The Sermon on the Mount: A 21-Day Guide to the Greatest Sermon Ever PreachedSample

Really Good News

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17 NIV

It’s here, in Matthew 4, that Jesus announces His gospel (good news message) to the world.

“From that time on …”

This is the first time Jesus preaches this message, but it certainly is not the last time. In fact, from this point forward, just about everything Jesus says and does is a continuation of this original message.

“Repent …”

“Repent” is a Biblical word that means turn away from your sins and chase after God. At this point in history, many of God's people, the nation of Israel, had turned their backs on God and started living for themselves. Instead of trusting God, they placed their trust in money, power, human leaders, or even themselves.

This is true for us today, too. How often do we arrange our lives according to what we want rather than God's will? The way so many of us have been living our lives just isn’t working. Instead of bringing us more joy, life, and peace, we end up miserable, depressed, and anxious. Jesus invites us to change direction, to stop chasing after all the things that have enslaved us, and to start chasing after the One who came to set us free.

The gospel begins with a command to repent, to turn away from our sins, and turn toward God. But why?

“… for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

To understand the eternity-shaping, world-changing magnitude of what Jesus is saying, we need to first answer three questions:

1. What is the kingdom of heaven?
2. What does it mean that it has come near?
3. How does that work?

So, what is the kingdom of heaven? A kingdom is a place and a people ruled by a king. Heaven is the realm God rules. So, when Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven, He is talking about a place and a people where God rules as king.

Okay, but what does it mean that it has come near? Jesus is revealing to us that heaven is not some far-off city floating in the clouds that we have to be good enough to enter into. Instead, heaven, the place where God reigns as King, is coming to us. To say that the kingdom of heaven has come near is to declare that the rule and reign of God are beginning to take root now. Jesus is telling us that God is not keeping us at arm's length; instead, God is coming close to us so that we can be close to Him. The good news of Jesus’ gospel is that the time has finally come for God’s heavenly kingdom to be established here on earth so that anyone who turns from their sin and turns toward Him will be welcomed in.

How does that even work? Through Jesus. Jesus is God in human form. He is the literal joining together of God and humanity, heaven and earth. He came to bring heaven and earth, God and people, back together again. When He speaks, love pours out. When He acts, the direction of history bends to His design.

And this is what we see taking place in the rest of this chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. After Jesus begins to preach about God’s kingdom coming near, He invites others to follow Him (to repent).

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-20 NIV

What is the kingdom of Heaven? It’s a place and a people ruled by God. Jesus begins to gather His people. Then, He starts to demonstrate His power.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Matthew 4:23-25 NIV

Can you see it? People are repenting and heaven is arriving. People are flocking to the King and He is healing their hurts. Because Jesus is more than just an ordinary person. And His kingdom is unlike any other kingdom. He is God in the flesh. His kingdom is heaven itself. And through Him, heaven is invading, darkness is fleeing, and hope is being unleashed onto the world.

Soon, large crowds of people begin to follow Jesus. Some because they believe He is the Messiah, the Savior King promised by God. Some because they believe He is a prophet, a messenger carrying the words and power of God. Some because they have seen Him do miracles, and, regardless of who He is, they want what He can do. Some are simply curious to know what all the commotion is about.

Whatever it was that may have drawn them to Jesus, His next act was to teach them all what life is like when God is in charge. He sat down on a mountain and told His followers what it means to live as citizens of His heavenly kingdom. It is this message that has become known as the Sermon on the Mount, and it is what we will spend the rest of this Bible Plan digging into.

Today, we’ll reflect on what Jesus said and did in Matthew 4 to demonstrate His power and authority to rule as King. Before we do, we invite you to pray this prayer:

Lord, I want to know You better and follow You more faithfully. Give me the power to repent, to turn away from my sins, and chase after You. I’m not just in this to get something from You—I’m in this to devote my whole life to You. I believe You are the Son of God. I trust that You love me. And I choose to commit all I am to You. Help me to read, understand, and love Your Word so that I can live according to Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.