Jesus began his public ministry by preaching the same message as John (Matthew 4:17) in the same territory as where John had worked (see Matthew 3:2). Initially, Jesus also is preaching a ministry of preparation for his revelation of himself as Messiah (Matthew 4:23). The stress is, at first, more on the new Messenger—the One heralded by John (Matthew 3:11), the One prophesied—than the message.
Jesus did not initially reveal his true nature and simply proclaimed the same message to the people of Galilee that John the Baptist had proclaimed at the Jordan river east of Jerusalem (see Matthew 3:2). He was therefore initially engaged in the preparation work of a prophet before revealing himself as Messiah (Matthew 4:23).1
Matthew 4:17 shows that Jesus began his ministry by literally repeating the message of John the Baptist (see Matthew 3:2). The evangelist therefore does not place the central emphasis on the content of the message, but rather on the fact that Jesus is the One bringing it from now on. It is clear to everyone that he takes up the thread that John had to drop, thereby revealing that he is the one who succeeds John. He is therefore also the one whom Israel had to expect, for John had taught the people to look forward to the one who is coming after me
(Matthew 3:11).2
In initiating his preaching (which is connected to the work of John the Baptist), Jesus presents himself to Israel as the Great Successor who had been prophesied: he is the Light, the One baptizing with the Spirit. If the people had truly taken John’s preaching to heart, they would have recognized Jesus’ message as identical to that of John and immediately came to serve Jesus as the mightier One, as God’s Son, from whom the Holy Spirit of God proceeds. The silence following Jesus’ first sermon is therefore disturbing. Did the people not hear it?
17 Dès ce moment Jésus commença à prêcher, et à dire: Repentez-vous, car le royaume des cieux est proche.