The time of fulfillment had come. The “mystery that was hidden for ages, is now made manifest” (Col 1:26). in the words and deeds of Jesus. From Abraham to Isaiah to John the Baptist, the people of Israel carried within their hearts and collective imagination, a deep longing for the coming of the Messiah. The apostles were the first to hear and see, and by God’s grace to understand “the things into which angels longed to look” (1 Peter 1:12).

What did they see? “And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the good news preached to them’” (Luke 7:22). They saw the outbreak of the Kingdom of God manifested through the power and authority of Jesus.

What did they hear? “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the gospel’” (Mark 1:14). The words of Jesus interpreted the meaning of the deeds He performed. A whole new reality, a new life, the life of heaven was made present in and through Jesus.