Seeds for 05/09/2023 - Matthew 4:17
Scripture: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Observation: “From that time on Jesus began…”
Jesus’ preparation is completed (baptism, testing, relocation). Now He turns toward His public ministry. We’ll see this phrase once more, when it’s time for Jesus to make another significant turn in His mission. For now, we’re invited to see what Jesus will do from here forward as connected to this simple synopsis of His proclamation: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Repentance is at the heart of authentic faith. Repentance is ceasing our resistance to God, doing a U-turn, and beginning forward movement in the right direction. It involves confession of wrong, saying we’re sorry, receiving and being assured of forgiveness. Ending our resistance and making the U-turn are important.
Setting out in the right direction is critical too. We’re not saved to stall. Until we have set out in the right direction, we haven’t fully surrendered to God, only stopped resisting Him.
We might stop resisting because what we’re doing will destroy us if we don’t. It’s wonderful to see Jesus’ call to repentance make that difference in someone’s life, but it’s still self-referenced. Divinely sponsored self-help. The key is seeing not only the imperative (“Repent”), but also the reason for it, the rationale it is founded upon: “for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
As long as I perceive distance between the kingdom of me and the kingdom of heaven, I don’t quite feel the need to repent. But when I know and feel that “the kingdom of heaven has come near,” that urgency ramps up. It’s not a “when I get around to it” thing; it’s a “I’d better deal with it!” thing.
The nearness of the kingdom is the catalyst. It’s proximity presses the question: Will I continue to resist or am I ready to surrender? I can be faux royalty in my own make-believe paper kingdom, or I can become a true member of God’s royal family in the kingdom of heaven. Why not repent and get on to the real deal?
Application:
What’s hard about repentance?
What’s rewarding about repentance?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, here and now I lay down my resistance to your grace. Come Holy Spirit. Work in me what is pleasing to you. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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