#2 Top 40 New Testament Passages: Jesus' First Words (Mark 1:15)
2. Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” (Mark 1:14b-15)
If there's a flow of logic to my top 40 New Testament passages, it is to continue a conversation, and follow the ministry of Jesus and His church. If John 3:16 is the gospel in a sentence, and the gospel is the good news about what God has done, is doing, and will do in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, then perhaps a discussion of his first recorded words might be worthwhile.
The gospel according to Mark was the first of the gospel narratives given to the church. Some date Mark as early as 45 AD, just 15 years or so after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Others hold to the theory that the gospel was written after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. John Mark, as Mark is sometimes called, was a member of the first church. His mother, Mary, hosted a house church in her home in Jerusalem. (Acts 12:12) Mark became a ministry companion of the apostle Paul and Barnabas, who was Mark's cousin. Tradition says that John Mark eventually ended up with Peter, while the apostle was imprisoned in Rome. Mark recorded Peter's recollection of the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus, and Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
Mark's gospel is known for its quick pace. He records more miracles than any other gospel account. A popular theory is that the authors of Matthew and Luke both had Mark's gospel available to them as source material. One may wish to argue that Jesus' first recorded words are from Luke's gospel, when a 12 year old Jesus is separated form his parents on a religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (Luke 2:41-52) They searched for Jesus and found him in the temple with the rabbis. Exasperated they scolded Jesus, but Jesus said they should've known he'd be in his father's house. While the event recorded is early in Jesus' life, it was written after Mark's gospel. That is why Jesus' first recorded words are those in Mark's gospel, assuming an early dating of his book is correct.
Jesus began his public ministry after his baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. After Jesus endured a 40 day period of fasting and prayer in the desert, enduring the temptations of the devil, He emerged ready to spread the good news. That good news was "The kingdom of God is near!" Why is that good news?
The kingdom of God is good news because it is the fulfillment of prophetic promises made to Israel. The promise is that the messiah, anointed by God, will lead Israel in establishing a kingdom of justice, righteousness, perpetual peace and prosperity. The notion that God reigns over all creation is an age old Jewish belief. When it comes to the Kingdom of God, it means that humanity acknowledges this fact and chooses to live as servants of God. Israel was chosen to set the example how life lived under the righteous reign of God should be. The covenant law through Moses set a standard for holy living, distinguishing Israel from the customs of other nations. Through Israel all nations would be blessed by the knowledge of the one true God. (Genesis 12:3)
Unfortunately Israel was not always faithful to this vocation. Rather than keep to the law of the covenant between them and the Lord, they desired to be like other nations. During the period of judges, the twelve tribes of Israel were bound by a loose confederacy. The authors of Judges point out the irony. The nation, which was supposed to acknowledge the Lord as sovereign, acted like they had no law to guide them at all.
In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6; 21:25)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Isaiah 61:1-2a)
Jesus was approached by John disciples inquiring if Jesus was the messiah, or should they look elsewhere. Jesus told them to consider the signs of His ministry.
Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. (Luke 7:21-22)
Jesus' claim of the nearness of the Kingdom of God was backed with divine authority through miracles. As Nicodemus said, "we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." (John 3:2)
Jesus proclaimed the good news that the reign of God had come to the people of Israel, as promised long ago by the prophets. The time had come! The people living in Palestine in the first century witnessed an age of miracles through Jesus.
And what should we do in response to this good news? We should acknowledge the King and choose to serve Him! Jesus told His audience, "Repent and believe!"
To repent is to turn away from faithless living and turn toward God in faithful living. Faithless living is to live like you don't have a king, nor any law to guide your behavior. To disobey the law revealed in scripture is sin. Sin is a lawbreaker (1st John 5:17) Anything we do that doesn't come from our faith in God is sin. (Romans 14:23) Sin is more than simple rule breaking. Sin is an influence, a tempter within us. (Gen 4:7) Sin is what led Cain to murder his brother Abel. Sin is what led David into adultery. Sin is what caused King Saul to fear losing the respect of his soldiers more that he desired to remain faithful to God. Jesus calls us to repent. That means to turn away from the influence of sin and turn toward God in obedience. To enter the Kingdom of God we must repent.
