Mark 1:12-20 - Jesus Begins His Ministry

We have now shifted gears in Mark's Gospel. We have finished the prologue and we have introduced both the book and the Jesus of the book. Now we are entering upon the meat of the gospel. Verses 14 and 15 are going to introduce the first major section. It begins with an announcement.

The time is fulfilled. Everything that has come before has been leading up to this event. The kingdom of God has come. Other kings and kingdoms have come and gone. Now the kingdom of God is here. God is bringing in redemption and initiating the act that will bring about the consummation of all things. Jesus has arrived.

Although the Old Testament pictures God as ruling and reigning over the nations, in Mark the coming of Jesus into Galilee and the initiation of his ministry there is pictured as an invasion. God's kingdom has come. Things are about to be radically different. You had better be prepared.

And of what does that preparation consist? "Repent and believe in the gospel." This is the demand. The time is now-- repent and believe.

As we move further along in our text we see Jesus calling individuals. "Follow me," he says, "and I will make you to become fishers of men." And here we have an example of what it means to repent and believe the gospel. It means to become a follower of Christ. To leave our goals and plans, to give up sovereignty over own lives, and to follow him, to become what he wants us to be.

What do we take away from this passage? Well, for one, the coming of Jesus is good news. No better news has ever been announced in this wretched and sinful world. But we also are to understand that Jesus is demanding. He commands obedience and expects complete submission. We also note that Jesus calls his disciples. They don't choose him. He chooses them. Our last takeaway is that discipleship may cost us everything. But, as Jim Elliott said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

The sermon I preached from this passage is linked below. I hope you will take a few minutes to listen to it and that God will take it and do something wonderful with it in you. Just click the link to listen and God bless you.

Click here: Mark 1:12-20 - Jesus Begins His Ministry



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