Matthew 4 – Has the light dawned on you?

“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…”   Matt. 4:12-17

The writer in me inhales this language.  So beautifully written.  “A light has dawned…”  I wonder, though, did they know? Did the people then know or understand the enormity of what was happening in their midst? Did they get it?

When I’m studying my Bible, I love to find the connections in scripture.  Here, we have the connection between John the Baptist being imprisoned and Jesus beginning His ministry.  Note that Jesus picks up JTB’s exact message.

“John the Baptist came saying, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!’” Matt. 3:2

“Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Matt. 4:17

My first question, which then led to more, when recognizing this was whether it was God’s plan that JTB had to be taken off the scene in order for Jesus to begin His ministry.  Was this part of passing the baton onto Jesus? I think back to Matthew’s original intention, which was to show that Jesus was the Messiah, and that is obviously relevant here. Was Matthew just wanting to prove the relationship between JTB and Jesus?  Was he wanting to make clear the link between the Old Testament prophecies that JTB was the predecessor to the Messiah and,therefore, JTB’s acknowledgement of Jesus showsthat Jesus is the Messiah?

Posing questions like this, even if only to myself, helps me so much to dig deeper into scripture. Let’s take the questions to the message.

Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Repent: What is true repentance? Have I truly repented?   The definition of repent encompasses turning from sin to God; changing your ways; stopping your offensive behavior; acknowledging your behavior as sin; agreeing with God over your behavior. 

Do I agree with God over how bad my sin is?  

• My anger
• My frustration
• My selfishness
• My lack of compassion
• My yelling
• My impatience
• My unkindness

 I’ll be honest and say, no, I don’t always agree with God. There are times when I feel so justified in my actions and my emotions, that I want to just sit and roll around in my own muck for a while. It can take days or weeks… or months… or years for my heart to get to that place where I can see the error of my ways and finally accept the gravity of my sin before God and repent.  I think that’s probably why JTB and Jesus emphasized the need to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

 We need to be quick to repent. When it comes to our souls, time is of the essence!

We need to be so close to God that our sin becomes offensive to us sooner rather than later.

The best example of repentance in scripture, I think, is Psalm 51.  David’s expression of his grief towards his sin, and his understanding of the goodness of God – his deeply personal relationship with God even in the face of his sin – is so beautiful and complex, it provides us a hopeful picture of what we, too, can have through Christ.

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
¹⁵ Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God,is^[b] a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Are you quick to repent? What are the reasons that you hold onto your sin instead of turning towards God? What are your favorite scriptures concerning our response to sin and God’s response to us?  How will you seek His forgiveness and cleansing today?