Repentance is like changing your clothes. The New Testament uses that analogy. (See Colossians 3:5-17)
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Col 3: 9-10, 12, 14)
Repentance is choosing to do a 180 degree turn away from sin and toward God's holy and merciful nature.
In addition to repentance, we are to believe. That means to trust the message that the kingdom of God is near. Just like it was hard for the Jews of Jesus' day to believe His message, when Rome's oppression was so much easier to witness, we can see plenty today that would cause us to doubt that the Kingdom of God is near. Jesus still heals lives today, sometimes miraculously so. Jesus is still calling us to trust that God is reigning supreme from heaven.
God is battling with enemies to His authority. The New Testament acknowledges this, but has the audacity to claim that God has conquered His enemies through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
Then comes the end, when he (Christ) hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1st Corinthians 15:24-26)
God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church... (Ephesians 1:20-22)
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross). (Colossians 2:15)
From an eternal perspective, God enjoys ultimate victory over evil, but for us time-bound creatures victory has yet to come in fullness. We live in a time between times. And we are called to hope in God's victory even when we cannot see signs of it. Just believe! Trust the good news. Christ is reigning in your heart and over all creation.
For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
If there's a flow of logic to my top 40 New Testament passages, it is to continue a conversation, and follow the ministry of Jesus and His church. If John 3:16 is the gospel in a sentence, and the gospel is the good news about what God has done, is doing, and will do in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, then perhaps a discussion of his first recorded words might be worthwhile.
The gospel according to Mark was the first of the gospel narratives given to the church. Some date Mark as early as 45 AD, just 15 years or so after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Others hold to the theory that the gospel was written after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. John Mark, as Mark is sometimes called, was a member of the first church. His mother, Mary, hosted a house church in her home in Jerusalem. (Acts 12:12) Mark became a ministry companion of the apostle Paul and Barnabas, who was Mark's cousin. Tradition says that John Mark eventually ended up with Peter, while the apostle was imprisoned in Rome. Mark recorded Peter's recollection of the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus, and Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.
Mark's gospel is known for its quick pace. He records more miracles than any other gospel account. A popular theory is that the authors of Matthew and Luke both had Mark's gospel available to them as source material. One may wish to argue that Jesus' first recorded words are from Luke's gospel, when a 12 year old Jesus is separated form his parents on a religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (Luke 2:41-52) They searched for Jesus and found him in the temple with the rabbis. Exasperated they scolded Jesus, but Jesus said they should've known he'd be in his father's house. While the event recorded is early in Jesus' life, it was written after Mark's gospel. That is why Jesus' first recorded words are those in Mark's gospel, assuming an early dating of his book is correct.
Jesus began his public ministry after his baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. After Jesus endured a 40 day period of fasting and prayer in the desert, enduring the temptations of the devil, He emerged ready to spread the good news. That good news was "The kingdom of God is near!" Why is that good news?
The kingdom of God is good news because it is the fulfillment of prophetic promises made to Israel. The promise is that the messiah, anointed by God, will lead Israel in establishing a kingdom of justice, righteousness, perpetual peace and prosperity. The notion that God reigns over all creation is an age old Jewish belief. When it comes to the Kingdom of God, it means that humanity acknowledges this fact and chooses to live as servants of God. Israel was chosen to set the example how life lived under the righteous reign of God should be. The covenant law through Moses set a standard for holy living, distinguishing Israel from the customs of other nations. Through Israel all nations would be blessed by the knowledge of the one true God. (Genesis 12:3)
Unfortunately Israel was not always faithful to this vocation. Rather than keep to the law of the covenant between them and the Lord, they desired to be like other nations. During the period of judges, the twelve tribes of Israel were bound by a loose confederacy. The authors of Judges point out the irony. The nation, which was supposed to acknowledge the Lord as sovereign, acted like they had no law to guide them at all.
In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6; 21:25)
During this period, the Lord would hand them over to their enemies because of their disobedience. Then Israel would cry out to the Lord for help under the oppression of enemy nations. God raised up judges to lead them and deliver them from oppression. They would return to the Lord in obedience to the covenant, but within a generation the cycle began again. Near the end of this period the people came to the prophet Samuel and asked him to anoint for them a king. Look what God said to Samuel.
