Matthew 4:12-17

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee…From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

John the Baptizer had a significant following in the area of Judea, a part of King Herod’s territory, and because John had been critical, Herod had been keeping an eye on him for a long time. Jesus had been hanging out with John’s disciples, and had likely been listening to John’s preaching. But when John was arrested Jesus wasted little time in heading back to Galilee, and eventually settling in Capernaum. Almost immediately, Matthew says Jesus began to preach, and his message initially was identical to John’s, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” He too believed that repentance, or change, was the key to restoration, but there’s no indication that he continued John’s practice of baptism. He knew that his call was different from John’s, and it’s likely that his time in the wilderness praying had given him some clarity about what he would be doing. It must have been a lonely enterprise in those early days. People did not yet know him and some must have believed that he was putting himself forward as a successor to John. It could also be that he wanted to distance himself a bit from John politically. At this point in his ministry he really didn’t need to get on the bad side of King Herod. That would come later!

Thought for the Day: If Jesus asked you to repent, what would you do?