Matthew, unlike, Luke, skips over almost 30 years of history and begins in chapter 3 at the start of Jesus’ ministry as John the Baptist comes on the scene. John, as you know through reading Luke’s gospel, was Jesus’ cousin. (As they say, Jesus was a Presbyterian. His cousin was the Baptist!) John had spent many years living in the wilderness, somewhat in exile, preparing for and being prepared for his ministry to pave the way for the coming of Jesus.
As John comes onto the scene he preaches repentance. Repentance is a change in heart and attitude towards the Lord God Almighty. Rather than living our life with ourselves as lord and king, we willingly bow the knee and confess Jesus as our Lord and King. We defer to Him and allow Him to sit upon the throne of our heart. When a person truly repents they are genuinely sorry for rejecting Jesus all their life and they willingly, lovingly and consciously submit their life to Jesus’ kingship. Every area is consciously given over to Jesus in obedience - thought life, affections, emotions, actions, words, finances, work etc etc.
John also preached that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. Jews would not say the personal name of God, Yahweh, out of respect and fear of the Lord. They would use Adonai or Lord. In our English NIV Bibles Yahweh (sometimes translated in some versions as Jehovah) is written as Lord (with capitals) to show that it is the personal name of God being referred to in the Hebrew. At other times, as in Matthew’s gospel, the Jews would use “heaven” when appropriate. The Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God. When John the Baptist says the Kingdom of Heaven is near, he means the Kingdom of God is near.
But in what way is it near? Does John mean that the return of Jesus is imminent and the new heaven and earth is about to be created? I think not! By saying that the Kingdom of God is near John is testifying that Jesus, the bringer of the Kingdom of God has come. The Kingdom of God is near because the Son of God is here. That is cause for great joy or great alarm, depending on where you sit. If the police come, for example, it’s a cause of fear for those who have done something wrong. If you haven’t done anything wrong, it’s a cause of joy for you know the thief will be caught. The coming of the Kingdom of God would be a great source of joy and elation for those waiting for its coming. It would bring hope and light to those who are close to God and watching to see what God would do. But to those who trusted in their own righteousness and thought that God owed them something it would be a great reason to fear and tremble.
The coming of the Kingdom of God would be either good news or bad news. Which is it for you? Which is it for those around you? Which is it for your family and friends? What about your work mates, your neighbours and your relatives?
Jesus has committed to us the same message of repentance and forgiveness that John (and Jesus!) preached. When He was about to ascend to heaven after His death and resurrection He said these words:-
"This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
From 2000-2005 throughout the world there were about 140 million conversions. That amounts to about 77,000 conversions per day. This figure was possible because men, women and children obeyed the Lord and went out preaching repentance and forgiveness. You too can join the army of the obedient and make disciples. Ask God to lead you and to bring people to you that will repent and believe. Ask God to open doors of opportunity for you. Ask God to use you to bring eternity into someone else’s life. Ask God to save those in your world that are currently headed to eternal destruction.
Prayer:-
- Pray for opportunities to share your faith, to talk of Jesus and to lead people into the Kingdom through repentance and faith. Pray that God would allow you to serve others and through that service, to open doors of gospel sharing.
- Pray that our brothers studying for the ministry at the Reformed Bible College and Grace College in Myanmar would be equipped to preach the gospel and to make disciples. Pray that the college would have all the resources it needs to teach the students. Pray that the students, who work in churches on the weekend, would be effective and powerful preachers of repentance and forgiveness.
Sit over coffee or herbal tea with a mature Christian friend and ask them what needs repenting of in your own life. Trust them enough to carefully pray about what they say. Scary? For Sure!
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