Hearing the Good News

Last week we learned from Jesus’ baptism and temptation in the wilderness in our study of the Gospel of Mark that we need to hear the right message. And hearing the right message involves listening to the right Person (the Triune God) and following the right path (the cross-centered path). This morning, we encounter Jesus’ entrance into the public ministry and our text from Mark 1:14-15 says that “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’.” This morning we will learn that hearing the good news involves two things. First it means understanding the good news. To understand the good news we need to recognize that according to Jesus the gospel is the gospel of the kingdom. Jesus proclaimed the gospel of God and the text defines this is proclaiming the kingdom of God. Obviously the kingdom of God is at the heart of the gospel. He then says to repent and believe. Our second point is responding to the good news. Jesus says we are to repent and believe in the gospel. In other words, not just to believe, but to believe specifically in the gospel, which we just said is the gospel of the kingdom. So we are to believe in the gospel of the kingdom which is a challenge to our ultimate allegiance. Who and what are we living for? This is the challenge of Jesus’ initial proclamation.

Jesus is proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and a kingdom implies a king. What kind of king is Jesus? Sticking to the gospel of Mark he will state later on in his gospel “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Jesus is the King who came to serve His subjects and to serve them by giving His life for them. What an incredible King we live for.