Understanding Repentance forms part of the At His Feet Series where we learn at the feet of Jesus what He meant when He preaches telling all to repent because the Kingdom of heaven is near.
With words so beautiful it almost sounds like a poem this is what Isaiah prophesied:
“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
Matthew 4:15-16
By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles:
The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
Light has dawned.”
Then Jesus started His preaching on repentance:
“From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ “
Matthew 4:17
May you clearly discern the voice of the Holy Spirit ministering to you while reading this article.
A Biblical Background
A few exciting factors about Galilee is that it was a place with rich agricultural soil which resulted in the area being expansively populated.
There was a saying that Galilee was on the road going everywhere when considering the traffic that went through Galilee.
The world’s traffic went through Galilee on their way to their respective destinations.
Galilee was derived from the Hebrew word galil, meaning circle.
Light In The Darkness
From Isaiah’s words, we learn that similar to today, the darkness some people experience is darker and more intense than those of others.
Everyone who does not belong to Christ is in darkness.
Jesus who is the bearer of life and hope came to give them light.
Jesus came to illuminate all the darkness in and around us to give us the biggest eternal hope and life anyone can receive.
Understanding Repentance
The first and last subject of the preaching of Jesus was repentance.
Here in Galilee he told the people to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand and in Luke 24:47 the last words of Jesus before He descended to His Heavenly Father were for His disciples to go out and preach repentance and remission of sins.
I believe that when Jesus illuminates the darkness in us, everything that is not from Him will be revealed to us.
For example, He will shed His light on certain lies that we may have believed as the truth for us to know that this is not from God and give us a clearer discernment between right and wrong.
When His light shines in our hearts we will think differently and reconsider and or abandon some points of view we may have.
In order for anyone to repent we have to recognize and have a conscious awareness of our sins and become humble.
That may be the reason why the topic of Jesus’ first sermon was not faith.
We do not need faith to recognize our sins and repent of them.
Having an awareness of our sins and repenting for them will open anyone to recognize their need for a Saviour.
Before any of us can grow in our relationship with God and move to another level of being His disciples.
As humans, there will always be things that we need to repent of before God and others.
We cannot become disciples of God if we ourselves do not walk in repentance and be an example to those who observe us.
In this context, Jesus is speaking about our awareness of our sins and our need for a Saviour.
The Reward
Jesus followed in the footsteps of John the Baptist to tell others to repent because the Kingdom of God is near.
He wants us to buy the time out, without thinking that we have enough time in the future to repent, give our lives to him, and be granted citizenship in heaven.
When saying the Kingdom of God is at hand it is almost like Jesus is telling us not to delay because tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone and may be too late.
He wants to spare us the eternal death of hell and empower us to deliver the message of repentance to others.
As His disciples, the message about repentance will be our most important message to deliver.
This will always be a powerful message to carry over to those who are still in darkness to walk into His marvelous light.
Romans 4:17 tells us that “The Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
We can have God’s Kingdom dynamics of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit inside of us while still alive and walking on earth.
We have the tools to deliver that to others by teaching them about repentance and their need for Christ.
No money in the world can buy righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, but they are freely given with repentance.
That is one of the few lasting fulfillment there is for anyone and is one of God’s gifts to His children.
Let’s Get Practical
Application: We have to repent of our sins and tell others to do so as well (Matthew 28:19-20)
Prayer points: That we shall repent and show our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20) and God will sanctify us by His truth (John 17:17).
Promise: Repentance will allow us to experience joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). When the Spirit of truth comes, He will lead us into the truth, He will not speak out of His own, but will tell us what He hears and will tell us what is to come (John 16:13). When we are following the instructions from Jesus, we are His disciples and He will be with us always (Matthew 28:19-20).
Additional reading: Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 26:20; John 17:17; Romans 14:17; John 16:13.
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Everything in Him, unto Him, and to glorify His holy Name!
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