Repentance in the New Testament

What is repentance in the New Testament written in the Greek language?

Metanoeo is the Greek word, and it is literally defined as a change of mind or purpose. Is repentance only a mental exercise? The NT Word Study Dictionary defines it as, “μετανοέω metanoéō; contracted metanoṓ, fut. metanoḗsō, from metá (3326), denoting change of place or condition, and noéō (3539), to exercise the mind, think, comprehend. To repent, change the mind, relent. Theologically, it involves regret or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God.”

There are many calls to repentance in the NT, but there are few pictures that would add color to the call of repentance. In Matthew 11:21 Jesus is rebuking the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida because they did not repent at his works, and he references sackcloth and ashes. Putting on sackcloth and ashes are actions associated with repenting and sorrow, grief, and pain, which indicates repentance is more than just mental, but involves the emotions and the soul as well.

 Jesus also references the repentance of Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah and says that he is greater than Jonah and there should be repentance at his preaching. When the wicked people of Ninevah hear God’s message of judgement, mentally understand their sinful state before a holy God, and mentally and emotionally respond in sorrow, grief, and regret over their sin which is manifested in fasting and sitting in sackcloth and ashes and turning from the wicked ways. Jesus was telling the crowd that something similar should be happening at his preaching, but it was not because of their hardness of heart.

Perhaps the greatest picture of repentance is found in Luke 15. In Luke 15:1-2, tax collectors and other sinners were drawing close to Jesus to hear his words and, based on Luke 14:35, they had ears to hear. Ears to hear likely means they had repentant hearts based on the rest of Luke 15. When the Pharisees see who is drawing close to Jesus they grumble and are indignant that someone who claims to know the law, claims to be holy, and even claims to be the Messiah would associate with unclean, sinful, unholy filth like traitorous tax collectors and that general category of sinner reserved for prostitutes, thieves, drunks, and other riffraff. Considering the Pharisee’s indignation of Jesus’ eager followers and hearers, Jesus tells three parables to make a single point to the Pharisees and much is observed about repentance in the process.

The first parable is about a man who has 100 sheep, loses one, and leaves the 99 in the open country to go after the one that was lost. He finds the one lost sheep and, in his elation, throws a party and requests that his guests rejoice with him because he found his lost sheep. Comparatively, there is rejoicing in heaven over a sinner who repents, or to use the words of the parable, a lost sinner who has been found. Jesus is pointing out that the Pharisee’s do not value repentant sinners like the ones drawing close to Jesus, but God supremely values those repentant sinners.

The second parable is like the first, a woman has ten silver coins, she loses one, and searches the house until she finds the lost coin. Once the lost coin is found, she throws a party and requests they rejoice with her. Again, Jesus compares this story to the joy that is in heaven and before the angels over a single sinner who repents.

The last parable is the most insightful. The younger of two sons brazenly asks his father for his inheritance immediately and the father complies, divides his property, and gives his younger son his inheritance. The younger son proceeds to squander his inheritance, hence the title prodigal or wasteful son, in a far-off land when a famine hits and he hires himself out to feed pigs and longs to eat even the pods that the pigs ate. In Luke 15:17-19 the prodigal son repents of his sins. He is in the gutter, completely humbled and he “comes to himself” and rehearses his confession of sin and plea for mercy to be treated like one of the hired servants. The prodigal son repented. The first two parables spoke of sinners repenting, but in this last parable we see a sinner repent. The younger son is humbled, low, regretting, and grieving over his sin, confesses his sin, and turns from his ways. He is willing to throw himself upon the mercy of his father and do his will like a hired servant. The father forgives his son and, like the other parables, throws a party. The older son is angry at this turn of events and does not rejoice with his father at the repentance of his younger brother, which is what Jesus was trying to show the Pharisees. The Pharisees were angry at the repentant sinners surrounding Jesus, but God was rejoicing along with the rest of heaven.

From these parables we learn that God and the angels love repentant sinners, God sees a repentant sinner as someone who was lost and has been found, and we see the prodigal son play out what repentance might look like in the life of a rebellious sinner. A similar parable is told in Luke 18 of a self-righteous Pharisee and a tax collector who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee thanks God that he is not unjust, adulterer, or a tax collector. In stark contrast, the tax collector humbles himself, beats his chest, and begs for mercy as he admits to being a sinner. Jesus makes it clear that the repentant tax collector was justified, but the Pharisee was not.

The prodigal son and the tax collector in these parables changed their mind about their actions, both admitted to being sinful, and both humbled themselves before God and asked for mercy. They both turn or change course from their current sinful direction, which affects both mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as their repentance is played out.

In Acts 3 we see another repentance example of men who hear Peter’s message about the Jews’ crucifying the Messiah and are “cut to the heart” and ask what they should do considering their sin. Peter’s instruction is that they should repent and be baptized. Being “cut to the heart”, or emotionally effected by the sinful state, is another large aspect of repentance, which the simple “change of mind” word definition cannot capture alone. However, being emotionally affected by a moving message is not itself fully repentance because Peter calls them to repent after they have been “cut to the heart” or emotionally effected. It is the beginning of the process of changing the mind, will, and emotions and aligning those essential ingredients of a person with the will of God and not self which is bent on sin.

Likewise, turning is part of this repentance equation, but is not repentance itself because in Luke 17:4 when the disciples are asking about how many times to forgive, Jesus says, “and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”. This hypothetical person sinned, turned to the offended party, and then repented of his sins. Turning is part of this process, but it is not the whole kettle of fish. Acts 3:19 and Acts 26:20 also affirm that sinners should repent and turn back or turn to God using the conjunction “and” indicating repenting and turning are not one in the same.

 Revelation 9:20-21 says, “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” God was looking for repentance from the sinful people of the last days who were idolators, sorcerers, sexual immoral, and thieves. Was he looking for them to simply change their mind about their ways? He did want their minds changed, but that change of mind would be initiated by a realization of sin, remorse or contrition, a desire to change course or do God’s will, followed shortly by a turning from those sinful ways as fruit of repentance.

The phrase, “willingness to do God’s will” in regard to repentance is a reference from John 7:17, “If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking of my own authority”. Jesus is crying out at the feast of booths many were following, questioning, or rejecting him and Jesus is saying that the repentant are in tune with God and his will and will recognize that Jesus is the truth. Those who are willing to do God’s will, have ears to hear, or have humbled themselves and are seeking for God have a repentant heart and are ripe for salvation.

Repentance Defined

Now, an attempt will be made to concisely define the word repent based on the thoughts of nacham, shuv, and metanoeo. Repentance is an understanding of one’s sinful condition causing sorrow, a change of mind about sinful living, a humble plea for mercy, and a turning of the individual’s will to algin with God’s will. This definition does combine many common definitions of repentance, but each definition is common because each does hit on a key aspect of repentance, but the whole must be taken with the sum of all the parts and not only select parts separate from the whole.

This is a lengthy definition of repentance, but it does capture the essence of the word as it is used throughout the Bible. We will be using this definition as we answer the following questions in coming articles:

• How does repentance fit into the process of salvation from sin and hell?
• Where does repentance fit into the process of salvation from sin and hell?
• Are repentance and faith two sides of the same coin?
• Is repentance a work?

Beau Durham lives in Lubbock, Texas, and fellowships at FreeWay Bible Chapel where he serves the Lord in various capacities such as teaching, preaching, and evangelism outreach. He is married to the wonderful Marley Durham and they have two children, Charlie and Thatcher Durham. 

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