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Matthew 5-7 – Ten Reasons the Sermon on the Mount is Good News #1
is the idea or purpose behind “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand?” Is it a plea? “Please repent, so you can enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is it a warning, “You better repent because the kingdom of heaven is coming!”
The answer is, both. After studying the coming kingdom from an O.T. purview in Ps.2, it can definitely be considered a warning for all those who refuse to “repent,” or surrender. Couple this with the Baptist’s words to the Pharisees: You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance;….He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” It is also an invitation since many flocked to John to be baptized. Therefore the preemptive cry has two purposes: To invite and to warn. We see these two purposes in the beginning and the end of the Sermon on the Mount:
Invitation – Matthew 5:3 (HCSB) “The poor in spirit are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Warning – Matthew 7:21 (HCSB) “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord! ’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.
The message is one of invitation to those willing.
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