3rd Sunday after Epiphany
January 23, 2005
Matthew 4:12-23

Jesus' Mission Is Our Mission.

  Last Sunday at our congregational meeting, we thought some more about a question raised by Rev. Hartburg during his visit the week before. “What does it mean to be a mission rather than an established congregation?” He was basically asking us to think about our primary purpose or focus here in Dartmouth. The focus of a long established congregation might be some program or a school. But a mission by definition is focused on spreading the Gospel, the Christian Faith.

  I could argue that primary purpose of any congregation, even a long established one, is to spread the Gospel. But our question and the question that the Gospel lesson addresses, is how to go about this mission. Here’s the way Jesus did mission. He proclaimed a message, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” Then he taught what that meant and cared for human needs as the sign that the kingdom is near. I submit to you that that should be our model and our focus.

  Matthew says that Jesus went around preaching the good news of the kingdom. He was saying to people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” What does that mean? Why is that good news? It has to do with something the prophet Isaiah said. Matthew says that Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy about a great light in Galilee.

  You see, Isaiah had to rebuke the people of Judah because they simply no longer trusted and followed God. They were a little nation surrounded by bigger hostile nations including their estranged brothers to the north, Israel. And rather than trust God to protect them, to make them the little David in front of the giant Goliath, they found it easier to get on Goliath’s side. They had more confidence in a military alliance with Assyria, the superpower of the day, than in God. But it wasn’t just a military thing. They all believed that the reason Assyria was so powerful was because of its gods. So when little Judah turned to Assyria, it turned also to its idols!

  Isaiah warned that Assyria would turn out to be a snake that would turn on Judah and Israel and destroy them. God would let it happen. Then, when they had learned the hard way about trusting idols and military might rather than God the Creator, God would rescue them. Isaiah said they would first come to this point. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness. (Isaiah 8:21-22).

  That’s what happened. Judah called to Assyria for help against Israel and Syria. Assyria gladly helped, but at a great cost. They inflicted heavy taxes on Judah and completely destroyed the nation of Israel. They carried off the Jews living there and replaced them with people who served idols. Galilee was part of this territory and so was called Galilee of the Gentiles. From a Jewish point of view, God had turned his back on them; the kingdom had been lost and plunged into darkness.

  But then came the good news! Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honour Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. . . . For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:1-7).

  Matthew’s point is that Jesus was the child of that prophecy. He was the great light bringing the message, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near! This was great news! To a Jew at least, it meant that God’s favour had been restored. Their punishment was over. God would restore his kingdom among them, like we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, they will be done.” To prove that the kingdom of heaven was near, that God had again turned his face to Israel, Jesus did signs. He went around healing every disease and sickness among the people. Since this was so, they were to repent, that is, to return to God, to once again trust and obey him. It was an invitation from God to be his people.

  That message is still Jesus’ message to the world. We live in a world where people have entirely lost sight of God. There are many people who know the name of Christ only as a swear word! There are many who long ago felt betrayed by God and so cursed him and went on their own way. We fear natural disasters, wars and poor economies. We haven’t a clue as to what is right and wrong. Some think that’s all fine, but most of us long for something better.

  To this world in the dark Jesus still says, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near! There is hope. It’s not too late to know God to be reconciled to him, to enter into his kingdom. Jesus is proof! He transcended the laws of nature. He did miracles. But most important of all, he died and rose from the dead! To see Jesus is to see a man who was not separated from God because of sin. It’s to see a man who is truly at peace in every sense of the word, who sees life clearly. It’s to see something of how life will be in the resurrection!

  To see Jesus is also to see God’s agent to bring you into his kingdom. He invites and commands us to repent, that is, to turn to Christ in humility recognizing your need for God. Turn to Jesus in faith; trust and follow him. You will be part of the kingdom of heaven! That is the message that we have received from Christ himself. Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!

  Our mission is to take that message to the streets. How shall we do that? Look again at what Jesus did. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

  We need to notice two things. First that Jesus preached, taught and healed. Second that he called some ordinary people to do the same. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Jesus did three things. First, he continued to go to people in markets, at weddings, at funerals, wherever, and preached or proclaimed the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is near! Some of the people to whom he spoke were very devout Jews; others were prostitutes and tax collectors, the “sinners.” Yet as he ran into them, he proclaimed the message of God’s favour and called them into a new relationship with God.

  Then he taught in their synagogues, their churches. Here was the opportunity to explain the Word of God, the Gospel, in more detail. Here people could study and get better explanations than in the streets and markets. He did what we are doing right now.

  Finally Jesus healed every kind of disease and sickness. Yes he used his divine power; but, on the other hand, he didn’t heal everyone in Israel and even refused to heal when he encountered firm unbelief. You see, the healings were signs that the message he proclaimed and taught, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!, was true. Disease and death are part of the judgment for sin. The good news that the kingdom is near means also that the time for the judgment is almost over. Healings were thus a sign that the kingdom really was near. It was becoming visible.

  That basically is what Jesus did to evangelise, to do mission work. But he didn’t do it all alone. He called others and taught them to do the same. Look at the first men Jesus called into his mission. He didn’t turn to the Old Testament scholars in Jerusalem, rather to very ordinary guys, four fishermen. They had no special Biblical training, just the normal training that any Jewish boy had. As they followed him around, he revealed himself to them and taught them what they needed to know. They came to believe that in the person of Jesus, the kingdom of God was at hand. Then, as they were, with the abilities they had, Jesus changed their focus in life from fishing to his mission. They became fishers of men!

  He later sent them out on his mission saying, As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. (Matthew 10:7-8). His last words on earth sound about the same. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20). It sure seems that Jesus established a model for mission for his disciples and his church: proclaim, teach and care for human needs.

  That then is our model for mission, what it means for us to be a mission. Jesus has called you and me to be his disciples. He has sent us individually and collectively to proclaim the Gospel, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!, to teach what that means, and care for human needs as a sign that the message is true. You can proclaim the message whenever you have opportunity to testify to your faith and what you believe. You may have opportunity to teach in a bible class, Sunday school, a home prayer group or one on one with a friend who wants to know more. And with things like the recent tsunami, we always have opportunity to care for human needs as a sign that the Gospel is true. We don’t have to work miracles. It’s already miracle enough that we care and help in Jesus’ name.

  Each one of us has a place in God’s Mission. We often call this our vocation, that is, the particular calling in life that God has given us and for which he equips us. Your vocation may be that of a young student in school or of a retired person doing volunteer work and everything in between. In some way God will use you in that vocation—or in another to which he will lead you—for his mission.

  What then does it mean to be a mission? It means to participate in Jesus’ mission. It’s to proclaim “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”, to teach what that means, and heal as a sign that the message is true. May God bring us into his mission!