Daily Thoughts from Mark: Repent and Believe (Mark 1:14-15)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel 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, ESV)

John’s arrest may have made it difficult for any associated with him to do ministry around Judea.  This may be one factor in why Jesus moved to Galilee.  However, this was also his home area and in many ways a more fruitful area for ministry.  And Isaiah had predicted that Galilee would be a recipient of the Messiah’s light and ministry (Isa. 9:1-7).

Jesus’ message was that the kingdom of God was near or at hand.  It was near in that he is the king of the kingdom.  It was near in that what God had predicted of His coming to His people and showing them how to live under His rule was being carried out by Jesus as he taught.  It was near in that the powers and restoration expected in the kingdom were being demonstrated by Jesus.

Reception of this message by any individual meant repentance and belief.  Repentance means a change of mind and direction for one’s life from being one’s own king to acknowledging God as king and submitting to His rule.

Believing the good news (“gospel” means good news) means receiving that Jesus is God’s representative of this coming kingdom and comes with forgiveness and life change for those who embrace him as king.

The Jews expectation of the coming kingdom was that it would result in a powerful defeat of the nations that subdued them (at this time it was Rome) and prosperity beyond their wildest dreams.  The kingdom will certainly be that but more important was the need for pure hearts and willing obedience to God.  And this first phase of the kingdom was also the little anticipated suffering of the Messiah as our substitute for our sins (Isaiah 53).  This message proved hard for them to receive.

It is still hard for us.  We are offended that our salvation doesn’t mean the cessation of suffering.  Jesus tells us to pray for the kingdom to come but we tend to demand that it be here already.  Doesn’t God love us?  Why the tragedy?  But even as Messiah Jesus had to suffer before entering his glory, so must we.  It is all about making us like Jesus and the plain fact of the matter is that we don’t grow like him if we don’t suffer like him.