COMMENTARY ON MARK
LESSON NUMBER 8
JESUS BEGINS TO PREACH
“ Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
(Mark 1:14-15)
INTRODUCTION
“The beginning of the Gospel” involved the entrance of Jesus into the world, and Him coming into prominence, together with the events surrounding those grand occasions. It was also the time when the history of the world was being altered – when a new era was commencing, the likes of which had never before been seen. This was a time determined by God from before the foundation of the world. It had been announced in Eden, foreshadowed in the Old Covenant, and foretold by the holy prophets. This was a time when a mortal bruise would be delivered to the head of Satan, his diabolical purposes frustrated, and the reclamation of humanity announced. Prior to the Law, mankind, with but a handful of exceptions, was left without specific Divine guidance – with only the conscience and an intuitive sense of right and wrong to guide them. During the Law, a select number of people were provided the written details of morality, and the opportunity to approach God at certain times and seasons by means of elaborate ceremonies. However, man’s fundamental nature remained the same. Sensitive souls held to a hope that was spawned by a promise from God. A time would come when a single individual would enter the scene to bring deliverance to humanity. It was a time when men would be at peace with God, and would dwell with Him in safety. “The beginning of the Gospel” was the time when the fulfillment of those ancient promises was announced – a time when the Deliverer arrived.
WHEN JOHN WAS PUT IN PRISON
“ Mark 1:14a Now after that John was put in prison . . . ” Other versions say John was “taken into custody,” NASB “arrested,” NRSV “delivered up,” ASV and “thrown into prison,” WEYMOUTH
This was the one who “prepared the way of the Lord” – John the Baptist. People had flocked to hear him as he declared a new and refreshing message of one who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and eventually purge His threshing floor. The eternal destiny of the people would be in the hands of the man John said was “mightier than I.” Long after John had died, the chief priests and elders of the Temple were still afraid to say anything against John, for, they reasoned, “all hold John as a prophet” (Matt 21:26; Mk 11:32). You might imagine that such a person could not be put into prison without an outcry from the people. However, as soon as Jesus arrived, John’s ministry begin to come to a close, being fulfilled. That is the only reason he could be put into prison. Until his hour came, like Jesus, no one could interfere with John’s ministry (Matt 26:55).
THE DETAILS OF JOHN’S IMPRISONMENT. Mark does not provide the details of John’s imprisonment here, but does give them in the sixth chapter. Matthew and Luke also provide some of the details. Mark tells us that this imprisonment was precipitated by John’s rebuke of Herod. He had married his brother’s wife, and John rebuked him for it. “For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife” (Mark 6:18). This was according to the Law of Moses, which forbade such a thing (Lev 18:16; 20:21). Eventually, for his wife’s sake (Herodias), Herod “sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison” (Mk 6:17). At that time, Herodias was angry with John for what he had said, and “wanted to put him to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him” NASB (Mk 6:19-20).
Matthew says that Herod would, indeed, have put him to death as his wife’s behest. “And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet” (Matt 14:5).
Luke adds a few more details to this account. “But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison” (Luke 3:20).
SOMETHING TO BE SEEN. Some believe that the Law was given only to Israel, and had no application to the rest of the world. While it is true that, as a covenant, it belong exclusively to Israel, as a law it pertained to the whole world. For, we are told, it was given that “every mouth might be stopped and all the world become guilty before God” (Rom 3:19). The occasion of John’s imprisonment is a case in point.
Herod was a member of the Herodian family. This family rose to prominence following the return of Israel from the Babylonian captivity. They were Idumeans, descendants of Esau. These people were conquered in 130 BC by John Hyrcanus, and brought into Judaism. Thus, though aliens by birth, they had adopted the Jewish religion. They made religion an engine of the state, making it more political than spiritual. Eventually one of the Herod’s built the temple that existed in Jesus’ day, taking forty-six years up to that time to do so (John 2:20) – Herod commencing the rebuilding sixteen years prior to Jesus, and continuing thirty more years until the baptism of Christ. History tells us Herod continued the building until 64 A.D., six years before Jerusalem was destroyed according to the prophesy of Jesus (Lk 21:20-24). FAUSSET’S BIBLE DICTIONARY
The point here is that the Law applied to Herod, even though he was not of the lineage of Isaac. Yet John rebuked him – even though he formally catered to religion, and had even rebuilt the temple – which was called “the temple of God” (Matt 21:12), and Jesus called “My Father’s house” (John 2:16). John did not hold to what men now call “political correctness.” He rebuked Herod for marrying his brother’s wife, and “for the many evils which Herod had done.”
