1.4. A vision of the urgency

The time has come

By José Bernardo

When we look at distance, we see the Word of God. The light concentrates and we see children receiving the Word. If it focuses some more, we see children and youth producing fruit of repentance and obedience. What comes next? What is the final image that we see in the narrower tip of our telescope?

Sorrowing Old Man (At Eternity's Gate). Vincent van Gogh, 1890 (Detail) 

Jesus preached the answer and Mark summarizes his evangelization in three phrases, each one answering a key question. Why? “The time has come”. How? “The kingdom of God has come near”. What? “Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15). The compelling reason of the Gospel is that the time is complete. There is nothing to wait for anymore. Nobody is saying ‘slow down’, ‘take your time’… We see the same urgency all across the New Testament since John the Baptist. He urged people to repent and when they tried to flee, he talked about fire. Could it be something more imperative? For John, the era he was announcing, was a time to throw into the fire every tree that did not produce good fruit. Jesus was coming and instead of water, he would baptize people with the Holy Spirit and, since in this context it signifies destruction, with fire. To clear any doubts that Jesus would in fact burn some people, John said, “His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” Matthew 3:12.

For many people who have a wrong idea of divine Grace, it is not easy to think of an all-loving Jesus burning people with fire. However, the one who loves the Father first, who is consumed by the zeal for the House of God, confirmed the prophecy of John. When he was preaching in parables we saw the winnowing fork in his hands, and in the evening, after the Last Supper he said, “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” John 15:6. The urgency in the Gospel is meant to produce fruit of repentance and obedience. Answering a question of why some people perish and others remain, the Master told the parable of a fig tree that did not produce fruit for three years, and should be cut down (Luke 13:1-9). The gardener bargained for one more year, but the word of the Lord resonates: “unless you repent, you too will all perish”.

Jesus decided to give the Father the fruit he is worthy to receive. It’s all about the Song of the vineyard (Isaiah 5). The Lord gave everything to Israel, but did not receive the fruit of repentance and obedience. Now, the new Israel in Christ must work the harvest with great urgency. “If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” Luke 13:9.

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Jose Bernardo is the OneHope vice-president for lusophone countries. OneHope is a global agency of the Bible that has worked in 145 countries giving the Word of God to every child.