Spirituality

Jesus challenged the Jews of his day to true, heart-based repentance and to follow him. This is in contrast to the religion of the religious leaders of the day, who called Jews to find God through the Temple and its rituals and ceremonies. In this context, it was easy to become complacent and go through the routines of worship.

But Jesus brought with him the prophetic expectation of the Old Testament. In Isaiah 40, we see that God declared he would bring an end to the people’s exile (40:3-5) and renewal and restoration for them (40:28-31). In stating what he did not want (66:3), God also stated whom he will look favourably upon—“the humble and contrite in spirit, / who trembles at my word” (66:2).

Yet, by the time of Jesus, the people still lived in expectation of this great deliverance from God. They had experienced it in part but waited for the full promise. The Temple establishment taught that the way to God was through pride of heritage (“we are Abraham’s children”) and law observance in the Temple (for examples, see the Pharisees, who were prime proponents of this view).

Jesus arrived in this scene, inviting people to the true way to God—true repentance, which meant changing your life totally to live righteously and humbly, turning from your sins, and turning away from pride. This radical, once-for-all repentance would bring in the promise of God—the kingdom of God—for that person. Clearly, this message stands in stark contrast to the message of those who seek to control access to God through their teachings, ceremonies, and expectations.

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