“Jesus Begins His Reign”
Matthew 4:12-25
1/27/08
In today’s Gospel text we hear Jesus saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And
though these words may be familiar to us, we might just be wondering
what they actually mean. What does the word “repent”
mean? What is this kingdom of heaven, and what does Jesus mean by
saying that it’s at hand?
First, I’d like to focus on “the kingdom
of heaven.” When you hear the word “kingdom,”
what pops into your head? A king or queen? A castle?
England? Disneyland? Here in the U.S. we don’t really
know what it’s like to live in a kingdom. We only know from
stories and histories that to be a citizen of a kingdom means living
under a ruler of some kind, and that ruler may be good or bad; he/she
may be kind and rule for the benefit of his/her subjects, or he/she may
be a tyrant and rule for his/her own interests. We know that a
kingdom usually denotes a place (such as the kingdom of Saudi Arabia),
but more importantly it denotes the reign itself - how the king or
queen rules and how people live under their rule, so that a kingdom can
be defined as good or bad depending upon what the ruler does.
Well, we don’t live in a kingdom here in the
U.S., but we do live in a democracy under a President. And though
a President is no king, like kings they can be classified as either
good Presidents or bad ones based on what they do. Perhaps you
can remember a time when the quality of your life either improved or
declined based on who the President was at the time. If you look
at the Presidential campaign today, what are the candidates promising
to do for you? Depending on whom you elect, they promise to
stimulate the economy, provide affordable health care, end the war in
Iraq, improve schools, fight global warming, and solve the immigration
problem. Unfortunately, as you know, many of the promises that
politicians make in order to get elected to office are not kept once
they are in office.
But we’re talking about the kingdom of heaven
today. In this kingdom Jesus is King. But this kingdom is
no earthly kingdom; it is not a place, and it is not a people. It
is a reign, specifically the reign of God in Jesus Christ. And
just like in an earthly kingdom or in a democracy under a President
this King does things too. But what He does, He does not do for
Himself but for His subjects. Jesus does not rule as a tyrant,
but as a gracious Lord who reigns for the sake of His people. His
reign is about doing His Name, saving His people from their sins.
It’s about destroying the work of the devil, atoning for our sins
with His blood shed on the cross, and reversing the damage that sinned
has caused, including things like demonic possession, disease, and
death. It’s about restoring God’s fallen
creation. And so St. Matthew here shows us the beginning of
Jesus’ reign as King, as He does things like calling disciples to
Himself, teaching in synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom,
and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.
Jesus, the King of the kingdom of heaven, sets up His reign as He casts
out sin, death, and the devil and ushers in a new creation.
And here we can now understand what it means that
the kingdom of heaven is at hand: it’s at hand where Jesus
is at work, setting up His reign. In Matthew’s day Jesus
was setting up His reign as He went from town to town teaching,
preaching, and healing. As He did these things people were being
released from sin and its consequences - oppression under the devil,
sickness, and death - and they were being brought under the rule of
this gracious King. Both by way of His earthly ministry and by
His bloody death on the cross, the kingdom of heaven was at hand as
Jesus was driving out the kingdom of darkness. Anyone brought
under His reign in this kingdom would not only be delivered from all
that’s gone wrong in creation, but they would also escape
God’s wrath on the Last Day and enter into the new creation that
God will bring about on that day.
But how is the kingdom of heaven at hand
today? Jesus doesn’t walk the earth as He did some 2,000
years ago. He has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand
of God the Father Almighty. Far from meaning that Jesus is now
absent from His Church, however, He is actually present among us just
as He promised to be. He is present wherever two or three are
gathered together in His Name. He is present in the Office of the
Holy Ministry, present where those whom He has called and ordained are
giving out His gifts. He is present where His Word and His Gospel
are being taught and proclaimed. He is present in your Baptism
where His Name is. And He is present in His Holy Supper where His
body and blood are. Through these means Jesus comes to us,
bringing with Him His kingdom - a reign under which there is
forgiveness, life, and salvation, delivering the fruits of His work to
you here today.
This brings us to the question as to how these
fruits are received. They are received by those who are citizens
of the kingdom of heaven. But how does one become a citizen of
this kingdom? Jesus gives us the answer: Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. The way one is brought under this
reign of heaven and receives the benefits of its King is by way of
repentance. So what is repentance? I would venture to say
that most Christians, if asked what repentance is, could not tell
you. Some might say that repentance means being sorry for your
sins; others might say that it means turning away from sin and turning
towards God; others might even go so far as to say that it means to
quit committing certain sins. The problem with these responses is
that they give too much power to our fallen wills. We can’t
be as sorry as we ought to be for our sins. We can’t turn
away from sin and turn towards God on our own. And we’re
too weak by ourselves to quit committing certain sins. If it were
left up to us, we’d never be able to repent, if this is what
repentance was. But true repentance is not something that we can
come up with ourselves. It is worked in us by the Word of
God. And it is more than just being sorry for your sins.
True repentance is recognizing that you are a sinner before God.
It is to say back to God what He says of you - that you have broken
every one of His commandments, that there is no righteousness in you,
and that you deserve His temporal and eternal punishment. But it
is also to say back to God what He says about you in Christ, that for
His sake God is merciful towards you and forgives your sins. When
one repents in this way (confessing his sin and confessing his Savior),
one enters into the kingdom of heaven. Repentance is the gateway
into the kingdom of heaven. By way of repentance we come through
Jesus Christ into God’s kingdom, where we receive all the
benefits of His gracious rule.
But repentance is not a one time thing. It
began at our Baptism. It began when the Word of God first had its
way with us. But it continues as the Holy Spirit daily leads us
to confess our sins and trust in our Savior. We remain under our
Lord’s gracious rule in His kingdom as we live in
repentance. And so, today Jesus is proclaiming to you the same
thing He proclaimed in St. Matthew’s day: Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus is here among us today,
bringing the salvation He won for us through His life, death, and
resurrection. Here through His Word and Sacraments He is setting
up His kingdom, casting out sin, death, and the devil, ushering in His
forgiveness, life, and salvation. The restoration of creation has
begun. We are healed. We are a new creation. We have
been brought from death to life. We don’t see all this with
our eyes yet; only with the eyes of faith. But the day is coming
when we will see with our eyes what God promises us in His Word - the
new heavens and the new earth at the resurrection of our bodies when
our King comes for us on the Last Day. On that day all things
will be made new, the devil and all the wicked will finally be cast
out, and there will be no more sickness, mourning, crying, or
pain. The old things will have passed away; new things will have
come. Until then, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit, who
is the guarantee of our inheritance until God redeems us, His
possession, whom He has purchased with the blood of Christ.
And so, unlike earthly kings and politicians who are
often tyrants and fail to keep their promises, Jesus is a gracious
King, who keeps His promises. He came not to be served but to
serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. He purchased you
not with silver or gold, but with His holy precious blood and His
innocent suffering and death, so that you might be His own, live under
Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness,
innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead and lives
and reigns to all eternity. Live under His gracious rule today,
and look forward to the reign in glory to come, which is promised to
you in Jesus Christ. Amen.