Read: Matthew 4:13-17| Listen: Matthew 4

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17

 Jesus withdraws to Galilee after he hears that John the Baptist is in prison. He has fasted for forty days and faced temptation in the wilderness, and now it is time for his public ministry to begin. Matthew sums up Jesus’s message in a single sentence, starting with one word: repent. The Greek word describes a change of mind that turns a whole life around. The Jewish crowd knows this call well. For centuries, their prophets have urged them to repent and turn back to God. Now Jesus gives the reason: The kingdom of heaven—God’s rule and reign—has arrived in the person of the King himself.

 The word repent often carries heavy baggage today. We may picture someone holding a cardboard sign by the roadside, a preacher pounding the pulpit, or a heated debate in our social media feeds. We may hear Jesus’s first sermon as bad news (repent) followed by good news (the kingdom is here). Yet if we misunderstand repentance, we misunderstand Jesus. Repentance does not drag us away from the good life toward a gray, joyless one. It invites us to trade up—to turn from sin and toward Jesus. That makes his call good news: The life God designed us for waits on the other side of turning to him.

 TODAY: Pray with an open heart as this week begins: “Father, thank you for calling me to turn toward you through Jesus. Open my eyes to see repentance as good news, and show me where I have misunderstood your call to repent. Amen.”