Mat 04:12-17; 17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent …”

Imperative: Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Context:

12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Caper’na-um by the sea, in the territory of Zeb’ulun and Naph’tali, 14 that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zeb’ulun and the land of Naph’tali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles– 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

GREEK VERBS:

Mat 4:17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying,“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

V-PMA-2P = Verb – Tense: Present/Mood: Imperative/Voice: Active – Person: 2nd Person Plural

Short Definition: I repent, change my mind
Definition: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent.
HELPS Word-studies
3340 metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, “changed after being with” and 3539 /noiéō, “think”) – properly, “think differently after,” “after a change of mind”; to repent (literally, “think differently afterwards”). [1]

Began: this is the theme of it all. It repeats the altar call of John the Baptist.

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Mat 4:12  Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; 13  and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali …

What is the importance of these places, if any?

Quote: What is this “land of Zebulun and Naphtali” our first reading from the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel speak about.
• And the descendants of two of Israel’s 12 sons—Zebulun and Naphtali—was the northeast region of Israel.
• And Isaiah calls it “a place of darkness” because by Isaiah’s time it was populated primarily by pagans, and the few Jews remaining had difficulty holding onto their ancestral faith and tradition. (These two tribes were the first taken into captivity and displaced by the empire of Assyria.)
• Now by the time Jesus comes, this area of Israel was called Galilee…actually called “Galilee of the Gentiles” as we hear in the Gospel, because though mostly Jewish then, it was surrounded by Gentile peoples, and was looked down upon by many Jews because of Gentile cultural influences.
• Galilee was special because it was (and is) the most fertile region of Palestine, and thus it was also the most populous.
• Being surrounded by so many different cultures, Galileans were also a people open to new ideas. So, okay…highly populated. Open to new ideas. Is it any wonder why God chose this region for most of Jesus’ teaching and works? It was here that Jesus could reach the most people most quickly in the few years He would be with us. [2]

S.O.W. QUESTIONS
S. What does it say?
O. What does it say that I need to obey?
W. Who needs to hear this? Generally? Specifically?

DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS
What gets your attention?
What human needs or problems relate to the text?
What is it like to have that problem?
What other resources connect to this idea?
What is the solution suggested in the text, if there is one?
What would a camera see if the solution was implemented in my life, in my family’s life, or in my church or community?
What are the steps that I would take on Monday to implement that solution?
.
CONTEXTUALIZING QUESTIONS What does this say to my context as a ……. person?… follower of Jesus? … to a church? … to a community – my neighbors?

RESOURCES

What are the commands of Jesus Christ which we need to obey? In disciple-making, Jesus commanded the following in Matthew 28:20: “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” What are the commands that we are to follow and teach others as identified by Jesus’ use of the imperative mood in the Greek?

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