get back to the right path, must turn around, retrace the false steps, and then get back to the right path.
The ancient prophets frequently gave the people of Israel a command to repent throughout their whole history. Very importantly, the Israelites did not cover up the sins of the nation or even of the national heroes; rather, they understood that everyone is a sinner, and that all, as St. Paul brought out, “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). In Hebrew, the most typical word used for repentance from sin is translated as “turn.” This is the operative term when the Israelites built the Temple as a place for sinners to “turn” from their various sins and offer sacrifice.
Fullness of Time and Pax Romana
In addition to the more important element of fulfilling Old Testament prophecies, the secular history of Jesus’ time identifies the period as the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”). The previous century had been characterized by Roman conquests of the entire Mediterranean Basin, sometimes through negotiations but more often through wars against pirates, various kings, slave rebellions, and especially civil wars among the Romans themselves. Octavian (Caesar Augustus) brought an end to the Roman civil wars, whose effects had extended from Spain to Greece and Egypt, and he ruled without further conquests and nearly no wars at all. During this time of general peace, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was able to spread throughout the known world, from India to Spain and south into Egypt and Ethiopia. The Pax Romana was an important part of the fullness of time. It continued until the Jewish Revolt in A.D. 66, during which Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed (A.D. 70), and the people of Israel were either killed, enslaved, or exiled.
The prophets exposed the many sins of the people and their individual kings, condemning their oppression of the poor, injustice in court, avarice, lust, and idolatry. The goal of the prophets was to evoke repentance so as to avoid various punishments, such as defeat in battle, foreign domination, and the eventual destruction of the whole nation — the ten tribes of north Israel in 722 B.C. and Judah in 587 B.C. Even after the various threatened punishments were brought down upon the people, the prophets did not gloat but offered a promise of hope for restoration and renewal.
The Fourth Component
The fourth component of Jesus’ opening message is the summons to believe in the Gospel, an old English word meaning “good news.” The Greek word evangelion meant “good news of victory,” after a battle was won. The early Christians picked up this word because they believed that their message of the arrival of the kingdom of God — through Jesus Christ’s preaching, life, death, and resurrection — meant the defeat of Satan’s evil kingdom of darkness. Once they accepted the term evangelion (or “gospel”) for Jesus’ message and wisdom, the Christians invented a form of book now known as Gospels. These are a type of biography of Jesus, yet they do not describe his physical appearance or much about his emotional state. Rather, they focus on the central “good news” that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and rose again from the dead.
In each of the four canonical Gospels, the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus form the largest section of the writing. The rest of the Gospel acts as a prelude to that central event of salvation, with an emphasis on showing how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and on the ways that his healings, miracles, and teachings either raised people to believe in him or led them to fall into disbelief and hatred.
Simeon’s words to the Blessed Virgin in the Temple set a major theme for Luke’s Gospel, and it can be applied to the other Gospels as well:
“Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against.” (Lk 2:34)
People heard and saw Jesus, and they either rose to faith or fell in disbelief.
People did not merely stumble upon this decision to believe or not; throughout his public ministry until his ascension into heaven, Jesus challenged those who heard his Gospel to believe it in order to receive a miracle or even eternal life.
When messengers announced that a man’s daughter had just died, Jesus ignored what they said and told the man, “Do not fear, only believe” (Mk 5:36; Lk 8:50). When another father sought help for his son, with the condition, “If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us,” Jesus responded, “If you can! All things are possible to him who believes” (Mk 9:22, 23).
On other occasions, Jesus commended the faith of the people who approached him for a miracle. For instance, the Roman centurion living in Capernaum expressed confident faith that Jesus could heal his servant from a distance. As Jesus passed through Jericho, a blind man called out insistently for a healing and Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well” (Lk 18:42). After healing the man born blind, Jesus approached him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” (Jn 9:35). Before raising Lazarus from the tomb, Jesus twice spoke to Martha about the necessity of faith. When she hesitated to believe that he could raise Lazarus, he again told her, “Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (Jn 11:40).
Consider
Repentant Sinners
Jesus’ command to repent during his public ministry needs to be understood in light of the history of prophetic calls for Israel to turn from its sins. Jesus does not want the destruction of the sinner any more than the prophets wanted Israel destroyed, but rather he wants the sinner to turn away from evil and live a new life. Two women exemplify this in the Gospel of John.
In one case, after a Samaritan woman expresses a desire for the water that Jesus gives as “a spring of water welling up to eternal life,” he tells her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” She lies to his face and says, “I have no husband.” Instead of accusing her of boldfaced lying, Jesus says, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly” (Jn 4:14, 16, 17-18). At that point, she recognizes that Jesus is a prophet and eventually learns that he is the Christ. She then announces and preaches about him to her whole town, becoming the ideal repentant sinner who turns from her public sin to public profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
The second woman is caught in the act of adultery, and her accusers demand that Jesus condemn her to death. He turns their demand to a type of acceptance of the punishment, though with a twist: the qualification required of those executing her is that they be without sin first. One by one they leave, beginning with the oldest men there, and he, the Sinless One, is left alone with the woman. The one sinless man there tells her, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again” (Jn 8:11).
Forgiveness of sin is not acceptance of evil but rather a summons to become good.
Lack of Repentance
On the other hand, a number of men exemplify the lack of repentance. In one episode, Jesus refuses to answer the Pharisees’ question unless they first answer his question about whether John’s baptism is from God or men. They refuse to answer, not because of their commitment to any position but because they fear a trap, and they will not repent.
Stop here and read Matthew 21:23-32 in your own Bible.
Love of Truth Versus Love of Self
At the heart of this dialogue is the issue of a love of truth versus love of self. The
