“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:17

Have you ever wondered what message Jesus preached to the people as He traveled from city to city and town to town? Many would have us believe it was simply a message of God’s love for us and our duty to love one another — but was it?

In Matthew 4:17, the Bible sums up Jesus’ preaching in this way: “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Jesus preached the coming of the kingdom of God — the day of God’s judgment upon sinful man and the establishment of God’s everlasting kingdom — and He called upon all to repent and believe the gospel.

We read in Mark 1:14-15: “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”

The Augsburg Confession, Art. XII, defines repentance for us: “Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance.”

Jesus preached such repentance, and His message was the same as that preached by John the Baptist, who said in Matthew 3:2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Nor was it different than the preaching of the apostles following Jesus’ death and resurrection, for Peter preached in Acts 2:38: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And, in Acts 3:19, he said: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord….”

And, if the hearers of Jesus, of John the Baptist and of the apostles — including the religious leaders among the Jews — needed to repent and believe the gospel to be a part of the kingdom of God, why is it that so few preachers today are calling upon their hearers to repent of their evil ways and look to the LORD God for mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice — for the sake of Jesus, who is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (cf. John 1:29)?

If Jesus’ hearers needed to repent and believe the gospel in order to be saved, they apparently were on the wrong path and living secure in their sinful ways, thinking all was well with their souls when, in fact, it wasn’t.

And what of hearers today? Are they any different? Are we any different? We all need to repent of our selfish and sinful ways and look to Jesus and His cross in faith for pardon and peace. Only in Him can we sinners be forgiven of all our sins against God and His holy commandments and escape the coming judgment of God. Only in Jesus, can we have any part in the eternal kingdom of God! Apart from repentance and Spirit-wrought faith in Jesus, we stand condemned for our sins to the eternal fires of hell!

And what message is to be proclaimed by the Church and its ministers in this dark and dying world today? It’s really no surprise.

Jesus tells us in Luke 24:46-47: “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

We are to proclaim what Jesus preached — the same message preached by John the Baptist and by Jesus’ apostles — repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name. We call upon all to turn from their rebellious and sinful ways to faith in the crucified and risen Christ Jesus for pardon, forgiveness and a place in His eternal kingdom!

O merciful and gracious God, grant that we heed Your words and repent of our evil ways, trusting alone in Your mercy and forgiveness for Jesus’ sake, and grant us a place in Your everlasting kingdom. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]