When Jesus Christ arrived in Galilee at the beginning of his ministry, he had a clear message: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). The crowds flocked to him. His message about the Kingdom of God was what they wanted to hear. The Jews at that time languished under the brutal occupation of the Roman empire: there was anger and rebellion in the air.
Contemporary historians note that there was a strong Messianic mood—the Jews were looking for their promised Messiah, the king of the Jewish royal line of David who would come to re-establish their kingdom, as foretold by such prophecies as 2 Samuel 7:12–16. Evidently many people expected this to be Jesus. They tried to make him king on at least one occasion (John 6:15). When he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, in deliberate fulfilment of an ancient Messianic prophecy (Zechariah 9:9), they understood the message and were almost ecstatic: ‘And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”’ (Matthew 21:9).
Born to be King
They had the right idea—Jesus will one day be king: “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32–33). But that was not the time.
His intention was not to lead a popular revolt and throw out the Romans. He had not come to save them from military occupation, he had come to save them from their sins. He preached a gospel of love, submission and self-denial. Then he allowed himself to be arrested and crucified (John 18:11). It was his death, as a sinless perfect sacrifice, that achieved his mission: ‘In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace’ (Ephesians 1:7).
Remember his message: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Before he establishes the Kingdom, he needs to prepare its people.
Call to Repentance
Do you think you’re a good person? We all like to think so, but as far as the Bible is concerned, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).
We cannot come to God on our own merit. There were those who thought they could, and Jesus said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:31–32).
He told a parable about two men who prayed to God—a self-righteous Pharisee whose prayer was an exercise in self-congratulation, and a tax collector who prayed “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). The tax collector’s prayer was accepted, and not the Pharisee’s.
So what does ‘repent’ mean? It means to acknowledge that we’re wrong, to be sorry for what we’ve done, seek forgiveness, and make up our mind to do differently. Repentance is a necessary first step in the Christian life (Acts 2:38).
To come to Jesus Christ is to recognise that you’re hopeless, and to plead for mercy. To live as a follower of Christ is to try as best you can to follow him—that’s crucial (1 John 1:6–9)—but to be aware that you will continually fail, and be always prepared to repent, again and again. God knows what we’re like, He doesn’t expect us to be perfect (Romans 7:21–24). He will always forgive when we ask Him.
The message Jesus preached 2000 years ago is just as relevant and even more urgent now:
Repent—the Kingdom of God is Near!