By Archimandrite Joel Yiannakopoulos
February of the year 28 A.D. until the Passover of 28 A.D.
Matthew 4:12–25; 8:1–4, 14–17; 9:1–17; 13:54–58
Mark 1:14–2:22; 6:1–6
Luke 4:14–5:39
John 4:43–54
February of the year 28 A.D. until the Passover of 28 A.D.
Matthew 4:12–25; 8:1–4, 14–17; 9:1–17; 13:54–58
Mark 1:14–2:22; 6:1–6
Luke 4:14–5:39
John 4:43–54
The Lord’s public activity in Judea, given that the Forerunner was still present, was semi-official. The Lord departed from the Jordan, where His disciples were baptizing, because His success aroused the envy of the Pharisees, according to the explicit testimony of the Evangelist John, as we have seen. Having departed from there, either then or shortly before His departure, He learned of the imprisonment of the Forerunner. At that point He decided to enter upon His public life in a fully official manner. As a suitable center He chose Galilee, and especially the western shore of the Lake of Gennesaret —Capernaum — far from the center of the Pharisees in Jerusalem, so that He might move more freely among the dense and mixed population there.
Behold how the three Evangelists describe this beginning in Galilee. According to the Evangelist Matthew, Christ, “when He heard that John had been delivered up, withdrew into Galilee.” Likewise Mark says, “after John had been delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee.” The Evangelist Luke adds something new: “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.” That is, filled with the Holy Spirit, after His temptations in the wilderness, the Lord comes into Galilee in order to begin His preaching, once the Forerunner had been imprisoned. As we have seen, the Lord went from Samaria into Galilee. In this Galilean activity of the Lord, the five or six disciples who had until then been with Him do not yet appear — those whom He would soon definitively call when He went to Capernaum. Most likely the Lord withdrew for a short time before beginning His public work in Galilee and dismissed them, or they departed on their own, either then or when they heard of the imprisonment of the Forerunner, after the discussion between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
“From that time Jesus began to preach the gospel of God.” From the moment the Forerunner entered prison, the Lord began His public ministry. He did not begin earlier, “lest the crowd be divided,” according to Saint John Chrysostom, because some would have been for Christ and others for the Forerunner. The Lord says: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Thus the content of His preaching was repentance, as was that of the Forerunner, with the difference that the Lord adds, “the time is fulfilled” — that is, the time foretold by the Prophets for the coming of the Messiah has arrived, and therefore the old time of sin, the old cursed age, has passed. How joyful is this message!
In addition to the above, the Lord preaches both the “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” of the Forerunner and His own “believe in the gospel.” This preaching is called the Gospel because it contains the best message, the most joyful tidings ever heard by the world. It is called the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven because this earthly Kingdom of Christ is an extension of the heavenly angelic realm, and God Himself is its King. In this way Christ, by completing the preaching of the Forerunner, approves it and yet surpasses it in harmony and fullness. How marvelous is the cooperation of these two great preachers! The Forerunner was imprisoned, but another preacher came, stronger than he. Thus, with the death of one preacher of the truth, the truth itself is not harmed, for another stronger than the first will arise.
“And His fame went out throughout all the surrounding region.” The fame of Christ spread throughout Galilee and the neighboring areas. This fame was due to the miracles He had performed at the previous Passover in Jerusalem, which became known in Capernaum. “And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” The Lord taught in the synagogues of the Jews and was glorified by all the people.
Thus here we have the content of the Lord’s preaching, which is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Theme: The Kingdom of Heaven
The Lord preached the Kingdom of Heaven. What is this Kingdom, and what relationship does it have to us? In order to understand this Kingdom, we must compare it with the kingdoms of this world.
The kingdoms of this world have a defined geographical and temporal extent. Specifically, the ancient Roman Empire encompassed the Mediterranean Sea and lasted from about 750 B.C. until about 400 A.D. The Kingdom of Christ, however, does not begin with Christ as its founder, but with the prophets and even with the first-created Adam, who foretold Him, and continues until today — two thousand years after Christ. It begins in the depths of the ages and, according to the explicit assurance of its Founder, Christ, will exist until the end and beyond this world. Its geographical extent is not limited to the Mediterranean Sea, but extends over the whole earth, for Christians exist throughout the world. This Kingdom is not only over certain people, namely Christians on earth, but there will come a time when “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God.” This Kingdom exists not only on earth but also in heaven — and above all in heaven — therefore it is called the Kingdom of Heaven. It even extends beyond earth and heaven into Hades, since Christ has the power “to bind the strong man,” the devil, and since, according to the Apostle Paul, “at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
Beyond their temporal and spatial extent, every kingdom has internal laws, citizens, and rulers, and externally enemies and wars. The Roman Empire, for example, had its laws, its Roman citizens, and its emperor, and externally it had enemies such as the Parthians, Persians, Goths, and others.