The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them." (1st Samuel 8:7)
With the Lord's direction, Samuel anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin as king. Saul was a great warrior, but he failed to be obedient in every way to the Lord. God directed Samuel to abandon Saul and anoint David, a young shepherd of Bethlehem. David eventually took the throne after Saul was defeated in battle. He established a kingdom that knew peace and prosperity for 40 years. So pleased was God with David that he was known as a man after God's own heart. (1st Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) God established an everlasting covenant with the house of David, promising that he would always have a descendant to rule over Israel, provided that son of David remained faithful to the Law of Moses, and led Israel to do the same. (2nd Samuel 7:12-16)
Israel's history is blemished with many bad kings who failed to lead Israel in faithful obedience to the Lord. Eventually God handed them over to Babylon who destroyed Jerusalem and razed the temple. During their exile, God sent prophets to encourage Israel to return to the Lord by keeping the covenant. God promised to restore them with a Son of David leading.
2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
3 You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
4 For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian. (a reference to the time of the Judges)
5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
6 For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this. (Isaiah 9:2-9)
Jews today are still waiting on that promise to find fulfillment. Christians believe Jesus to be the messiah, that Son of David promised to rule an eternal kingdom.
When Jesus came preaching good news that the kingdom of God had finally come, the people must have thought him a lunatic. Rome occupied their country and forced them to pay heavy taxes. When the people resisted their property was ceased. In some cases they were crucified to strike fear in the rest. How could Jesus say the kingdom had come?
Key to understanding Jesus' claim is this prophecy in Isaiah.
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (Isaiah 61:1-2a)
Jesus was approached by John disciples inquiring if Jesus was the messiah, or should they look elsewhere. Jesus told them to consider the signs of His ministry.
Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. (Luke 7:21-22)
Jesus' claim of the nearness of the Kingdom of God was backed with divine authority through miracles. As Nicodemus said, "we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." (John 3:2)
Jesus proclaimed the good news that the reign of God had come to the people of Israel, as promised long ago by the prophets. The time had come! The people living in Palestine in the first century witnessed an age of miracles through Jesus.
And what should we do in response to this good news? We should acknowledge the King and choose to serve Him! Jesus told His audience, "Repent and believe!"
To repent is to turn away from faithless living and turn toward God in faithful living. Faithless living is to live like you don't have a king, nor any law to guide your behavior. To disobey the law revealed in scripture is sin. Sin is a lawbreaker (1st John 5:17) Anything we do that doesn't come from our faith in God is sin. (Romans 14:23) Sin is more than simple rule breaking. Sin is an influence, a tempter within us. (Gen 4:7) Sin is what led Cain to murder his brother Abel. Sin is what led David into adultery. Sin is what caused King Saul to fear losing the respect of his soldiers more that he desired to remain faithful to God. Jesus calls us to repent. That means to turn away from the influence of sin and turn toward God in obedience. To enter the Kingdom of God we must repent.
Repentance is like changing your clothes. The New Testament uses that analogy. (See Colossians 3:5-17)
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Col 3: 9-10, 12, 14)
Repentance is choosing to do a 180 degree turn away from sin and toward God's holy and merciful nature.
In addition to repentance, we are to believe. That means to trust the message that the kingdom of God is near. Just like it was hard for the Jews of Jesus' day to believe His message, when Rome's oppression was so much easier to witness, we can see plenty today that would cause us to doubt that the Kingdom of God is near. Jesus still heals lives today, sometimes miraculously so. Jesus is still calling us to trust that God is reigning supreme from heaven.
God is battling with enemies to His authority. The New Testament acknowledges this, but has the audacity to claim that God has conquered His enemies through the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
Then comes the end, when he (Christ) hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (1st Corinthians 15:24-26)
God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church... (Ephesians 1:20-22)
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it (the cross). (Colossians 2:15)
From an eternal perspective, God enjoys ultimate victory over evil, but for us time-bound creatures victory has yet to come in fullness. We live in a time between times. And we are called to hope in God's victory even when we cannot see signs of it. Just believe! Trust the good news. Christ is reigning in your heart and over all creation.
For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
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