Mark 1:14-20
John’s imprisonment signified the end of his ministry. The road of repentance had been paved and the way to Jesus had been made straight by the powerful message John preached. Immediately, we recognize the change from John’s preaching. Instead of “Repent for the forgiveness of sins,” Jesus preached: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
In Jesus, the Gospel offers what the Law could not. Rather than bringing you to the heart of God, it brings the very heart of God into you. With the Kingdom came its King, bearing the news that the Law had a human mouth and body and would be mastered in human flesh by the same God who gave it.
The disciple’s response to the Gospel is amazing and humbling. Upon hearing Jesus’ command, they believed and left their homes. Though it is important not to overlook the prestige that Jewish rabbi’s enjoyed and the high honor their disciple’s received when receiving an invitation to follow a rabbi, the point of the author is well noted. The disciples believed and immediately followed. They left their nets on the boat and turned not just from a few character flaws, but they left their old lives completely. They left their families to pursue a new life – though their initial expectations could not possibly have been more wrong.
You must log in to post a comment.