Repentance in the Gospels

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

That was the essence of the message that John the Baptist spoke when he heralded the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to Israel.

Matthew 3:1–12 — “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. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

“And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

This call for repentance was something that every Israelite would find familiar. It was the call of the prophets. It was about sin. It was about the covenant to which they were unfaithful. The Messiah was coming and that the people were to pick a side. Would they be the wheat that He would gather into the garner (granary or silo), or the chaff that would be burned.

Mark opens his gospel account of John’s message that he preached “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). The baptism also was a confession of the need for it. The people who came to John for baptism came confessing their sins. Confession means to agree with the accusation against oneself and to declare it so. It means to agree, or to say the same thing.

The repentance also was to bear fruit. The people asked John what the fruits meet for repentance would be. He answered them with real tangible deeds to show their fruit:

Luke 3:10–14 — “And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.”

God’s message to the people through John the Baptist was to be the nation that He called them to be from the beginning. He was to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).

Isaiah 40:1–4 — “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain…”

See Luke 3:4–5 for this exact fulfilment. John’s ministry was exactly what Isaiah’s word from the Lord said it would be.

John had witness from the Lord that he was a burning and shining light (John 5:35), and that there had not been greater prophet than him (Luke 7:28). The Lord in the statement that John was a shining light said that the people for a season were willing to rejoice in that light.

Herod, the Roman appointed king, put John in prison. After that, a greater testimony of the kingdom being at hand came. It was the message, by a far greater messenger:

Mark 1:14–15 — “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Repent ye and believe the gospel is argued as a single act. This is true. If the gospel preached was believed, the one believing would also repent. The reader of the Gospels must take into account what the “gospel of the kingdom of God” is. It is defined in Mark 1:15 — “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand”. This is not difficult. It becomes difficult when one sees the word gospel and will not see that it does not always mean the same gospel. The gospel that we believe for salvation unto eternal life is that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead as the Apostle Paul defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:1–4. The gospel of the kingdom as John preached was the King is coming, be prepared! At this point when the Lord Himself took up the message, it was THE KING IS HERE, get ready!

The King preached repentance. It was not merely a change of mind, as many will argue. It was a change of mind regarding sin. As the Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, repentance was to amend their ways and their doings (Jeremiah 7:3, 5, etc.). He said plainly “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32). He does not want the righteous to turn from righteousness, but the sinners to turn from sin. Yes, we know that there is none righteous, but that is not the point here. The scribes and Pharisees took issue with Him for making company with sinners, but He was making company with sinners to call them to repent. He was giving them the opportunity to do so. He was showing mercy to them. The scribes and Pharisees also needed this mercy, but they could not see it. They would have preferred Him to be like the older brother in the “prodigal son” story who was angry with his father for rejoicing at his brother’s return. But He was not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9).

The story of the “prodigal son” in Luke 15 is an illustration of what repentance looks like, the Heavenly Father’s attitude toward the repentant sinner, and what the one who did not stray should not be.

This message for the Covenant people to return to the covenant, prepared to meet God’s Anointed King over them. They were to meet their God!

Isaiah 40:9–11 — “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”

The message of repentance from the Lord Jesus Himself was met largely with indifference. People loved the mighty works, the signs to prove that He was indeed God’s Christ, but would not hear and obey the command to repent. This was what it meant to the people of Israel to obey the Gospel in that time of Christ’s first visitation. This was true in the north country of Galilee:

Luke 10:13–14 — “Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.”

The Galileans, along with some in Jerusalem, were warned using an example of events that were near to them.

Luke 13:1–5 — “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

I have heard many, who in order to combat the errors of “lordship salvation” who will argue tooth and nail that this has nothing to do with sin but that the hearers needed to change their minds. But look at the words! “Think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?” The Lord is using this incident as a warning of coming judgment because of sin. Yes, the sin of unbelief is included but it is not all that is here. The root of sin is unbelief, but sin was present with all in Jerusalem. Sin is indeed present in every one of us and disasters happening all around us should be a wakeup call that God will not let sin go on forever and He will judge it.

There is, however, a message that the Lord was giving to them. This time when Christ was on earth, walking among His own, was a time of their crisis. What would it be? Would they repent and believe the gospel of the kingdom and turn back to the covenant that the Lord made with their fathers, or would they continue to stubbornly reject God, this time by rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ?

We know from scripture and history that they indeed did not repent but delivered Christ to be crucified and clung to their deed refusing to repent when the risen Christ sent His apostles to preach repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47, Acts 5:31). They also stood in the way of the gospel of the grace of God reaching the Gentiles in light of their refusal.

The Kingdom could have been realized and the sad history of God’s covenant people since then could have been avoided. One day they will repent and it will indeed be life from the dead (Romans 11:15). This time, it will be fully in regard to Jesus, God’s Son and Christ. They will say “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39).

God’s message — His gospel to us today is the Gospel of His grace given freely to everyone indiscriminately upon faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead and God wants that to count for you. He says to believe it, and the obedience of faith is to do just that. He doesn’t say believe when you have all of your questions answered and you have it all figured out. He says to believe it.

So why was the Lord’s association with the sinners in that society?

He was not there to become like them or to follow them. They followed Him, and that is what He wanted. He was calling sinners to repentance. The scribes, priests, Pharisees and Sadducees should have been following and leading the sinners toward the Lord in repentance, but they were standing in the way of the people coming to the Lord. They were very much playing the part of the unfaithful shepherds of Ezekiel 34. He came to them, but they would not hear.

Matthew 21:28–32 — “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”

As said earlier, they did not repent after this but held on tighter to their unbelief and rebellion, delivering the Lord Jesus to be crucified. But He rose from the dead and His apostles proclaimed Him as now the risen Christ. Surely they would repent now!

The Moses and the prophets spoke of the coming Christ, so they were without excuse. The leaders in Israel are often thought of as being too religious and too dedicated to law keeping to believe in Him, but the Bible speaks differently. Their deeds were evil (John 3:19–21). The Lord, who knew their hearts and knew that they were far from Him. They had all the reasons in the world to believe but would not. He spoke prophetically in the account of the rich man in hell about how they would react to His resurrection:

Luke 16:30–31 — “And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

The Lord sent His message with His apostles after His resurrection, and it was still the message of repentance in His name, directed first to the nation of Israel.

Luke 24:46–47 — “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

As we see in the book of Acts, the leaders in Israel still refused this message of repentance. The Lord would not, however, let their refusal stand in the way of His grace to mankind. He would now reach the world in spite of being despised and rejected of men.

God’s message to us now — to you — is that you have been found under sin. You are guilty and as such are not righteous. But He offers His righteousness to you because Christ died for your sins. Mankind with wicked hands crucified the Son of God. The Son of God allowed Himself to subjected to this wickedness because this was the means by which He would save us from our sins. He would die the death that He didn’t deserve. That was our death that He died, that our sins might be paid. The death of Christ for our sins shows the wickedness of man above all other sins, yet it is by this death that God can and will give righteousness to any sinner who will heed this message of grace, stop his rebellion, and turn to God in the obedience of faith.

Romans 3:21–28 — “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”