Repentance as Reorientation
In Matthew’s Gospel, the earliest scenes of Jesus as an adult establish his mission: the Messiah whom the prophets foretold has come to usher in God’s reign, he has come to continue the prophets’ call to repentance and reconciliation with God, and he has come to invite people from all backgrounds and walks of life to walk with him.
At this point in the story, Jesus has been baptized by John, tempted in the wilderness, and now, today’s reading begins with the arrest of a prophet who entreated his people to bear good fruit, and who called out a corrupt political ruler for immorality and violating the law.
This is the first we hear of John’s imprisonment, but Matthew saves the details and motives for his arrest for later. Here the focus is on Jesus. Here, we learn of John’s arrest because it serves as the catalyst for Jesus’ public ministry.
Hearing that John has been arrested, Jesus withdraws to his native region, but he does not return home. He leaves Nazareth some twenty miles west of Lake Galilee, and moves to the bustling town of Capernaum. Capernaum was a vibrant place with people from all over the world. It was situated on the lake and along an important international trade route that connected Egypt with Syria and Mesopotamia along the Mediterranean coast. The reference in our reading to “the road by the sea” is to this historic route, the Via Maris. Fishing and farming industries thrived here, and the town teemed with Roman soldiers and administrative officials, like Matthew the tax-collector, who would become a disciple. This town, at the intersection of so many people and cultures, is the place Jesus where makes his new home and where he launches his public ministry.
Besides being a good place to encounter a broad range of people, a place where word would spread far and wide, for the Evangelist, the location is important in establishing Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. As we’ve seen in the birth narratives, Matthew continually returns to the theme of pointing out how Jesus fulfills what was foretold in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Isaiah.
The prophecy that Matthew partly quotes and partly paraphrases comes from the Old Testament reading appointed for today. The context in the original is a bleak, war-torn ancient Israel under threat from Assyrian invasion. Partway through naming their racked reality for what it is, Isaiah’s tone shifts radically to a powerful message of hope. For those who were in anguish, there will be no more gloom. A "great light" is dawning with the arrival of a child who will bring peace and justice. This Messiah will reign over God's people, and fulfill promises of divine presence and deliverance.
Jesus’ mission is deeply rooted in the long story of God’s salvation, in the prophecies of old, and also of the ministry of John. Others have prepared the way for his ministry, and his identity as Messiah is confirmed by their words that came before him.
Beyond these deep roots, what stands out in Isaiah’s prophecy is that something new is dawning. As foretold, the Messiah has come to this region that is home to Gentiles, or in another translation, he has come to “Galilee of the nations.” This is a radical expansion in the mission of God to people of all ethnic backgrounds. In Matthew’s Gospel, his ministry primarily takes place in this region, and by its end, Jesus extends his power to the disciples in Galilee (28:16). True to its prophetic nature, this passage looks back at where God and his people have been, that looks around at where they are, and looks forward in hope of continuous reconciliation.
Matthew is truly the master of narrative patterns and framing that carry significant implications about who Jesus is, what his ministry is about, and what it means to follow him.
As noted earlier, John’s arrest is the catalyst of Jesus leaving home and embarking on his mission of preaching, teaching, and healing. There are several terms for “arrest” in Greek, and it’s noteworthy that the word for John’s imprisonment is the same that Matthew uses when Jesus is betrayed and handed over. In fact, Matthew really doubles down on this term that recurs 21 times in the few chapters of his passion narrative. The upshot is that right from the beginning, Matthew casts all that follows in the light of Jesus’ eventual arrest.
Moreover, partway through his ministry, this same word reappears when Jesus warns disciples about the consequences of following him: heads up, he tells them, they too can anticipate being handed over, betrayed, and imprisoned (Mt 10:17, 19, 21).
So right from the beginning, Matthew places Jesus’ ministry in several broader contexts: the fulfillment of ancient prophecies, his eventual arrest, and John the Baptist’s ministry.
Back on Advent 2, we heard John in the wilderness proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Mt 3:1-2) and preparing the way of the Lord, who shares this very same central message. This call for repentance was not original to John but was the standard Jewish means of reconciliation with God. “Repent” in Greek literally means “to change one’s mind”, but in this culture the term was loaded with overtones of its Hebrew counterpart, “turn” or “return”. The word does not entail feelings remorse but rather a concrete change of direction and action. “Reorient yourself; turn your gaze, and act on it” catches some of the connotations.
While “repent” is the first word in this summary of their preaching, this turning of one’s mind is actually a reaction to what has already taken place: the kingdom of heaven has already come near.
Let that sink in for a moment: the kingdom of heaven has already come near.
Reconciliation between God and humans does not begin with us, but rather with God, who in his mercy continues to take the first step in drawing near. John and Jesus, following the prophets of old, invite an active response. If we are to come to know God, our attention needs to shift from life as we have known it, from our own plans, our aspirations of self-sufficiency, and the places we have sought security and control.
As we look around at the world and our own lives, this is very good news. The kingdom of heaven has already come near, and we are invited to be transformed.
As Jesus walks by the sea, he invites two the sets of brothers to follow him.
What follows in the Gospel makes clear that this moment of answering Jesus’ call did not entail a recognition of who he was. All throughout his ministry, even to the very end, his followers are continually uncertain about who Jesus is and what he is doing. I’ve come across endless speculations of why the brothers left their nets, and while we can imagine various scenarios, I find that Matthew’s minimalist rendition is powerful in its omission of explanations.
Jesus did not entice them with a system of beliefs or practices, but rather there was something extraordinarily compelling about this man. God had come to dwell among them, and while they are a long way from understanding this, there is something about Jesus that leads them to take a risk, to leave their nets that symbolize any security they had, to turn their attention, and to embark on the long path of discovering who Jesus is and what this means for them.
Beloved community, the kingdom of heaven has already come near. What nets are you being called to leave behind? And how is Christ calling you to come to know him better through participation in his living body, the Church?