Mark 1:14-15

B.E.L.I.E.V.E. 

The battle has been won we just need to repent and accept the gift of God in the birth, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. We anxiously await the return of our King. The glory belongs to our God!

Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of God. It was the subject of much Old Testament prophecy, and the theme was familiar to Jesus’ listeners. Repent, and believe are both acts of faith. When a person accepts the only true and worthy object of faith, that person readily turns from inferior substitutes. NKJ Bible.

As soon as John the Baptist is arrested, Jesus emerges from the wilderness to declare the arrival of God’s kingdom on earth. The Greek word for kingdom used here, basileia, can denote a geographical territory or the reign of a particular monarch. The kingdom of God refers to God’s reign over all of creation and humanity. Jesus’ teaching in Mark reveals that members of the kingdom of God are marked by childlike humility, concern for the poor, sacrificial service, and love for God and neighbor. The language Mark uses to describe God’s rule demonstrates its dynamic character. The kingdom comes, it grows like a seed, and people can enter it, but only by responding to God’s will. 

Yahweh is described as enthroned in heaven and in His temple in Jerusalem. It is this reign that Mark’s Gospel affiliates with Jesus. Jesus’ ministry involves the cleansing of Yahweh’s temple (the symbol of His earthly presence), and Jesus Himself is the epitome of that presence, His body is described as God’s temple. God’s full reign—as seen in the garden of Eden shortly after creation—had not existed since sin entered the world. Jesus’ proclamation suggests that the time of God’s full reign on earth is near. God’s presence on earth has arrived in the flesh in Jesus. Jesus is saying that since that has occurred, it is only a matter of time until the justice and order that mark God’s reign are in place over all the earth. The kingdom of God is described as near (present) but not fully arrived because its full arrival on earth takes place upon Jesus’ second coming. Since Jesus announces the advent of a new kingdom, belief in the gospel entails allegiance to the new king, Jesus. Faithlife Bible.

Mark 1:14-15

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying,  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Daniel 9:25 | “Know therefore and understand,That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince,There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

Matthew 3:2 | and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

Matthew 4:12 | Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.

Matthew 4:17 | From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:23 | 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.