Lesson 779

(Lesson 779)(10-13-13) This lesson comes from Matthew 10:7-15;

"And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

In this lesson, Jesus disclosed the message His Apostles were to teach. It's is the same message Jesus taught, Matt. 4:17, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is the also the exact same message that was preached by John the baptist, Matt. 3:1-2, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.".

I will try to establish why John, Jesus and the Apostles taught this message and how this message is to be understood today.

In the Old Testament, after all humanity had been destroyed except Noah, Ham, Shem, Japheth and their wives. And, after God's covenant with Abraham and his seed, God required His people to live by a set of rules, (The Law of Moses). Violation of that Law meant eternal separation from God unless the disobedience was atoned under the guidelines set out by the Law.

That procedure for atonement included three separate and distinct steps. The first was to "repent" the disobedience,(admit that you guilty and never do it again). Second, the "sinner" was required to submit themselves to a ritual water bath, (water baptism) which figuratively "washed" away the sin. Then Third the "sinner" was required to offer up some living thing as a blood sacrifice. After those three steps were completed the "sinner" was again reconciled to God.

As our heavenly Father knew from the beginning that it would, that Law horribly failed because of inherent sin in mankind (Adam's disobedience) and his/her inability to follow any set of rules at all.

God the Father, after giving mankind countless chances and watching them fail over and over again, sent His Son Jesus, in human form, to live the perfect example under the Law and to be a perfect sacrifice (Under the Law) for the sins of all who will only believe in Him.

I said all that to establish why the message "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." was so important to the Jewish people of Jesus' day.

That message simply meant that the prophesies had been fulfilled and the Messiah had come. It was to prepare the Jews for the transition from the Law of Moses, to the new law of grace through faith by which the new "kingdom" would abide. That message was meant only for the Jews of Jesus' day.~