The Message Of Christ
Matthew 4:12-17
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” vs. 17
I Broke The Window
A few years ago I was sitting in my office one day and was studying for an upcoming sermon. I heard a noise and looked up and there was a man, probably late 20’s or early 30’s looking at me. He asked, “Are you the pastor?” I said I was and asked how I could help him. He said, “do you remember about a year ago there was a window out in the front that was broken one night and the alarm went off?” I recalled a night when I got a call and came down t church and the window in the nursery had been broken and the alarm company called me and I came down at about 2 a.m. in the morning. I said I remembered it. He said, “I was the one who broke that window and I wanted to come by and make amends.” He went on to tell me how he was on drugs and was just looking of anything he could steal but he had since gotten off drugs and was turning his life around. I was like, “Okay great, thanks for sharing that with me. I have never had anyone do that before.” I continued, “So, did you want pay for the window and repairs?” “Oh no,” he said, “I just wanted to make amends and let you know I did it.” And he turned around and walked out.
I know many of you might not realize this but our property gets broken into often, maybe as much as once a week. We’ve only caught someone in the act once, and this story is the only time anyone has ever fessed up to actually vandalizing the church. I appreciate this mans confession but I was taken back a bit by his wanting to make amends but not really wanting to do anything to make it right. I am sure he was sincere in making amends but I was left wondering if he was sorry about what he did enough to change his actions for if he just wanted to get this incident off his chest. It led me to contemplate the whole idea of repentance and forgiveness and it ties into the package we are looking at today. If you are able, will you please stand as we read God’s Word, Matthew 4:12-17.
Read Passage – Matthew 4:12-17
When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
John’s Job Is Done
There is an interesting transition to take note of as we dig deeper into this passage. The first part of this transition is that John the Baptist has fulfilled his job and it is almost done. Verse 12:
“When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison…” vs. 12
John has been out preaching, baptizing, and preparing the way for Christ. He has done what he has been called to do and we can look back in retrospect and see that it is John’s time to step back and let Jesus become the focal point. This transition takes place in a weird sort of way and we see that partially explained to us in Luke 3:19-20:
“But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.” Luke 3:19-20
The history of this is really fascinating and I will try to briefly explain it to you. When Jesus was born Herod the Great was ruling and the Roman kingdom was pretty large. In fact, he was the one who issued the degree to have all the baby boys under 2 years of age to be killed. When he died, his kingdom was divided into four, a section for each of his sons. One son was Herod the Tetrarch that we see in this passage. Herod the Tetrarch was married. Another son was Herod Phillip II. Herod Phillip fell in love with his niece, Herodias, and ends up marrying her. Herod the Tetrarch seduces Herodias and has an affair with her. Herod Tetrarch ends up divorcing his wife and marries Phillip’s wife Herodias. (Boy, you think you have family problems, this sounds like something right from Woody Allen’s life!)
John the Baptist is not afraid to speak the truth. Now John had no real clout with Herod but he wasn’t afraid to confront him with the truth about his affair as well as the other atrocities (i.e. abuse, over taxation, his cruel punishment and killing of the Israelites, etc) that are part of his ruling the kingdom. For John confronting Herod he is thrown in jail. In many ways Herod was trying to shut him up but it was also that Herod wanted John to have no voice and wanted only his voice heard and he had the power to make that happen.
Jesus’ Job Is Beginning
The second part of the transition is that Jesus Job (ministry) is beginning. So, in verse 13 we read:
“Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali…” vs. 13
Jesus is in Nazareth and when he hears that John is in prison, he leaves there and goes to Capernaum. (Show map) some commentators have said that he may have done that to get away from Herod because Herod my want to imprison him as well. I think it might be a little different. Notice on the map that Nazareth is here, a little more inland. Capernaum is here, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Herod would have been here (point on map) in Tiberius which is also on the Sea of Galilee. A quick reminder that Jesus and John are cousins. Thy probably kept updated on what the other was doing. That is evident from verse 12. My theory is that it would have been easier for them to communicate living on close seaports rather than depending on the land route. It probably would have been quicker and maybe even more reliable.
