NEW WAY TO LIVE

After Jesus was tempted with the three all-encompassing tests in the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), that are basically listed as “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). He then learned that John had been arrested and he moved to Galilee (Matthew 4:12). The text says, “He moved from his hometown, Nazareth, to the lakeside village Capernaum, nestled at the base of the Zebulun and Naphtali hills. This move completed Isaiah’s revelation:
Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
    road to the sea, over Jordan,
    Galilee, crossroads for the nations.
People sitting out their lives in the dark
    saw a huge light;
Sitting in that dark, dark country of death,
    they watched the sun come up. (Isaiah 9:1ff)

This Isaiah-prophesied revelation came to life in Galilee the moment Jesus started preaching. He picked up where John left off: “Change your life. God’s kingdom is here” (Matthew 4:12-17 The Message).

Another version reads: “Turn from sin and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

The way I learned this verse was: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17 NASV).
(Note: This is the same version that Jesus carried and used.)

However one reads this matters little if we can’t see what is being stated: Repent, change your life, turn from sin… the Kingdom of God arrived by example when Jesus arrived. The message is: There is a New Way to live…the Kingdom Way. This New Way is the Father asking us to change from our way to his way, putting our life into his life, our purpose into his purpose, our will into his will.

“Turn from sin and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” Jesus