Grace to you and peace from our Lord an Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.
The text for this meditation is written in the 4th chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 12 - 25
12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentile 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”*
Jesus Calls the First Disciples 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
In last week’s Gospel, we read that John the Baptist referred to our Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We studied the incredible sermon that is hidden in that simple sentence. Of course there were many who heard that sermon from John. Last week’s Gospel tells us especially of two men who heard John’s proclamation. The Holy Spirit worked through that proclamation and brought these men to Jesus.
One of the men was Andrew. He heard that epiphany from John and then he shared it with his brother Simon Peter.
We can deduce that the other man who heard the epiphany from John the Baptist was John the Evangelist. We can make this deduction based on the fact that John the Evangelist never mentions his own name in his account of the Gospel. From last week’s Gospel, it is reasonable to conclude that Andrew and His brother Peter as well as John and his brother James became disciples of Jesus at that time.
A disciple has two basic characteristics. First of all, a disciple is a student of a master – someone who is intent to learn all that his master has to teach him. Second of all, a disciple is a follower – someone who believes and supports the teachings of his master. Andrew, Peter, John, and James were already disciples of Jesus when we begin reading Matthew’s account of their calling. John the Baptist had introduced them to Jesus and they were His disciples from that moment on. Jesus had set up His ministry headquarters in their hometown of Capernaum so they could listen to Him teach on a regular basis. They knew who Jesus was.
Jesus set up His ministry in Capernaum after several rejections. Today’s Gospel tells us that John the Baptist was in jail. This was a rejection of the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Judea. Luke tells us that the people of Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth also rejected the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. They even tried to throw Jesus over a cliff and stone Him (Luke 4:16–30). After these rejections, Jesus moved His ministry headquarters to Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee.
Here we see the marvelous plan of God in action. Jesus has His ministry headquarters in Capernaum and Andrew, Peter, John, and James have their fishing businesses in Capernaum. Jesus had a special vocation for these men and He knew where to find them. His walk along the sea might seem like a coincidence, but it was not. Jesus called these men to another vocation. They were already disciples, but Jesus would train them and call them to be apostles.
The word apostle comes from the Greek word that means to send. While a disciple constantly studies, believes, and supports the teachings of a master, an apostle is one who is, in addition, specifically sent out by the master to teach the teachings of his master. Jesus called them to witness His ministry and receive His teaching for several years. Then they were to pass along those very same teachings to the people around them – especially to the next generation – so that the teachings of Jesus Christ would go out into the world.
In this way, they would be fishers of men. As a fisherman throws a net into the water, so the apostle proclaims the teachings of Christ. As fish are caught by the net so the Holy Spirit uses the teachings of Christ to bring people into the church. In this way, these newly called apostles would become fishers of men.
What was the heart of the message that Jesus gave to these apostles – the message that the Holy Spirit still uses to draw people into Christ’s church? We have already heard it from John the Baptist. [Matthew 3:1–2] In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In today’s Gospel, we also hear that message from Jesus. From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Both John and Jesus preach the same message. The message that both John and Jesus preached is an eternal message. It is still the same today as it was back then.
The phrase “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” has a special meaning in the original Greek that is almost impossible to bring over into the English. A kingdom is not just a place. The Greek word for kingdom is also an action. A king rules or reigns. In the original Greek, a kingdom is the ruling or reigning activity of the king. When Jesus and John tell us that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” they are saying that the ruling activity of heaven is near. The one who rules in heaven is near. The kingdom of heaven is the deeds of God, performed in and through Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. The kingdom of heaven includes the perfect life that Jesus lived in our place. It includes His ministry of preaching and healing. It includes His passive obedience to the suffering and death of the cross. It includes the promise of eternal life that comes in his resurrection. It includes His presence with us now in Word and Sacrament. It includes His final coming on the Last Day to raise our bodies and take us body and soul into His eternal presence. The phrase “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” tells us that Jesus is here, with us, now.
Today’s Gospel tells us that the message “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is for everyone. The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to quote the prophet Isaiah and tell us that this message is for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death. That means that if death affects you in any way, this message is for you. The last time I checked, the death rate in this world is one hundred per cent. That means that this message is for me and this message is for you.
The fact that this message is for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death also reminds us that this message is for sinners. As the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write, [Romans 6:23] “The wages of sin is death.” The fact that all people die teaches us that all people are sinners. We die because we are evil.
Our biggest sin is that we don’t want God to rule. We are born with such a desire to rule our own kingdom that we don’t even want God to give us His free salvation. That would mean that we are part of His kingdom and we don’t want that. We would rather rule ourselves. Sometimes, we even deceive ourselves into believing that we are the rightful king.
In many cultures, impersonating the king would earn a life sentence or a death penalty. The reign of heaven is not like that. Instead of punishing us for our sins, the ruler of the kingdom of heaven simply says, “Repent!” Here Jesus tells us to admit the truth of our guilt and then trust Him to deal with the penalty of that guilt. Then, knowing that we cannot by our own reason or strength come to Him, He sends the Holy Spirit to work faith in us so that we can repent.
His command to repent holds within it the promise to deal with the punishment of our sins. He dealt with the punishment of our sins by taking them onto Himself and carrying them to the cross. At the cross He endured the punishment of our sin with His suffering and death. There our sins died with Him. In this way, He triumphed over sin, death, and the power of the devil.
With that triumph, Jesus, the ruler of the kingdom of heaven, rose from the dead and ascended to take His rightful place at the right hand of the Father. Through Him the kingdom of heaven is still at hand.
The message from God says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This is the message that the Holy Spirit inspired John to proclaim. It is the message that Jesus Himself proclaimed. It is the message that Jesus gave to his apostles to proclaim. As the church continues to proclaim this message through the proclamation of the teachings that Jesus gave to the apostles, every generation hears the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The Kingdom of heaven is at hand when we hear the Gospel of salvation. It is at hand in the waters of Holy Baptism as the Holy Spirit joins us to Christ by grace through faith. It is at hand when the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith in us receives forgiveness, life, and salvation as we consume the true body and blood in the bread and wine of the sacrament. The kingdom of heaven is at hand when the Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, and sanctifies and keeps us in the one true faith. Because the kingdom of God is at hand sin no longer condemns us, but God works in us to make us holy in His sight. Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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