The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel

 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

Yesterday we started reading 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, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  My study bible notes that Mark's written emphasis on the fact that John the Baptist has been put in prison before Jesus starts preaching gives us a key understanding of the time:  one purpose of the old covenant -- to prepare people for Christ -- has been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  Once Christ has come, and manifested His ministry in the world, the time of preparation is fulfilled.  To repent is to do an "about-face," orienting oneself to God.  In Greek the word for repent is metanoia/μετανοια which literally means to "change one's mind."  My study bible says that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart -- a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  This practice of metanoia/repentance is an ongoing process; we are continually growing and learning as disciples who walk the walk of Christ.

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.  These earliest disciples were originally followers of John the Baptist, and had been led to Christ by him (see John 1:29-40).  They are therefore ready to accept Christ at this proper time of calling, immediately.  My study bible says that although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, the deep hope and sincerity of these "people of the land" called by Christ will render them at Pentecost to be revealed as the wisest of all. 

 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.   As we noted in commentary on yesterday's reading, the word immediately is used with frequency in Mark's Gospel; my study bible notes that it occurs almost forty times -- nearly all before our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem.  It comments that the sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps to make Mark's account not only the shortest, but also the most direct of all of the Gospels.  But in the very urgency is the message:  although awaited for centuries, Christ's breaking through and manifesting in the world is a sudden shift in all spiritual orientation.  This event is the center of spiritual history, and changes the rest of history in its light.  That the people are astonished at His teaching is yet another reflection of the immediacy of something new and its startling manifestation before them.

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.  Christ is nothing like the prophets who came before Him nor the teachers of His day, who taught in the third person, citing Scripture or the interpretations of a famous rabbi.  Christ speaks in the first person, with His own authority.  He even commands the unclean spirits, who obey Him.  He commands the spirit to be quiet!  His own revelation as the Christ will come through His own ministry and its unfolding.  Isaiah prophesied His refusal to fully disclose His identity in Isaiah 42:1-4.

When Jesus tells the unclean spirit to be quiet, it is a command that means to "muzzle."  A muzzle is a contraption used over the mouth of an animal, to keep it from biting or grazing, especially work animals.  It speaks to us of full control, superior authority and power.  The very words that Jesus uses convey this personal authority that so astonished the people.  They have never seen nor heard anyone like Him.  What we must notice to distinguish between Christ and anyone else who would cite personal authority in this way is Christ's deliberate humility in all ways.  He does not amass material power for Himself, and neither does He seek wealth or property.  His authority does not come from any social position.  Neither does this authority come from His person as Jesus, the man from Nazareth.  Rather it is the time of fulfillment of His divine mission, and His identity as the Son of God.  It is the time to reveal this identity as Incarnate Son.  But neither will the unfolding and revealing of His identity come with great fanfare and announcement.  Only the unclean spirits recognize and know Him, and they fear His authority.  My study bible gives several reasons for Jesus' refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah.  First, there is the growing hostility of the leadership.  Also, the people do not understand the true nature of the Messiah, and expect an earthly political leader.  Christ also wishes to evoke genuine faith which is not based purely on marvelous signs.  It is the authority of His true Person that must shine through the ministry, and faith asks of us that we come to this recognition via something in ourselves that deeply desires to be in communion with Him.  It is a call of the soul for its own value and redemption, its growth and realization.  It is in Mark's Gospel that Jesus will ask, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (8:36).  Jesus preaches about repentance, metanoia in the Greek, change of mind.  His first proclamation as He begins His public ministry is to teach that the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  His first command is to "Repent, and believe in the gospel."  To repent, as we said above, is to turn toward God.  It is not that the people were not already turned toward God and their covenant, in expectation of the Messiah.  It is not that the people had forgotten the Mosaic Law.  Christ calls the people -- and all of us -- to a consciousness that breaks in upon the world, the force of the kingdom of God which is "at hand."  It is, to use the word that Mark's Gospel so frequently employs, immediate.  It appears right in our midst.  To seize the moment of repentance is to turn toward that Kingdom, to deeply desire to participate in it.  It is to do as the disciples do, to drop everything else that stands in the way and heed the word that places us in it, helps us to participate in it, makes it a part of ourselves.  To truly repent is to turn toward God, to live our lives in the place where our soul can grow, be preserved intact, and to consider Christ's words about what is truly needful.  It is all about what we put first, choose first, where our first true love is.  This is where He calls us, and that call upon us is always urgent, to be responded to immediately, before all else.  He is the one who calls to the heart, the place of the soul.  In that place, the kingdom of God is always at hand.