Mark 1:14-15. The kingdom of God is at hand

Mark 1:14-15

Isaiah 52:7-12

The kingdom of God is at hand

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”

These two little verses are jam packed with some rich and deep theological truths and so today, I am just going to dive right in and point out just four of them.

Four things about this thing we call the gospel or the good news!

The first point is this:

The good news of  Jesus is for all people from all places.

The good news of Jesus is for all people from all places.

The good news of Jesus isn’t restricted to one country, or one people group, but it is open for all people.

Jesus began his ministry in the seemingly insignificant, backwater region of Galilee.  By all accounts it was a working class region for fishermen.

That is what it tells us in verse 14

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God.

Jesus didn’t start his ministry in the significant city of Jerusalem, a place of power, prestige and political clout, but he started his ministry, in that small out back fishing region of Galilee.

It was actually, in Galilee where the disciples of Jesus gathered together after Jesus’ death and resurrection….. and get this……….. it was from Galilee, that place of insignificance, where he commissioned his disciples and sent them out into all the world to spread the good news, the gospel, further.

Friends let me encourage you, in our communities to keep proclaiming the good news to people.  We may be insignificant on the map of Australia, we are not one of the big cities, like Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra, BUT praise God, this place, here in Wingham, Krambach and Old Bar, is a place of promise and opportunity for the gospel.

It is a place where the gospel can grow and flourish, it is a place where disciples of Jesus can be made and sent out into the whole world. It is a place perhaps like Galilee, which may appear insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but a place that has promise and potential for gospel, and why……

Because the good news of Jesus is for all people from all places.

So there is the first truth of the gospel, the good news of Jesus.

My second point is this:

The gospel is proclaimed and made known in conflict and suffering.

The gospel is proclaimed and made known  in conflict and suffering.

This is what verse 14 is alluding to, when it says:

Now, after John was arrested

We have read in the previous verses that John, whom we call John the Baptist, came and prepared people for Jesus by baptising them in the Jordan river and even baptising Jesus himself.

And now it tells us that, this same John the Baptist, was arrested, in fact the Greek word which is translated arrested here, actually would be better translated “handed over”. And so it is better read: After, John was handed over.

You see, John had done his job of preparing people for Jesus and now he was handed over to Herod, whom we know, as we read in Mark 6, eventually chopped his head off.

This same term, “handed over”, was used to describe what happened to Jesus when he was handed over to the authorities to be crucified, it is the same term that was used to describe what would happen to followers of Jesus, when they would be handed over to the authorities as they proclaimed the gospel.

Friends, if we are faithfully proclaiming the gospel, there will be conflict and suffering.

We know the initial spread of the gospel by the early church was grounded in the blood of the martyrs.

Friends, we shouldn’t be surprised if not everyone embraces the good news, the gospel. We shouldn’t be surprised if people don’t’ embrace Jesus and embrace you with a warm loving heart, why?

Because  if John suffered for the gospel,  and Jesus suffered, and Jesus’ disciples suffered when they proclaimed the gospel, then we shouldn’t expect different.

And yet friends, we should also find hope and assurance in that conflict and suffering, because this is the way God had planned his gospel to be proclaimed. The very phrase, “handed over” shows that it was God who was over seeing it all.

It was God who planned his gospel to be shared amongst suffering and persecution.

Acts 2:23 sums up this being handed over to the authorities as all part of God’s plan.

It says this:

This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Friends, proclaiming the gospel is not a calling of ease and comfort, but proclaiming the gospel is one of Suffering and conflict, and yet it is one of Joy and endurance in that trial.

That is my second point about the gospel- my third point is this:

The gospel is a message of repentance and belief

The gospel is a message of repentance and belief

This is what Jesus came proclaiming in the outback region of Galilee, look at verse 15 with me:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel”

It should have been no surprise to anyone that this is the message that Jesus proclaimed, because it is the same message that Noah proclaimed, it is the same message Jonah preached, it is the same message that all the prophets, from Isaiah, to Jeremiah, to Ezekiel proclaimed- repent and believe.

It is the same message that the apostles after Jesus preached, from Peter, to Paul to John- repent and believe.

It is the same message we preach today!

This same gospel of God, has been proclaimed since the fall of man- repent, turn from your sins, turn from going your own way, turn from your wicked acts and turn towards God.

Believe, believe that Jesus is the king of God’s kingdom, believe he died and rose again to pay for your sins, believe.

Friends, this is the good news of the gospel, Jesus died for your sins to set you free. There is no greater news in the world.

Do you believe that?

Finally my last point about the gospel, is this:

The gospel, the good news, is also the proclamation that God reigns.

Look again at verse 15 with me:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel”

The prophet Isaiah uttered those prophetic words of Isaiah 52: 7, in which he proclaimed “Your God reigns”and Isaiah was proclaiming that truth to God’s people who were in exile in Babylon. God’s people had no physical homeland and yet even in that desperate situation, Isaiah was able to proclaim, “Your God reigns”

Friends, we are not living in our eternal home yet, our heavenly home and yet we know that our God reigns.

When Jesus proclaimed those words in the insignificant region of Galilee, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand”, he was also proclaiming, God reigns and even more than that- he was indicating that God’s reign, God’s kingdom, God’s rule was going to come through God’s king- Jesus Himself.

Galatians 4:4 tells us that the fullness of time came when King Jesus was born and so now when Jesus declares that the time has been fulfilled and God’s kingdom is at hand, he is declaring that the king has arrived and so now is the time to get ready, to repent and believe.

Friends the only way into God’s kingdom is through king Jesus.

It is not through keeping God’s laws, it is not through church membership, it is not through water baptism, it is not through singing up to a political party……..but it is only through king Jesus.

He is the only way.

And as we repent and believe……a miracle occurs……..as Jesus tells us in John 3,  that miracle is that we are born again.

God gives us His Spirit and we joyfully live under God’s rule as his spirit rules in our hearts.

Friends, we live in a time where the kingdom of God reigns in hearts through his holy spirit…… and yet friends, there will come a day, sometime in the future, a day which no-one knows,  when Jesus returns, and his kingdom will be fully realised.

His kingdom will be fully realised that day, when King Jesus will sort out those who have genuinely repented and believed and those who haven’t. On that day, there will be no more chances to accept and receive the good news, no more time to repent and turn.

In the ancient world, a herald would go into enemy territory in advance of an approaching army and warn of destruction unless the people there accepted the terms of peace.

We have witnessed Donald trump do this on many occasions, he warns people and countries, that if they don’t accept their terms of peace then destruction will be coming their way.

Friends, when Jesus came proclaiming the good news, he came to offer us peace with God, and he graciously and lovingly and patiently waits for people to accept his peaceful terms.

Friends, if you haven’t accepted peace with God, if you haven’t accepted Jesus as king, let me urge you to do so, before it is too late.

Let us pray.