Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. We read this in Mark 1.15. While the ministry of John the Baptist is thereby ended, the Lord appears on the scene. For the kingdom of God is at hand; the King himself is in the midst of his people. And he makes a proclamation that comes down to two commandments that are still valid: “Repent and believe in the gospel”.
Note that Mark reports the works of the Lord rather than his teachings. For the purpose of this gospel is to present Christ as the Servant of God. He was not only the promised King of Israel as in the gospel according to Matthew, but also the true servant of the Lord, and the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many(Mark 10.45). For the Lord Jesus is also presented as the true prophet, the Servant of God is also the suffering Servant.
In fact, the Lord reads in each person’s heart the answer given to this urgent invitation. Then, to those who listened to and received her, he made another individual call to serve in his wake: “Come after me”, he said to the four disciples, whose interior dispositions he knew. “And immediately they follow him”. They will have the privilege of accompanying the Lord Jesus throughout his ministry, thus being his witnesses to everything they have seen and heard (1 John 1.1-4), his disciples, learning from him (Mat 11.28-30), this being the condition to be also later his apostles, in other words his envoys (John 20.19-23) to preach the gospel in the world!
Thus the Lord Jesus leaves Judea, where John had been arrested, and begins his service in Galilee, a land despised by the Jews of Judea. There he preached the gospel to the poor (Mat 11.5). He preaches the gospel of the kingdom of God, saying: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near: repent and believe in the gospel”. It’s about the time which preceded the establishment of the kingdom of God, announced by the prophets and indicated very exactly in Daniel 9.23-26. For the kingdom had come near in the person of Jesus; but, to benefit from it, one had to repent and believe in the Gospel, for the kingdom of God, characterized by what God is morally, could not be established with sinful men, without judgment brought on themselves; repentance and faith were needed in this good news which announced the event so long awaited by the faithful. Today the gospel of grace is also proclaimed, and so too are repentant sinners who benefit by faith.
We already have the difference between the gospel of the kingdom and that of grace: it consists in the position and character of Christ at the time the gospel is preached. While on earth, the kingdom approached men; he was in their midst in person and they should have received it. Today Christ is in heaven, the rejected Lord and Savior, having made the sacrifice whereby every sinner may be saved by faith; this is the subject of the gospel. After the rapture of the saints, Christ will be presented in the position of the rejected king, but who will return; this is what one will have to believe in repenting to be admitted into the kingdom which he will then establish in glory. Thus, after his appearing in glory, he will send further messengers to announce his glorious coming to the nations and to those of Israel who have not witnessed it (Isaiah 66.18-21).
Thus, the Savior undertook the public ministry and called souls to receive the Good News as a present thing because the time for the fulfillment of the ways of God had arrived: John makes us see Jesus as calling others to fulfill in his name this same work. And his word does not miss its effect, for those he calls for, leave everything and follow him. On the Sabbath, he enters the city to teach. The Word which presents itself thus to men, has power over demons. A man possessed by a demon was there. The foul spirit unwillingly bore witness to the One who spoke and whose presence it could not bear; but the Word that awakened the devil was mighty to cast him out. The Lord Jesus takes him back and commands him to be silent and to come out of man; and the foul spirit, after manifesting the reality of its presence and its malice, submits and goes out of man. Such was the power of the word of Christ, and it is still today.
The verses below have been compiled and put together for your better understanding.
- Repentance is a duty
{{2 Kgs 17.13 “The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”; 2 Ch 30.6 At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria; Pr 1.23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.}}
Isa 22.12 The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth; Ezekiel 18:31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? Hos 14.3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” Mat 3.2 He said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; Luke 13.2-3 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish; Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord;
- The Kingdom of God is at hand: Mat 3.2 He said: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; Mat 10.7 Go, preach, and say, The kingdom of heaven is at hand; Luke 21:31 Likewise, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is at hand.
- The reasons for having Faith
# it ensures success: 2 Ch 20.20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” Mark 11.22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Have faith in God;
# it’s a fundamental duty: Jn 6.28-29 They said to him: What must we do, to do the works of God? 29 Jesus answered them, The work of God is that you believe on him whom he sent;
# it’s a defensive weapon: Ep 6.16 above all take the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one; 1 Th 5.8 But we who are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and having for a helmet the hope of salvation; 1 Tim 1.19 by keeping faith and a good conscience. This conscience, some have lost it, and they have wrecked in relation to faith; 1 Tim 6.12 Fight in the good fight of faith, take hold of eternal life, to which you were called, and to which you made a fine confession in the presence of many witnesses; Heb 10:22 let’s approach with a sincere heart, in the fullness of faith, with hearts purified from a bad conscience, and with the body washed with pure water.
# It’s an indispensable element of Christian life: Heb 11.6 Now without faith it is impossible to please him; for he who draws near to God must believe that God exists, and that he is the remunerator of those who seek him.
# it’s essential in the field of prayer: Jc 1.5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all simply and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask it in faith, without doubting; for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea, stirred with the wind, and pushed from side to side.
# it should be united to love: 1 Jn 3.23 And this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another, according to the command that he gave us.
- The fulfillment of time
Dn 9.24 Seventy weeks have been appointed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to put an end to transgressions and to put an end to sins, to atone for iniquity and to bring about everlasting righteousness, to seal the vision and the prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies; 1 Tim 2.6 who gave himself as a ransom for all. This is the testimony given in his own time; Tit 1.3 and who manifested his word in his time by the preaching which was entrusted to me after the order of God our Savior; Heb 9.26 otherwise he would have had to have suffered several times since the creation of the world, while now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared only once to abolish sin by his sacrifice.
From all of the above, we note that the Savior began His ministry in Galilee, emphasizing repentance and the remission of sins that clearly relate to man’s responsibility. He undertook the public ministry and called souls to receive the Good News as a present thing because time for the fulfillment of the ways of God had arrived, for John shows Jesus as calling others to accomplish by following this same work in his name. And his word does not miss its effect, for those he calls for, leave everything and follow him. Our prayers support all of you in your efforts to believe in God and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.He is the rewarder for all who seek Him.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me as follows:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you and ask forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as my Lord and personal Savior. I acknowledge that you died on the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me each day to eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal to me and strengthen my heart and my faith so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me in your divine family so that I too can contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
To you all worship, power, and glory, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be glad to respond to your queries and comments if necessary, before sharing with you next week the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven: he is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you profusely.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.