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 

 

 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 comments that Mark's written emphasis on John being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching reveals that a key purpose of the old covenant -- to prepare the people for Christ -- had been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  Once Christ came, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  To repent is to do a total "about-face," my study Bible explains.  The word in Greek (μετανοια/metanoia) 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.  

 

 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.  My study Bible reminds us that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so they are prepared to immediately leave their nets and follow Him (see John 1:35-50).  It adds that, although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all (see Acts 2).

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  My study Bible comments that the word immediately occurs nearly forty times in Mark's Gospel, almost all of them before Christ's entrance into Jerusalem.  This sense of urgency and  purpose as Christ goes toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps make Mark's account not only the shortest but also the most direct of the four Gospels.

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.  Christ's first public preaching astonished the people, because He teaches as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  My study Bible explains that both the prophets of old and the teachers of Christ's day taught in the third person (e.g. "The Lord says").  But Christ teaches in the first person ("I say to you," as in Matthew 5).   Christ commands the unclean spirit to "Be quiet, and come out of him!"   My study Bible comments that our Lord's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are several reasons for this.  We will see the growing hostility of the religious leaders; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader will cause problems and false expectations; and Christ's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based only on marvelous signs.  Isaiah prophesies about the Servant; referring first to Christ, and then by extension to all who follow Him.

 

In today's reading, we can see a clear kind of evolution of Christ's ministry, a pattern of a beginning and expansion.  But, as my study Bible points out, the beginning isn't really a beginning, but one that was made possible by what came before as preparation, and that is the whole history of the people of God, of Israel and the God of Israel.  John the Baptist is the last in a long line of prophets of the Old Testament.  He tells us all directly what this pattern of both fulfillment and beginning is about:  "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  So perhaps today we might pause to think about what it means to evolve, and why when we look at patterns -- such as in our reading for today -- we can see what look like stepping stones on a way somewhere.  There is a foundation of the spirituality embedded in the ministry of John the Baptist, who introduces Christ's first disciples to Jesus (see the excerpt from John's Gospel), so that later they may "immediately" leave their boats and follow Christ when He calls them to His ministry.  From there Jesus begins to teach in the Sabbaths in the synagogue at Capernaum, and almost as a natural response to that, the unclean spirits -- usually hidden from our awareness -- begin to respond to the presence of Jesus.  One thing seems to proceed to the other, and it's presented to us as a kind of road, a pattern that will be followed through to the end.  That is, to Christ's Passion, which is, of course, another beginning, and another foundation for something new, and growing, and proceeding ahead -- which is the period in which we currently live.  One may stop and wonder just how all of this evolves, and of course we ascribe it to the work of God in the world.  But even that is something that grows and expands, and takes on surprising new turns and manifestations.  In our recent readings at the end of Luke's Gospel, we read about the Promise given of the Holy Spirit.  In the theological language of the Orthodox Church, grace is spoken of as the energies of God.  That is, grace is the form that God's energies take on in the world, through which we can know God.  This is so even though we cannot know God in God's essence, as God "knows" God, so to speak.  This action of the Holy Spirit in the world is something to which the Scriptures and the Church testify, but the evolution of God's work in the world also contends with the patterns of rebellion against God, with the fact that "an enemy" has also sown seeds in this world (see the parable of the Wheat and the Tares).  So what we might expect as a clear or straight path is not really precisely our earthly idea of clear and straight.  It must also deal with the "enemy" who sowed other seeds in this world.  It must also contend with, for instance, the unclean spirit, who calls out to Jesus, "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!"  This becomes a part of the path, a part of the story, as Jesus must Himself assert His authority over the spirit.  Importantly, in our own lives, we should see our paths similarly.  There might be all kinds of things that seem to tempt us to go this way or that, distract us with their drama, or with an appeal that says we "should" be doing some other thing.  In the parable of the Sower, Jesus talks about distractions as thorns that choke the word, "the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things" (Mark 4:19).  And yet, He has given us the Promise, His Spirit.  He has given us His word.  He has given us the saints, and He has given us the Church.  Our paths might not be straight, and the world may not beat a path to our door as a result, but He gives us the grace, and shows us the way to follow Him.  This particular time is always at hand, and John's words remain true for this always-new beginning, even today:  "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."