Don’t forget at one point while John is in prison he sends word out to Jesus making sure tht he is the Messiah and the one they were waiting for. I’m sure John wanted to make sure he was in prison for the right person and that if he died there, Israel would have its Savior. And we see they do communicate with each other and it seems to happen quickly. Jesus assures John that he is the one that they have been waiting for and that what was promised and hoped for is now happening. John is barely heard from again before his death. He even says that he needs to take a back seat so that Jesus is the focus from this point on. John is quite a guy.
Christ’s Message: Repent
So Jesus ministry is beginning and we are told the main message of his ministry: repent; that is found in verse 17:
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” vs. 17
Interesting isn’t it? Jesus message is really a continuation of John’s message of repentance. In Matthew 3:2 we read,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 3:2
Notice the similarity to Jesus words in verse 17: exact. The message isn’t changing but the person is. John was a man who came to prepare the way for Jesus. Jesus would now live out the words of repent and fulfill all that was promised. John couldn’t do that and he knew it. Jesus would do all that was necessary to fulfill these words.
You may have heard or already know that repentance means to turn; to turn from heading one way to heading in the other direction. (Show slide) But I think there is a little more tot the understanding of that word and I believe Jesus gives us two things to consider when we use that word and they come right from this passage.
Light In The Shadow Of Darkness
First, the concept of light in the shadow of darkness; verse 16a:
“…the people living in darkness have seen a great light…” vs. 16a
It’s easy at times to feel that evil is wining, that those who do evil prosper, and that in some ways there is this impending doom. That might have been how people felt in Israel at this time. Herod was ruling, he had the power, he was oppressive, he was cruel, and he seemed to be getting away with it. Even when he is confronted with his evil (by John) he gets rid of the problem by throwing John in jail. He goes on living and sinning while John gets imprisoned and eventually executed. But Jesus is preaching a new message. There is light.
Ill. When I thought about this I realized that we have a saying that goes along with this concept. We say “There is light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s the idea that there is hope. That is part of Jesus message, that repentance brings hope. That evil won’t win in the end and that darkness does not. Jesus told us this very idea in John 8:22:
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
You know it seems we might feel the same about our time. It seems evil is winning. We have to really consider that we are no longer a Christian nation. Our area, East Contra Costa County, seems to be getting worse not better. I have great news. We have light. We have the light of the world with us and the darkness will not last.
Ex. The lady in therapy this week bad mouthing Antioch. I spoke up and said no, I love Antioch and I want to make it better.
Part of the concept of repent is that there is hope and light in what can be a dark and gloomy world.
Life In The Midst Of Death
The second part is that there is life in the midst of death. Notice the second part of verse 16b:
“…on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Vs. 16b
Life in the first century was not easy. Disease and cleanliness were not very good, living conditions were tough, and the oppression from the ruling class and their senseless killing and abuse of slaves mad e it difficult to live very long. In fact, most historians believe that life expectancy in the first century was 30-40 years. Think about that, more than half the people sitting here today would already be dead if that was the life span in today’s world. That is not a pleasant outlook. Death seemed to rule.
Again, Jesus is preaching a new message. Repentance includes the idea that life is possible in the midst of death. Think about what we see in these passages, John dies in prison at right around 30, Jesus will die at 33, and there are many more examples. If there is no hope of life beyond this life, it would feel like death reigns. Jesus new message is that we have hope in life. He says in John 10:10:
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
Jesus was willing to give 1000% of himself to ensure that death would not reign. In return we give ourselves back to him because he is the source of life.
Restoring Relationship
Let me wrap this up with a quick recap of how this relates to our lives now. We have relationships with other people; family, friends, etc. Sometimes there is a break in those relationships.; disagreements, lack of communication, we loose touch with people, etc. At some point one of the parties has to make an attempt to restore the relationship. Someone makes the first move. Jesus did that with his life. What he asks of us is to actively accept his step and act on it from our end. That comes in repentance. Turning from darkness and death to light and life by accepting his gift to us and to restore our relationship. Even though we are the ones who did wrong, he takes the first step and takes the blame on himself.
Lead into communion.
Communion
