3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mt 4:12-23

BIBLICAL

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.

Herod put John the Baptists in prison because John dared to reprove him for tak-ing Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife as his own.

Herod Antipas originally married a daughter of the Nabataean king Aretas IV, but he divorced her in order to marry Herodias (the daughter of his late half-brother Aris-tobulus, and wife of his other half-brother Herod Philip). This not only angered Aretas, who defeated him in A.D. 36, but John the Baptist condemned him (Matt 14:4; Mark 6:18; Luke 3:19). It is interesting that Josephus reported that many of the people saw Herod Antipas' defeat by king Aretas as divine punishment for beheading John the Baptist.

He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea.

Nazareth is between the Mediterranean sea and Lake Galilee

Capernaum was located somewhere on the northern shores of Lake Galilee which is sometimes called sea of Galilee. Jesus made it his headquarters. The Jews there did not believe in him.
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In the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

The territory of these two tribes was the first to be devastated (733-32 B.C.) at the time of the Assyrian invasion.

Capernaum actually belongs only to Naphtali.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach.

Jesus became an itinerant preacher, that is, he travelled here and there to bring the good news to his fellow Jews. This is one practical reason why his apostles had to abandon home and work.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus takes up the words of John the Baptist. But there is a difference. For with Jesus the Kingdom of heaven is already present. “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Mt 12:28).

The Kingdom of heaven is another way of saying the reign of God. The Jews do not utter the name of God as a sign of reverence. Hence, they prefer to use substitutes, In this case, heaven.



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The Salesians of Don Bosco is a religious congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to the welfare of the young. If you feel called by God to give your life for the good of the young, you may want help in discovering if this is really God's will for you. Please get in touch with the Vocation Director (Don Bosco North Province, Philippines) - 0917-7930112 - finvoc@yahoo.com - Bro. MON CALLO SDB.