The Kingdom of Heaven also has its law: the gospel. The difference between Roman law and the gospel is that Roman law applied only where Roman power extended, whereas the gospel, even during the time of the Roman Empire, became law among Parthians, Medes, Goths, and others. Moreover, the laws of other kingdoms are made by people, but the gospel makes people, as Pascal says. What a difference! Citizens of other kingdoms may be liars, robbers, adulterers, covetous, idolaters, and so on. But “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God.” The first citizens of the Kingdom of God were Adam and Eve, then Abel, then his descendants who were called sons of God, then the nation of the Hebrews, then the faithful throughout the world, and finally the triumphant faithful in heaven. Thus this Kingdom has great antiquity, immense progress, and blessed eternity! How great is the superiority of the Kingdom of Christ over all other kingdoms in its laws and its citizens!
This superiority reaches its peak when we consider the kings of other kingdoms and the King of the Kingdom of Heaven — Christ Himself, who is the King of the kings of the earth.
Above all this, let us not forget that Christ has also made us kings, for we reign over our passions. How exalted it is for a person to be master of himself! “The Kingdom of God is within you,” says the Lord — that is, before you and within you.
The Kingdom of God surpasses others not only in laws, lawgiver, and citizens, but also in enemies. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age.” And the victory is radiant, for the world-ruling devil can be defeated not only by the strong through their strength in helping others, but also by the weak through enduring their weakness; not only by the young through their sacrifices, but also by the young woman through her purity; not only by the great through their wisdom, but also by the small through their simplicity — indeed, by every human being. How marvelous is the Kingdom of God, which has so many enemies and yet is so easily victorious over them even by its least citizen!
The superiority of the Kingdom of Christ over the kingdom of this world is also seen in the goods they bestow. The kingdom of the world gives lands; the Kingdom of God gives heaven. The kingdom of earth gives pleasure; the Kingdom of God gives joy. The kingdom of the world gives anxiety; the Kingdom of God gives struggle. The kingdom of the world gives gold; the Kingdom of God gives peace. The kingdom of the world gives power; the Kingdom of God gives blessedness. The kingdom of the world gives present enjoyment; the Kingdom of God gives sure hope. The kingdom of the world gives suspicion toward its kings; the Kingdom of God gives faith in its King. The kingdom of the world gives bread; the Kingdom of God gives truth. The kingdom of the world gives feasting; the Kingdom of God gives fervor. In general, the kingdom of the world gives temporary and material things, while the Kingdom of God gives chiefly eternal and spiritual things. Therefore the Lord assures us: “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36).
Conclusions
Who among the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven does not rejoice, realizing that he belongs to such a Kingdom, with such vast temporal and spatial extent? Who among the faithful does not strive to become a closer member of this Kingdom, where there are no evil people but only saints? Who among the faithful does not care to become king over his passions, since he has received such honor from Christ? We have seen that we have a fearsome enemy, Satan. Who will not be watchful in his life, knowing that he must face such an enemy? “The Kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force,” says the Lord (Matt. 21:22). We have seen that this enemy can be overcome even by the weak, the unlearned, and children. Who, then, will be discouraged in this struggle, when the weak, the uneducated, and children are victorious? We have seen that this Kingdom gives joy, peace, hope, fervor, patience, rest of conscience, and both present and future life. What person of understanding would prefer matter to these? What value does gold have in comparison with Christ?
Theodoric, king of the Goths, after becoming ruler of the Western Roman Empire in 493 A.D., summoned all the officials and nobles of Rome to a general assembly. Among them was a zealous Christian. Seeing the great splendor of these eminent men, he cried out: “O my God, how beautiful the heavenly Jerusalem must be! How great will be the glory of Your children in heaven, if there is such splendor in the earthly kingdom!”
Behold the kingdoms of the world and the Kingdom of Christ. Let us enter this Kingdom of Christ through repentance, as the Lord says. Amen.
Source: The Life of Christ, published in 1953. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
