at hand

We see the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in the Gospel According to Matthew 4:12–23 (NABRE). We learn that this ministry follows the arrest of John the Baptist, and Jesus picks up where John left off with a call to repentance. In addition, in the Gospel According to Matthew 4:17 (NABRE), Jesus adds the information that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

The sense of the kingdom being “at hand” is that it is somehow present and touchable as Jesus is speaking. The Greek text here, however, gives a slightly different sense. The Greek verb ἐγγίζω (engizo), comes from a word that means “near” and uses a verb tense that suggests the action started sometime in the past and continues through to the present time. Jesus’ message, then, is that God’s kingdom has neared and continues to be near as Jesus is speaking.

Consider what difference it might have made to Jesus’ audience whether the kingdom was present or proximate. Why might the nearness of the kingdom be a call for repentance?

you also may like our study of Scripture & the Rosary (digital only)
Scripture & the Rosary: New Testament Mysteries, Old Testament Parallels, a 26-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, looks at the biblical foundations of the Rosary. The study includes lessons on Pope St. John Paul II’s Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Rosary of the Virgin Mary), the Apostles’ Creed, and the Luminous Mysteries as well as the original 15 Mysteries of the Rosary. Color photographs of stained glass windows depict key scenes in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Free digital lessons rotate throughout the year on our website.

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