All of this occasioned John’s imprisonment. He was “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” (Matt 5:10). He certainly was no “respecter of persons,” but rebuked sin wherever, and in whomsoever, it was found. John was also fearless, not fearing those who “kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul” (Matt 10:28). He trembled before God, but not before men.
One might reason that such a bold and godly soul could not possibly be imprisoned. But this is not the case, as also seen in Joseph, Jeremiah, Daniel, Peter, John, Paul, Timothy, and a host of others. However, as with all holy men, John could not be imprisoned prior to the completion of the work God gave him to do. His imprisonment could only come after the One he announced had arrived on the scene.
JESUS COMES INTO GALILEE PREACHING
“ 14b . . . Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.”
JESUS CAME INTO GALILEE. Galilee is where Jesus was raised. After Joseph had left Egypt with Mary and the child Jesus, “He turned aside into the parts of Galilee,” dwelling “in a city called Nazareth” (Matt 2:22). When Jesus came to be baptized by John, He “came from Galilee” (Matt 3:13). Following his temptation in the wilderness, Matthew writes, “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, He departed into Galilee” (Matt 4:12). Luke says Jesus “returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee” (Lk 4:14). This was “the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles” (Matt 4:15).
Of old time, the prophet Isaiah had declared Galilee would be the place of Divine manifestation. “Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first He lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isa 9:1-2). This, then, was a time of favor when a great light would shine upon Galilee, where people were walking in darkness in the land of the shadow of death. He came to the area where He was raised, and to his own home town. Now we will see the manner in which He shined refreshing light into that area.
PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Other versions read “preaching the gospel of God,” NASB “proclaiming the good news of God,” NIV “He proclaimed the Gospel from God,” NJB “to preach God’s good news,” NLT “proclaiming the good news of the reign of God.” YLT
John the Baptist had announced, “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mk 1:15). This is synonymous with “the kingdom of heaven,” for Matthew records the same event in these words, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). From the standpoint of the One governing the kingdom, it is “the kingdom of God.” Considering where it is headquartered, it is “the kingdom of heaven.”
The message Jesus announced, or “preached,” was “gospel” – good news. That is, He was announcing something that of itself was “good.” It was news to gladden the heart and cause hope to rise up from the ashes of despair. More recent versions eliminate the words “the kingdom of,” simply reading “Gospel of God.” While this translation is based upon certain preferred manuscripts, it does not represent the sense of what is here declared. For example, the same versions that omit “the kingdom of” in this text, include it in John’s words (Matt 3:2), and Jesus’ words as well (Matt 4:17). This is a declaration of the work of a Sovereign God – something that He was doing at that time. It does involve His “kingdom.”
THE KINGDOM OF REFERENCE. The kingdom of reference is the one that had been shown to Daniel in the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The king had seen a great image that represented four great global empires. That image was dashed into pieces by a small stone that miraculously came out of a mountain. The stone eventually became a mountain that filled the whole earth (Dan 2:31-35).
The statue was described as four kingdoms. The first three were specifically identified, and the fourth we know by deduction. They were Babylon, The Medo-Persians, Greece, and Rome. Each kingdom supplanted the one before it, overthrowing it by force (Dan 2:37-40; 7:2-7; 8:20-22). It was then explained that during the reign of those kings, particularly during the time of the latter (Rome), that God was going to do something especially significant. “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Dan 2:44).
This is the kingdom John said was “at hand.” It is the kingdom that Jesus preached – a kingdom that would never end, and would eventually be the undoing of all other kingdoms. After four thousand years of ignorance and alienation, with Satan running roughshod over the human race, the Kingdom of God was at hand. It was good news because it announced the liberty of men and the demise of the devil. Now there would be an unparalleled demonstration of the truth proclaimed to Nebuchadnezzar: “the heavens do rule” (Dan 4:26).
This “Gospel” was not announced in Rome, or Athens, or Alexandria. Rather, it began to be preached in lowly Galilee, and in one of the smallest of all earthly regions. But there was a people in this region who had been Divinely cultured to hear this good news, and they would hear it from the mouth of the King Himself.
