Jesus' Ministry Begins: Mark 1:14-15

 

            After 40 days of testing in the wilderness of Judea, Jesus returns home. He's about to invite his first disciples to follow him, but before he does so, Mark describes briefly how Jesus began his public ministry.

 

            It's hard to know exactly what Jesus would have thought or felt as the son of God, but he must have been overwhelmed with emotion here. First, someone dear to him has just been thrown in prison. Jesus was baptized by his cousin John only a few verses earlier, but now his kinsman has been betrayed, arrested, and confined to a jail cell. The two men grew up together, and John paved the way for Jesus by preaching repentance and baptizing people in the Jordan River. Now his ministry is over, and Jesus must have felt a sense of loss without his friend to join him in his work for God's kingdom. Never being able to see his cousin's face or break bread with him again, Jesus will now have to set out alone.

 

            Jesus also must have felt a sense of urgency. Now that John's ministry has subsided, Jesus' work will begin with earnest. He will attract followers and eventually huge crowds and tell them many things about God's kingdom before being executed. And that gruesome day is not far off. Jesus sees in John's fate a foreshadowing of his own. John has been "betrayed" (or "handed over"), and as Jesus begins speaking about the "time of fulfillment," he ponders the impending fulfillment of his own time on earth and how he will be betrayed and handed over misguided rulers who will kill him, too.

 

            Jesus is probably also thinking of his family. As he returns to the area where he grew up, his family will have one less member now. John is in prison and will soon be executed by the petty King Herod. John is the only son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, who have already passed on since they were old when they conceived John some 30 years ago. And poor Mary! She's about to lose her nephew, and before long, she will lose her only son as well. Dark times await the family of Jesus, and their suffering will be great.

 

           So Jesus picks up where John left off, preaching repentance. His return home is bittersweet. He is full of excitement as he contemplates the months ahead - the new friendships he will make, the many people he will heal, and the many more people he will move with his words. He looks out on the Sea of Galilee, dotted with towns and villages all around. He's been to these places many times before as a boy and a young man, and he's eager to see them one more time before he goes. Jesus did not grow up in the most sophisticated area, however. In fact, Galilee was widely regarded as a cultural backwater, where people were uncouth and uneducated. But this allegedly backward region is about to become the epicenter of the most amazing movement in human history. The world will never be the same.

 

            Jesus begins with a simple message: "Repent, and believe in the good news." How many times has his Father urged the people to amend their ways and turn back to Him? And yet they failed to listen. God sent prophet after prophet to tell them the same thing, and still they did not listen. But Jesus won't give up. Out of tender love for his people, Jesus urges them again to repent and turn back to God. It's the only way they'll find happiness. No matter how many times they stumble, Jesus will always be there to offer them another chance.

 

            And there's no reason the people should listen to him this time. Nearly everything Jesus says should elicit happiness! Twice he mentions the "good news." God's message for the people is not all fire and brimstone. Jesus comes with glad tidings for all! He also tells them that their wait is over. For centuries, they have been living in anticipation of God's kingdom, and they need wait no longer. The kingdom is here! The time is fulfilled, and all they have to do is receive this long-awaited kingdom with lives worthy of God.

 

           Some of them will, as the coming months will reveal, but many of them will not. As Jesus gazes on the Sea of Galilee and prepares to call his first disciples, he knows what lies ahead. There will be many occasions for joy but also many occasions for sorrow, both for him and his closest followers. This is going to be hard, but there will be time to explain all that. For now, Jesus speaks only about the good news, not the bad. Will the people actually believe that he has come to bring them something good?

 

           And are those four fishermen ready for what's about to happen...?