The Gospel of God and the Call to Discipleship

Heavenly Father, we thank you so much that your word is living and is active.

And although we're reading a narrative account of your son's early ministry,

it is for us today, even though it is centuries and even millennia old.

Lord, we thank you that your word can shape our hearts.

We ask that you open our eyes to see and our ears to hear

and our hearts to embrace the truth of your word.

In Jesus' name, amen.

We will observe Remembrance Day in less than two weeks.

And it's based on Armistice Day.

I mean, we see it as remembering not just the end of the Great War,

but the end of World War II, of Korea, of the war in Afghanistan.

We see it, we call it Remembrance Day, but really it's based on Armistice Day.

It marked the end of the Great War some 100 plus years ago.

And it was in papers plastered across the world.

War is over. War is over.

This declaration that war is done.

It was good news.

It still is good news.

But it wasn't good news that was kind of mentioned in some backwater paper,

in some obscure place.

It was declared across the world.

Because good news is something that ought to be proclaimed.

If it is good news, and I mean good news, something to celebrate,

we need to hear about it and celebrate it.

It's the same when, on a lesser scale,

when a child graduates high school or goes off to university,

I don't know if it's still done,

but in the smaller town where I grew up,

parents would take out little ads in the paper, congratulating.

They're graduates.

It was actually quite wonderful.

Not so long ago, a girl that I went to high school with,

who, I mean, we weren't really friends.

She was awfully quiet.

In our paper from back home,

her parents took out a thing.

She graduated from med school.

I had no idea.

But it was this proclamation of good news,

of the hard work that she did.

And her parents didn't want to be quiet about it.

It was lovely.

They blasted it all over this tiny town's newspaper.

It's not so tiny, but I still think of it as a tiny town.

Good news needs to be proclaimed.

It can't be hidden.

It can't be...

It shouldn't be quickly forgotten.

It has to be shared and declared and proclaimed.

So we pick up the story after Jesus is baptized and driven into the wilderness,

or he is tempted.

He's driven into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit.

And between verses 13, which was the last verse of last week,

and verse 14, it's very clear that some time has passed.

Jesus has come out of the wilderness.

John the Baptist has been arrested.

And Jesus returns from the Judean wilderness back up to Galilee.

So that's...

It's a bit of a distance.

So there's a lot of time that elapsed between verses 13 and 14.

It's interesting.

John the Baptist, in verse 14, it says that he's arrested.

But really, it's...

The idea is that he was handed over.

This is...

If you guys are grammar geeks,

or you are interested in the original language,

the term that John...

We have it in the English Standard Version as arrested.

He was handed over.

And this is a bit of an aside,

but this will be a term that Mark uses

to describe kind of the fate of the faithful people in the Gospel.

Jesus himself will eventually be handed over.

If we continue on into the Acts of the Apostles,

although Mark doesn't write it,

there's a lot of handing over of the righteous people to the authorities.

So, a lot of time has elapsed.

Jesus is back in the Galilee,

which is the western shore of the Sea of Galilee,

in this area.

And he begins his ministry.

Jesus begins his ministry.

And it's interesting,

if you look with me,

again,

in verse 14,

he doesn't begin his ministry with an exorcism,

or a healing miracle,

or some sort of

nature miracle,

all of which we will see

in, like,

an incredible way

in the rest of chapter 1,

chapter 2,

and into chapter 3.

But how does he start

his ministry?

Well, look with me.

Verse 14.

It says,

Jesus came into Galilee

proclaiming the Gospel of God.

Verse 15,

and saying,

the time is fulfilled

and the kingdom of God

is at hand.

Repent and believe

in the Gospel.

Jesus begins his ministry

with a proclamation

of good news.

Of good news.

He proclaims something

that is worth hearing

and worth proclaiming.

So, here's the question.

The good news,

or the Gospel,

that Jesus is calling people

to repent and believe in.

Um,

what is it?

What is the Gospel?

