The major focus of Jesus’ ministry was the announcement that God’s Kingdom had now arrived on earth. Although the people of His day expected that God would act in such a way at the close of this present age, what was radically new about Jesus’ message was that this end-time hope had arrived ahead of time with Him!
This was such an important new departure for the human race that the only appropriate response is for people to repent. This really means a whole change in the way we think and act, a realignment of our whole lives because of the new way in which God is now acting.
Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples included the commission to continue His ministry in the power of the Spirit. So, if we want to understand the precise nature of the ministry to which we are called, then our starting point has to be a study of the ministry in which He engaged during His own time on earth.