God's Gospel Truths

Matthew 4:12-17

Jesus Begins to Preach

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali— 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

• I have had the light of Christ dawn on my heart, and I will give careful thought to my ways that they honor my Lord.

Pondering Point

This Bible reading is heard during Advent (Pre-Christmas) and reflects Jesus' coming as a light for us. While this is clearly a message of good news because the Kingdom of Heaven is coming near (in Jesus), the call to repent is a stark reminder that our sinful ways are in conflict with the King's ways – and must be changed. What ways are those? Well Jesus will express some of them in The Sermon on the Mount over the next three chapters, but let it suffice to say “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven” (Matt 5:3). The ones who are poor in spirit know that they need help because of their sin.

Prayer for the Day

Lord Jesus, as we hear Your call to repent, let it remind us to regularly revisit our choices and direction, to “give careful thought to our ways,” by checking motives and rationales behind our actions. Help us to not only know of the way, but to know You Jesus as the way; help us to not just know Your truth but practice it with integrity. In You we pray. Amen.