Latest / NOBA @ Noon / Matthew 2:21 - 3:2
Transcript
- Canon Justin Murff: The Gospel of Matthew chapter two verse twenty one through chapter three verse two And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archalais was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that it was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled. That he would be called a Nazarene. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The Gospel of the Lord. In today's Gospel we read this remarkable transition from Jesus' childhood in Egypt to the beginning of his public ministry, covering roughly thirty years in just a few short verses. Joseph, Having been warned in a dream, returns from this self-imposed exile in Egypt with Mary and the baby Jesus. But even this return is marked by divine guidance, as Joseph is redirected to Galilee rather than Judea because of the threat posed by Herod's son. So the Holy Family settles in Nazareth, this sleepy, quiet outpost. And Matthew notes that this fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene. This is a curious statement because there's actually no Old Testament passage that contains these exact words. Matthew seems to be drawing on this general contempt associated with Nazareth, this backwater town in Galilee that prompted Nathaniel's later question can anything good come from Nazareth? The Messiah would be despised and rejected, and associated with the lowly, the downcast, the trodden. and the overlooked. This detail carried great significance. Jesus' identification with an obscure, looked down upon village communicates something profound about God's ways. The Almighty doesn't operate according to human expectations of prestige and power. The Savior of the world grew up in a town that respectable people had long dismissed. Then the narrative leaps forward three decades. In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. The silence of those intervening years speaks volumes to us. The one who would teach with unprecedented authority first lived in obscurity. The Son of God learned a trade, he grew in wisdom, he waited for his appointed time to begin his earthly ministry. The next chapter we see a relative of Jesus, John the Baptiser, who is is delivering his direct and uncompromising message to Israel. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This was not comfortable religious sentiment, but an urgent proclamation. The word repent comes from the Greek word metanoia, and it means to have a complete change of mind, a fundamental reorientation of life. It's walking one direction and then turning about and going the other. John wasn't calling for a routine ritual cleansing or a mikvah, as they call it in Hebrew, not even this minor moral adjustment. No, John is calling the people of God to a radical life transformation. The kingdom of heaven, it's not for tomorrow. It's now, it's today. The kingdom of heaven is at hand, announces John. This news of the long-awaited reign of God was breaking forth into human history. For Jews living under Roman occupation longing for God's intervention, this must have been electrifying news of great importance. But John's emphasis on repentance clarified that this kingdom would not arrive through a political revolution or a mighty army. No, the kingdom of God was going to be delivered to us through transformed hearts. The wilderness location also was significant. It was in the wilderness that Israel wandered for forty years, that Elijah had fled. It's in the wilderness where the prophets encountered God. John's presence there signaled that prophetic ministry had now finally returned to Israel after centuries of silence. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was speaking to his people once again. But would they listen? Well, how does this passage speak to us today? It validates seasons of quietness and stillness. Before public ministry came three decades of private preparation. We live in a culture that celebrates visibility and platforms, but God's economy often involves extended periods of obscurity. If you find yourself in a hidden season, take heart. Jesus himself walked that path. John's message remains as relevant as ever. Repentance is not a one-time event, but it's an ongoing posture. Of living the transformed Christian life through Christ. The kingdom of heaven continues to break into our world, calling us to reorient our lives around God's reign rather than our own agendas. Today, consider whether you need to heed John's call to repentance today. What areas of your life resist the reign of God? What mindsets need to be transformed? What guilt or shame are you holding on to? That Jesus invites us to lay at his feet. What sin do we just need to offer up to the Lord? The kingdom is still at hand, and the invitation to enter it begins with a humble acknowledgement that we all need Jesus. We all need forgiveness. We all need to change. I'm so thankful that today we can lay all our burdens down and place them at the feet.