Jesus Begins to Preach (Mark 1:14-15)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (vv. 14-15)

When I began to preach, my message was extremely simple and yet profound. It blessed many. 

John had prepared the people for the Day of the Lord, for the coming of the Messiah. People thought that it would mean they would be delivered from the external evil that they perceived in the Roman occupation of their land of Israel. From the teachings of the prophets, they knew that they had to prepare for this day through repentance. 

When I came, I did not only invite people to a baptism of repentance, but proclaimed that the kingdom of God is at hand. This meant that the Day of the Lord had come and that people could again be part of God’s kingdom. They thought that God’s kingdom was about a human king and a human territory. I knew that it is about the kingship of the Father and the hearts and bodies of people were to be the territories, the king’s domains. The kingdom was already in me, through the love of the Father and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Although people did not understand yet how this heavenly kingdom was coming, they still sensed strongly the presence of God in me and through me. They repented and received the gospel. This gospel or good news was simply that the kingdom had come near, that it was at hand and that they could enter into this kingdom. What people struggled to understand was that there would be no human king but simply the Father as the heavenly king, and that He could rule on earth through people who would become kingdom bearers, temples of the Holy Spirit. I was the first to be a kingdom bearer, a temple of the Holy Spirit and of the Father. It was only after my death and resurrection, for the forgiveness of sins, that others would be able to fully become temples of the Holy Spirit and imitate me completely. That is one of the reasons why my time on earth was short. I just demonstrated that a human could carry the Holy Spirit and again be a fully obedient and loving child of God - as Adam and Eve before the fall. 

This message is still valid today, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in this good news. Lay hand on the Holy Spirit, invite him to rule in you so that you become a domain of the heavenly king, that you become fully part of the kingdom of God. This is the good news, and it is for every human on the earth, to become fully a child a God, full of the Father’s love through the Holy Spirit.