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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."
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.
- Mark 1:14-28
In yesterday's reading, we began the Gospel of Mark: The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'" John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God . . . My study bible says, "Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom of God: the Good News of the royal reign of God revealed decisively through the Person, words and works of Jesus, the fullness of the faith of Christ." The "good news" is the good message, glad tidings, like a messenger bringing a notice of victory to those who await the outcome of a battle far away.
. . . and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." A note tells us that "to repent denotes an about-face in life, a necessary part of faith and the experience of the kingdom as a present reality. The Kingdom is yet to come, but it is also at hand, already here. It is inaugurated but not yet fulfilled." Again, as we noted in yesterday's commentary, the time is fulfilled in Jesus' words; this is the inauguration of the time of the end. From the beginning of Mark's Gospel, we are given a sense of this ministry as an inauguration of the things of the end, an eschatological perspective in the long view of spiritual history. Jesus is the culmination and the gathering of all things together to make all new, the reconciler.. See the commentary on Jesus' words in the last reading in the Gospel of Luke: "Peace to you." Repentance and faith in the good news are the way to that ultimate reconciliation.
And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." They immediately left their nets and followed Him. When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets. Of these passages, my study bible suggests that Mark's Gospel has put very briefly into a few verses a sense of important events, but that "time has elapsed and many events have occurred between the temptation of Jesus and the call of the first disciples. Jesus chooses simple fishermen as messengers of the divine gospel." It adds that "this is not the first meeting of these men with Christ (John 1:40-41). They obey Him and immediately leave their nets because He has already established a relationship with them, and they trust Him."
And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him. My study bible tells us, "Called suggests discipleship is an invitation issued by Jesus, the emphasis being on His initiative -- the opposite of rabbinic discipleship, where the student took the initiative to follow the leader (rabbi). Jesus does not hesitate to include groups of friends and relatives among His disciples. Here are two sets of brothers, and the two families are friends, perhaps even relatives."
Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. A note tells us: "The scribes speak by virtue of their official role and scholarly education. they quote others, usually earlier, well-known teachers; at times they must be boring. Jesus speaks and acts by an inner, divine authority. He needs no credentials nor the renown of others to back Him up."
Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!" But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. My study bible says, "Jesus demonstrates His authority not only by His teaching, but by dealing powerfully with this unclean spirit. Not one demon ever successfully resists His command. Here a spirit tries to command Jesus: Let us alone. It does not work. Jesus responds with two commands: (1) be quiet, and (2) come out. The unclean spirit has no choice but to obey Jesus because God has authority over these spirits (Matt. 8:16). The demons recognize Jesus as God without having full understanding of what this means. But they do rightly fear that, with the coming of the Holy One, the time of their confinement has come."
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. Mark gives us what has happened in a kind of nutshell; for many occasions of preaching and healing Jesus' fame went through all the region around Galilee. But these people act like a chorus in an ancient play: in the Gospels this is the way we're given to know what "the people" are thinking, and how they respond to Jesus.
Mark's Gospel introduces us to many elements of Jesus' ministry. First of all, He's the culmination of the spiritual history of Israel, and initiates this period of the end in which we await the fulfillment of the Kingdom, and full "reconciliation" of all things at His Return. And the "good news" of the Gospel (Ευαγγελιον/evangelion in the Greek) really is like good news from afar, of a victory in battle that we can't see, because this Kingdom and its fullness in the Person of Christ really is about a battle. Or rather, it's about a liberation by this King coming into the world, and we are witness to a battle right here in this early reading in the Gospel. When Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit, He's "liberating" this man from His binding and affliction. It's a battle we cannot see except in spiritual sight. It's something we're given understanding of through faith. But nevertheless we can see the victims of this "strong man" that binds and afflicts human beings all around us. Jesus recruits His own soldiers in this battle except He's the Prince of Peace, and His soldiers are all messengers of this good news, of the gospel message of the Kingdom. They will be "sent out" (the meaning of the Greek word from which we get the word apostle) to all the world after being His disciples and learning from Him. In this beginning of this Gospel of Mark (the earliest written Gospel) we're taught so much about this Kingdom and this King. As my study bible points out, He comes to us, He comes to the disciples Himself rather than they coming to Him; like Him, His apostles will be sent out to all the world with the good news. It is a kingdom of giving, a kingdom of love. I have a friend who is a spiritual director and psychologist who tells me that love is wishing the good for others. As we read in the end of Luke's Gospel, Jesus' ministry initiates something that also culminates in a gift, called "the Promise of My Father" by Jesus in the last reading in Luke -- and this gift is the gift of the Holy Spirit, that gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving, "grace for grace." Our Liberator comes into the world to free us from the strong man that binds and afflicts us, to give us the good news of the Kingdom, to reconcile all things to Himself through repentance and faith. He is our Friend, the Prince of Peace, a God of love who doesn't stop giving of His grace and assures us that we are not alone, no matter what the world may present to us. So how do we fulfill our faith in Him and live His gospel? It's up to each one of us to be bearers of His good news, and at the same time to "take this and share it" in remembrance of Him. He invites each one of us to be His disciple, to sit at His table. But He also comes to us, knocking at the door, ready to be our companion. All we have to do is say yes to the gift. Can we accept?
