Lesson 2283

(Lesson 2283)(03-12-18) Matthew 4:12-17
    “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

   The first part of today’s quote relates how Jesus, by His actions, further fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.
    There is also another part of this lesson that is very important to take into account. That is, how Jesus, when He began to teach, taught the exact same message that John the Baptist had taught. That message was; “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (As these lessons progress, we will also learn that this message is the exact same message that Jesus instructed the seventy two disciples to go and explicitlyto the Jews.)
    The clarity of Jesus’ message distinctly tells us that neither He nor John were preaching ‘Christianity’, as such, because ‘Christianity’ had no yet been fully defined or established, nor could it be until Jesus had fulfilled His divine purpose as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind. But rather, both John and Jesus taught (only) the Jews to prepare themselves for the time when the “kingdom heaven” would fully arrive.~