Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned."

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

- Matthew 4:12-17

Yesterday, we read that, after His baptism in the Jordan by John,  Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."  But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"  Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.  For it is written:  'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God."  Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

 Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.  My study bible tells us that Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee, for the common people on the edge of Jewish territory are more receptive to His teaching than the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem.

And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: . . ."  A note reads, "The term Galilee of the Gentiles indicates that many non-Jews lived in this region, which became an Assyrian province in 734 B.C.  By Jesus' time it had a mixed population and was not considered a genuinely Jewish land, even though many non-Jewish residents had converted to Judaism in the Maccabean period.  Even the Jews who inhabited this area were influenced by Greek culture and were considered second-class by the Jews of Judea."

"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  My study bible tells us that "darkness means ungodliness.  To sit in darkness means to be overcome by spiritual ignorance and death.  The great light shines on these people, anticipating the gospel being preached to all after the Resurrection."  John's Gospel will focus on themes of light and darkness, and Jesus will say, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). 

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  My study bible says, "Christ's first word, like that of John the Baptist, is repent, because repentance is necessary to enter and continue in His new way of life.  Repentance is man's turning from himself to God.  The kingdom of heaven is synonymous with 'the kingdom of God'; it is present in Christ."  (See Matthew 12:28.)

I think it's important to take a look at the word for "repent."  In the Greek, the word translated as "repent" (Gr. metanoia, μετάνοια) literally means to "change one's mind."  In the Greek, I think we get a more accurate sense of this word, as its basic meaning does not have all the full brunt of negative connotations that "repentance" may have in English.  The word for "sin" has in some sense a similar condition.  In the Greek, the word for sin is amartia/αμαρτία, which literally translates to mean "missing the mark" as in missing the bull's-eye in archery.  Neither of these words carry the weight of a flavor of condemnation in themselves; rather they are like signs pointing the way of Christ (John 14:6).  We want to be on the straight and narrow way, and not deviate from it.  But Christ's work is to help us to change, and our preparation therefore is to repent, to question our own long-held assumptions and ways of thinking, and especially to be prepared for change on His path, to follow Him in His way.   Metanoia, then, is the right preparation for entry into this Kingdom, for following His way.  We know what kinds of self-centered sinfulness we usually understand, such as arrogance and selfishness, unkindness and brutality.  But there are other ways we may be called upon to change in this way of Christ.  There are also sins of self-abuse, self-neglect, personal dignity, and a lack of proper respect even for oneself as a child of God.  These things also may be ground for change, a change of one's mind and way of thinking.  It is one thing to sacrifice for something worthy, especially for the love of God as we are called to do so, but deliberate self-harm for other purposes or reasons, especially as an ingrained habit that is internalized from abuse  in the first place (another kind of sinfulness), may fall into an entirely different category.  It remains a kind of self-centered behavior.  In Jesus' way, we may consider our growth in Him as a true form of therapy, designed to get us to the right path, on the true bull's-eye of the place He calls us toward -- and He is that way, that truth, that life.  So, when Jesus calls for repentance, He's asking us to be entirely prepared to have our entire world shaken up, and to accept His instead.  Everything within us is called into His light, and we may have to make many, many changes on this path of what is truly best for us.   And that is a lifetime process.  But are we prepared?  Are we ready for the first step on that road, every day?