appropriation of the term “discipleship.” In too many churches, this is a code word for “Christian education” or “accountability groups” or “spiritual formation.” It is one option among many in local communities of faith. Yet, in this text, Jesus links mission with the very call to discipleship. Every follower of Jesus is expected to function missionally in the world. Mission and evangelism are not to be relegated to a special committee of the Church; mission and evangelism are core commitments of the whole church.

4) Discipleship involves a radical change of allegiance. Becoming a follower of Jesus is not a risk free proposition. Rather it is a bold and daring move that calls for a radical life makeover. Simon and Andrew leave their nets to follow Jesus; James and John leave nets, a boat, and their father. These items point to two key areas that are impacted by a commitment to follow Jesus: economics and family. All of these men leave their means of livelihood, and James and John leave their father. Jesus is clearly not against employment or family, but he is clearly suggesting that a commitment to his person supersedes economic self-interest and relationships with families.

5) Discipleship involves community. Jesus calls disciples in order to form a new community for the people of God. There are no solitary Christians. Followers of Christ live and grow in community with others. It is a poignant observation that Jesus’ first invitations to discipleship are extended to brothers. There is never a time when the new community of faith exists around only a single Christ-follower.

How specifically does all of this relate to Jesus’ call to change continually?

The need to change is discovered through relationship to Jesus and the engagement of the world in mission. This is not a claim for relative ethic instead it simply recognizes the dynamic nature of following Jesus and the on-going need to become more Christ-like. Neither is this a dismal forecast of failure for our lives as Christ-followers. It is a deep recognition that there is always room for growth. We learn and grow as Jesus’ disciples by turning from a life centered on self and by following Jesus to seek and save the lost. Our new life in Christ is summarized succinctly and poignantly in Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

This text suggests that an encounter with Jesus puts one at a crossroad between the past and future. In the present under the call of Jesus we are called to align our lives with the values of God’s Kingdom. This text is a call to change, but rather than a serving as a repudiation of life, it is invitation to live life the way that God intends””an invitation to true life. It is an opportunity to live as though God’s future as pictured in Scripture is true and livable in profound ways in the present.

Anyone interested in experiencing this life?

© 2007 Brian D. Russell
All rights reserved

Tags: Biblical Studies, Community, Gospels, Holiness, Matthew, Mission, New Testament, Old Testament, Preaching, change, conversion, emerging church, evangelism, humanity, kingdom of heaven, missional church, missional leadership, missional reading, missionary //