The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand

Jesus, after having had an intense emotional, physical and spiritual experience whilst being in the wilderness goes back home. Although he is not the same as he once was. He was baptised, affirmed by God, then tempted and pressed by Satan, now the intensity of that personal period of trial has stopped. What next?

Matthew 4:12–17 (ESV):  

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 

 15  “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, 

the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 

 16  the people dwelling in darkness 

have seen a great light, 

  and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, 

on them a light has dawned.” 

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Jesus is having a confusing time. He has experienced the high of being baptised by John and being affirmed publicly by God. Straight after that the Spirit led him into the wilderness to suffer and be tried by Satan. Now, Jesus has discovered that his relative and the one who baptised him, John, is arrested. The same one who was preparing the way for him, who crowds followed, and who pointed towards Jesus as The Son of God, is now in captivity. After such a time of suffering, it would not be surprising if Jesus went back home, broke down, or went into hiding. I am sure some people at the time would have expected that Jesus would take John’s place and tell those waiting crowds, ‘Here I am, the one John told you about’. It seemed like a good time to do that as there were people ready and waiting for The Messiah to be revealed. Yet, Jesus doesn’t do any of that.

instead when Jesus hears about John’s arrest, ‘he withdrew into Galilee… and lived in Capernaum by the sea’. Jesus went somewhere else. Capernaum was a much more populated place than Nazareth, and it was well connected with other nations and people groups due to being in prime position for trading. So, when Jesus started his public ministry and began to preach, a mixture of people heard his message, and most of them were probably people that never heard the message of John. The rich, poor, traders, labourers, young, old, Jews, Gentiles, and even Romans would have had the opportunity to hear Jesus speak in Capernaum whereas John’s message had been primarily for the Jews. Jesus as soon as he starts his public ministry, is preaching to all people.  

So, what did Jesus preach? He spoke the same message John did - “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus picks up the same message, to different people in a different town. Yet, it was the same. The reality of God is true no matter which city, village or country you are in and people need to hear the same thing; There is a God, His Kingdom reigns and is being revealed, and He wants you to be a part of it. Yet there is a problem called sin that separates everyone from God, so there is a need for you to repent and be washed clean from all wrongdoing, so that you can turn your life around and become one of God’s people. Jesus and John taught the same thing, because it is true and people needed to know. People from every position, class, background and location still need to know. 

No matter the highs and lows of life, John and Jesus still presented the truth to people. They both had times of great encouragement and joy, but also of struggle, deep hurt and pain. John’s message remained the same whether he was in prison, at home or in the wilderness for he knew the truth and gave whoever would listen the opportunity to hear about God. Jesus continued this message, he boldly proclaimed that the ‘kingdom of heaven is at hand’ even though his ministry started out of confusion, joy and pain plus John had just been arrested for doing the same. Neither of these men allowed the truth of God to be hidden or muted. Is your life the same? 

Does your life reflect God’s Kingdom no matter what you are going through? God gives you opportunities to tell people about Him in every circumstance, in different locations and situations. John was in prison because of the message he brought, Jesus was in a different area having to deal with conflicting and confusing emotions, yet they both were still faithful to God and still carried on the mission God had given them. Are you?