The Message of the Messiah
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This morning, I want us to focus on the Message of the Messiah. Turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel according to Matthew. We will read from Matthew 4:17-25. Please stand with me as we read the Word of the Lord.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Pray with Me
The Message of the Messiah orbits around God’s Kingdom. Just like the earth orbits the sun, the gospel focuses on the kingdom of God. Everything he does, every parable he tells, every healing he performs, every teaching he proclaims helps us know about the kingdom of God and bids us to become part of this kingdom. In fact, as Matthew begins his account of the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is how he summarizes all of Jesus’ preaching and teaching ministry:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Think of all that Jesus taught as he ministered throughout Galilee, Judea, and across the Jordan River. He told stories that stick in our hearts, like the story of the Prodigal Son, the sower and the seed, and the pearl of great price. He performed incredible miracles: he healed a paralytic man because his friends had enough faith to tear open a roof just to get him to Jesus. He loved sinners enough to eat with them, he challenged the “shepherds of Israel” who were really wolves, and he chased-out greedy merchants turning his Father’s House of Prayer into a den of robbers.
But what sticks out most as we consider the life and ministry of the Messiah is his message: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Have you ever stopped to think about that sentence? Have you ever asked what Jesus means? Have you ever wondered what message the Messiah wants you to hear? I want us to pause and let Jesus’ words echo in our ears, in our heads, and in our hearts.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
He starts with the word repent. Normally, we preach and think about repentance from sin. And boy howdy, that is a major part of Jesus’ message. Do you remember the woman caught in adultery? What did he tell her?
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Jesus calls his hearers to stop sinning - that call to repentance often means that we need to stop sinning against God. But sometimes, I think we miss an important part of repentance - and Matthew highlights that part in the very next verses after 4:17. Look at Matthew 4:18-20:
18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Matthew tells us how Jesus called his very first disciples - the brothers Simon and Andrew. Look at the story - verse 18 tells us that Jesus sees them fishing. Now I’m not big on fishing myself (try not to hold that against me), but my wife loves to fish. I’ve seen her wake up long before dawn just to go fishing (and she’s NOT a morning person!). She has loved to fish for years - it’s part of who she is.
Now imagine these brothers: fishermen by trade. This isn’t just a hobby - it’s their life and their livelihood. They might as well have boats attached to their feet and nets coming out of their arms. They live on the water - their skin is permanently tanned, and I bet their clothes permanently smell like fish too!
But when Jesus calls them they left everything and followed him!
Then just down the beach, there’s two more brothers fishing:
21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
This time, James and John are with their father. Not only are they fishermen by trade, but this is the family business. Imagine all the time and effort - the father had staked everything on this trade, and was even staking the future of his children and grandchildren on fishing. The sons were learning from their father, carrying on a family legacy that probably went back hundreds if not thousands of years.
But when Jesus calls them, they left everything (even their father!) and followed him.
When Jesus says “repent,” he didn’t just mean from sin. Some of us need to repent of sin. We have never turned away from our sin and trusted in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. If that’s you, that’s the repentance you need to have today.
But even if you have turned in faith and trusted in Jesus Christ as your savior, you might need to repent yourself. You see, repentance is leaving everything behind to follow Jesus. Even good things. There is nothing wrong with fishing - fishing is a good way to earn an honest living (even if the fish tales aren’t always honest!). But when Jesus calls, we have to leave the nets and the boat (and maybe even family) and follow Jesus.
Change particular application depending on congregation
For you, you might need to repent of your prior life plans. You want to be something in particular, or live somewhere special, or have a certain kind of life. Those may not be bad things. There’s nothing wrong with having a successful business or a good job, or with living in a nice house or with enjoying the fruits of honest labor. Those things are not bad. But when Jesus calls, we must be willing to leave those things behind and follow Jesus. That’s repentance.
For you, you might need to repent of certain relationships. You might place your children or grandchildren above everyone else. Or maybe it’s your spouse. Or maybe it’s your own parents. Or maybe it’s someone else. And those people may not be bad - they may be good people and may even be godly people. But when Jesus calls, we must repent of putting those people ahead of him. We must be willing to lose everything else if that’s what following Jesus means. That’s repentance.
For you, you might need to repent of your own biases and prejudices. You have certain ways of viewing the world, and sometimes those things are the hardest of all to leave. But when Jesus calls, we must be willing to give up our wrong ideas and perspectives to follow Jesus. That’s repentance.
“Repent,” says Jesus. Are you willing to repent of everything to follow him? Are you willing to leave everything, to lose everything to follow Jesus?
Oh, but look at what you gain when you do:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When you are willing to give up everything to follow Jesus - when you repent - you gain so much more! You gain the kingdom of heaven! And what a kingdom it is!
Matthew shows us just what the kingdom of heaven looks like in verses 23-25:
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Notice a couple of key components of the kingdom of heaven:
Preaching and Teaching
The kingdom of heaven is founded upon the Word of God. It is a kingdom in which people learn and grow in faith and knowledge of God through the instruction of God’s Son.
Healing
When the kingdom is present, it has real, tangible results. Jesus heals all kinds of sickness and diseases. And this isn’t just a special thing Jesus did - look at the Messiah’s own words:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
The same God who is working miracles through Jesus Christ is the same God who dwells within us. And when we live as citizens of the kingdom, there will be real results. Lives will change because of our influence. Relationships will be healed. People will be delivered from addictions. Others will see God more clearly because of us. And yes, even physical miracles will occur in and through us. There’s no magic words or special power - God just does his work in and through us. And when others see our good works, they will glorify the Father.
Repentance
This is something amazing - as God is doing his work, people begin to repent. Even here, we see people leaving their lives behind to seek out Jesus - they are coming from all over just to get near him. And even though many were only looking for the miracles, and others only wanted the show, they got much more than they bargained for. For it’s in this scene, with massive crowds gathered from all around the region, that Jesus goes up on a mountain, gathers his disciples, sits down, and begins his most famous sermon.
One more thing I want to point out - look back at verse 17 again:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
I want you to look at the last three words. Jesus tells us to repent, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Think of that. The kingdom of heaven is not a past memory, nor is it a future hope. It’s today; right now in the present hour, the kingdom of heaven is a current, present reality. And it is here, not somewhere over there in some other, distant place. The kingdom of heaven is here - right here!
It’s so hard to see that when we look at the world around us. It’s so dark spiritually. So many people are groping around in the darkness looking for light. So many people are blind to their own sinfulness, blind to their own need for God. So many people are lost and many have no idea just how lost they are.
Maybe that’s why Matthew precedes verse 17 - the message of the Messiah - with a promise fulfilled. He speaks of Jesus moving to Capernaum, which would be his “home base” as he started his ministry. Then he says why this matters:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
In the darkness of our worst days, the message of the Messiah shines brightest: Repent - give up everything to follow Jesus - because the kingdom of heaven is here.
That leaves us with a choice, doesn’t it? What is God calling you to leave behind to follow Jesus? “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Prayer, then Invitation