FOCUS Day 6 | Mark 1:14-15
DAY SIX | Mark 1:14-15
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
When you take time to focus on the life of Jesus, you are probably going to spend a lot of time reading in the gospels. While each one publishes the good news of the life of Jesus in its own unique way, I really love the way that the gospel of Mark records the life of Jesus, particularly His actions. I often encourage people to go through the book of Mark and take note of what Jesus did and who He spent His time with.
The opening of the book includes a brief prophetic introduction of John the baptist, and the baptism of Jesus, followed by the temptation in the wilderness. Within just a few paragraphs, Jesus is stepping into His public ministry along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And as He went, He was proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.
When I was a child growing up, I was blessed to belong to a family that made Jesus the most important person in our home. That being said, I somehow missed the memo about the gospel of the Kingdom. I pretty much always associated the gospel with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but He preached a lot of gospel before He went to the cross.
I had made it through Sunday school and church, Christian school and even a few years of Bible college before I recognized that I didn’t have a grasp on the thing that Jesus said that we should be seeking first. As I began to investigate, I learned that not only was the kingdom of God at the center of the way that Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He actually talked more about this gospel than He did anything else. In fact, did you know that the “Kingdom of God” is mentioned 69 times in the New Testament? That does not include the 32 times that the phrase the “Kingdom of Heaven” is mentioned in the book of Matthew. (Numbers from NKJV)
It seems that this message that was at the center of Jesus’s preaching on the shores of Galilee is quite important. So, what is the gospel of the Kingdom of God? The word kingdom is translated from the greek word Basileia and is defined as royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.
The word also speaks of the realm or territory of authority. Of course, the royal authority in a kingdom is a King, and that is what makes this passage from the gospel of Mark worth mentioning. Jesus came preaching a message that said that the royal rule and realm of the heavenly King had come to earth, and that message would require people to stop living the way that they had before and come into a new way of thinking.
Long before the glory of God was revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration, or even before Jesus had a lot of miracles under His belt, He is walking through Galilee proclaiming a good news about a King and His kingdom. Think about what this would have meant to those who were hearing this message. The Jewish people had been captured as a part of an empire that didn’t regard their heritage, laws or religious customs.
For centuries, there had been the prophesies of the coming Messiah King, that would deliver His people from their oppressors. Over that time, many sect leaders had gained some level of prominence, only to be exposed as imposters. What did this gospel of the Kingdom sound like to those who heard it?
A more important question for us may be, what does it look like to allow our lives to be transformed by the good news of His royal power, kingship, dominion, rule today? I personally believe that having a right understanding of the message of the kingdom of God is essential for living a life that really follows Jesus.
As we continue to read stories about the life of Jesus, I wanted to provide a few references that I hope will help provide a basic understanding of the kingdom of God. By no means is this a comprehensive list, but rather a few things to keep in mind as we focus our eyes on Jesus and seek His royal reign in our lives.
What is it the Kingdom of God?
1 Corinthians 4:20 NKJV: For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.
This scripture lets us know that the kingdom is not just a concept that we talk about, but it is real power and authority. Paul says that the good news has the dynamite power for salvation. After all, a Kingdom without a King is just dumb.
Where is the kingdom of God?
Romans 14:17: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Luke 17:21 NKJV: nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
These passages remind us that the kingdom is not about a certain piece of real estate or geography – it is in the Holy Spirit and in us. This has massive implications for the way that we live our lives as followers of Jesus. We will never go anyplace where He is not, and when we walk in awareness of the royal realm that we carry within us, we can see light shatter darkness and atmospheres shift simply by showing up in humble confidence.
How is the kingdom of God expressed?
Matthew 4:23 NKJV: And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
Luke 10:9 NKJV: And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
While there are so many ways that the kingdom of God can be expressed, the primary pattern that we see in the life of Jesus is one of proclamation and demonstration. Again, this message is not one of just words, but of action and transformation. It is centered in the royal right of the King to rule.
Paul tells the Philippians that one day, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, but as those who have yielded our lives to follow Him now, we can honor Him by inviting Him to come rule and reign in our lives. This yielding is a special kind of worship, the presenting of our lives to the One who is worthy.
I pray that as we look at the sermons, sayings and actions of Jesus, that your heart would be filled with wonder at the majesty of our King.
JOURNALING QUESTIONS // LINK TO PLAYLIST
Examine – How would you describe what this passage reveals about the life of Jesus?
MindShift – Is there anything about what you read in this passage that challenges the way you think about what it means to follow Jesus?
Prayer Focus – Is there any prayer that you can pray to co-operate with Holy Spirit to see your mind renewed to become more like Jesus?
