Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." [Matthew 4:12-17 NASB]
Jesus actually began His ministry prior to this, according to the Gospel of John. He had already collected some disciples, including two of John the Baptist's disciples who left John to follow Jesus (John 4:35-51). He left the area of the Jordan and went back to Galilee to attend a wedding in Cana, where He turned the water into wine (John 2:1-11). After spending some time in Capernaum in Galilee, He went to Jerusalem, where he drove the money changers out of the temple (John 2:12-25).
During this time, he spoke to Nicodemus, a Pharisee ruler of the Jews, and taught him about being born again (John 3:1-21). Then He went into Judea, and was baptizing (though we see in John 4:2 that it wasn't Jesus who baptized, but his disciples). His ministry overlapped with that of John the Baptist, and Jesus' ministry eclipsed John's (John 3:22-36).
He left again for Galilee, and along the way stopped near Sychar in Samaria. There, He spoke to a woman at the well and explained that true worshippers will not worship in the Temple, but will worship in spirit and in truth (John 3:23-42).
It is at this point that Matthew takes up the narrative.
Prior to the arrest of John, Jesus baptized and performed to miracles. After John's arrest, Jesus began His preaching ministry, which was summarized as, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
In the Bible, the term "Kingdom of Heaven" is used exclusively in the book of Matthew. Otherwise it is called the "Kingdom of God". The terms are synonymous, with the difference being the audience to whom it is written. Matthew was writing to a primarily Jewish audience. The Jews took very seriously the command, "you shall not take the Lord's name in vain." So the custom arose that they would not speak any name directly referring to God, but would refer, instead, to where He lives, i.e. Heaven. Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God. Matthew mostly accommodates the Jews in this regard, though he does occasional use the phrase "kingdom of God".
Throughout His ministry, Jesus refers often to the kingdom of heaven. He does not come right out and describe it, but uses parables and comparisons instead. The reason is that the kingdom is spiritual, and there are no natural words to describe it.
As we study through the book of Matthew, we will learn about the kingdom of heaven, but I will give a brief summary here.
The kingdom of heaven is not in a physical place we can find. People used to believe that it was located in the clouds. More recently, I spoke to someone who was absolutely convinced that it is on another planet in space. But, remember Jesus' message, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This does not mean that it will come soon, but that it is here, now, where you are. We are taught in Luke, "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed. nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”" [Luke 17:20-21 NASB]
The nature of things that are spiritual are so different from the natural that they can't be adequately described using natural words, nor can they be understood by the natural mind. They must be spiritually discerned. But Matthew 6:33 promises blessing for those who seek God's kingdom.
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