Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)Repentance is a reorientation, an ever-deepening conversion of heart, mind, will and way of being to the reality of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. It is learning to see with new eyes and live with new understanding.
“Giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14)
“In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” (Colossians 1:11-13)
One thing I especially like about this version of the Icon of the Baptism is that, at the bottom, Lord Jesus stands on the same broken gates we find in the Icon of the Resurrection. They are the gates of Hades, of Death, trampled under the feet of Lord Jesus.
