wilderness Jesus was ready to begin his public ministry. Directly after his baptism Jesus began to preach: From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17) Presumably, this was the opening line of a sermon, a summary of his entire message and perhaps his most provocative or memorable point. Notice also the phrase “from that time Jesus began to proclaim.” This indicates that he preached this message more than once. This proclamation likely was