A SUMMATION OF THE MESSAGE JESUS PREACHED
“ 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
THE TIME IS FULFILLED. Other Versions read, “The time has come,” NIV “the time is accomplished,” DOUAY “This is the time of fulfillment,” NAB and “At last the time has come.” NLT This is the language of Divine appointment. “The time” is an appointed or determined epoch. Jesus is said to have some into the world “when the fulness of the time was come” (Gal 1:4). Before He returned to heaven, Jesus told His inquiring disciples that “times and seasons” were “fixed” by the Father’s “own authority” NASB (Acts 1:7). Paul declared that God would reveal the Lord Jesus in all of His glory “in His times” – that is, the times appointed by Himself (1 Tim 6:15). God alone can “change times and seasons” (Dan 2:21), for they are all in His power.
There is a level of Divine activity in which men have no say whatsoever. These are times that are not brought into being by the supplications of men. They are appointed by the Lord, and when they come, the things determined for that time do come to pass. Such times include the flood (Gen 7:13), the birth of Isaac (Gen 17:21), the deliverance of Israel (Ex 12:41), the birth of Jesus (Gal 1:4), the coming of Jesus (1 Tim 6:15), and the day of judgment (Acts 17:31). These are fulfilled independently of human influence.
Jesus began announcing in Galilee that something appointed by God was about to take place. It could not be stopped by all of the powers of darkness. Even the wretched condition of the human race could not abort the fulfillment of this Divine appointment.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. Other versions say the kingdom “is near,” NIV “has come near,” NRSV “has drawn nigh,” DARBY “is very near,” IE and “is close at hand.” WEYMOUTH He did not mean the kingdom of God was beginning, or that it was being initiated. This is an “everlasting kingdom” Psa 145:13; Dan 4:3; 2 Pet 1:11). From the standpoint of perception and participation the Kingdom was “near.” That is, men would become acutely aware of the un contested reign of God Almighty. In Jesus it would become plain that “there is no power but of God” (Rom 13:1). All of nature would bow to Jesus, the King of this kingdom – whether winds, waves, trees, fish, or food. No adversarial power would stand before Him. He would dismiss them all with a word. He would cause people who had been bound by Satan for years to be released in a moment. In Jesus, the Kingdom of God was “at hand” – right there, where it could be perceived.
On the surface, it appeared as though Rome was reigning over all. Jewish leaders lived in fear that “the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11:48). But Rome was a mere under-ruler, being subject to the Kingdom of God, which “ruleth over all” (Psa 103:19). Until Jesus, this is not the way it looked. But, how differently things looked after the Lord from heaven strode among men! The Kingdom was at hand!
REPENT. How ought men to respond to the message of the nearness of the Kingdom of God? What should they do? “REPENT!” Come into line with this Kingdom. Run away from anything that causes men to reject it, deny its presence, or compete with it. To “repent” means to think differently, or reconsider life in view of the kingdom of God. STRONG’S Repentance is what follows “godly sorrow” (2 Cor 7:10) – a sorrow that is produced by a keen awareness that God has been offended, and His government spurned. If the Kingdom of God, which is over all, is “near,” then allegiance to everything else must be brought to a grinding halt – “Repent!” It has already been revealed that this kingdom will utterly crush all other kingdoms. Therefore, it makes no sense to maintain any coalition that is destined for destruction – including serving purely self-serving interests – “Repent!”
BELIEVE THE GOSPEL. Let the heart embrace the good news of the Kingdom of God that is “near” – “at hand.” To “believe” the Gospel is to be convinced of its truth and embrace it. It is to depend upon the message, and bring the life into conformity with it. Believing involves trusting – leaning the whole weight of one’s life upon the good news that is delivered. It is the absence of doubt, and the presence of persuasion, when the substance and evidence of heavenly realities are possessed (Heb 11:1).
Believing the Gospel is not an activity of the mind, but of the heart. As it is written, “with the heart man believeth” (Rom 10:10). Jesus did not call upon men to investigate the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, or to research it. He called them to “believe the Gospel.” This is “the obedience of faith” mentioned in Romans 16:26, as distinguished from “the obedience that comes from faith” NIV (Rom 1:5). All unbelievers are disobedient.
Repentance and faith are the two pillars of human response: “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). They lead us toward salvation.