For the longest time,

and I think,

I'm not poo-pooing this at all,

I'm not trying to be controversial,

but for the longest time,

the Gospel was,

believe in Jesus,

that he takes your sins away

so you can go to heaven.

And,

end.

Full stop.

But hold on a second.

If it's,

believe in Jesus

for dying on the cross

for our sins

so that we can go to heaven,

Jesus is proclaiming

this Gospel

before he heads

to the cross.

So,

what's going on?

What's the Gospel message here?

What is the Gospel?

It's also connected

to the Kingdom of God.

Jesus says

the Kingdom of God

is at hand.

He also says

that the time is fulfilled.

Why?

What kind of time

are we talking about?

Also,

um,

what is this idea

of repentance

and what are we

to believe in

the Gospel?

Like,

first we need to figure out

what this Gospel is

before we can repent

and believe in it.

So,

there's a lot of questions

if we just scratch a little bit.

If we kind of park

our,

um,

the,

our stereotypical

understandings

of the Gospel.

And by the way,

the Gospel most certainly

is God

taking away our sins

through Jesus

on the cross.

It definitely includes

us going to Heaven.

Okay?

But here we have to ask

the question,

what is Jesus

declaring

as the Gospel?

So the question is,

what is the Gospel?

And simply put,

the Gospel

is the person

and work of Jesus Christ.

It's His life.

And,

and we will see

that His life

is,

is,

is divine

and full of authority

and full of power

and it is on full display.

especially in the first

eight chapters

of Mark.

It's also His death

which will be

an atoning sacrifice.

We will get to this

and we will spend

some time

understanding

what it means

for Jesus

to be the atoning

sacrifice

for all people.

And it's also

His resurrection

from the dead

which means that

sin and death

are conquered forever

and that those

who believe

into Him

will share

in His victory.

but it means

the good news

of God

is a person.

It's not just

about a person

but most certainly

the Gospel

is about a person.

It's about Jesus.

But it's also

a person.

The Gospel

is a person.

And I don't know

how that really

makes sense

because Gospel

is news

and Gospel

is a declaration

that war is over.

Right?

My son or my daughter

has graduated.

I'm getting married.

It's a declaration

of an event.

It can't be

about a person.

And yet

that's exactly

what the Gospel

is about

and this is what

we'll see.

The Gospel

is the good news

of God

in Jesus.

It is Jesus Himself.

The Gospel

personified

Jesus Christ.

So how can

good news

that is proclaimed

to be a person?

How is this

even possible?

And I think

that the key

in understanding

this is

what Jesus says

right off the bat

in verse 15

the time is fulfilled.

So what kind of time?

And why is it fulfilled?

So simply put

the time being fulfilled

is that the entire

history of the Bible

leading up to

Mark chapter 1

Mark 1:15

verse 15

is the

all of history

culminates

into this point.

All of history

up until

this point

is eagerly

pointing

and eagerly

awaiting

for Jesus Christ

to come onto the scene.

The time

is fulfilled.

So from the very

beginning

Adam and Eve

are in the garden.

God makes everything

and what does He say

about everything

that He's created?

Does anybody know?

Remember?

It's good.

Everything that He makes

is good.

Adam and Eve

choose to rebel

against God's goodness

and they sin

against Almighty God

and from then

sin

and death

and calamity

overtakes

the human condition.

Overtakes the human heart.

And this is

the song

that is sung

by humanity

ever since that moment

and you can read about it

in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

But right

on the heels

of their rebellion

God makes a promise

that He'd send a Savior.

That the bent ways

would be made straight.

That the wrongs

would be made right.

That the brokenness

would be restored.

That hearts

that used to be

hearts of flesh

that were now

hearts of stone

would be made

hearts of flesh

once again.

It's a remarkable

remarkable promise.

And He doesn't just

promise it

to Adam and Eve.

He promises it

to Abraham

and He promises it

to Moses

and He promises it

to His prophets

and to the entire nation

of Israel

but not just for Israel

but for everybody

that God

would send

a Savior

to make things

right again.

And

isn't this something

we all feel?

That when

there's something

that isn't right

it

it shouldn't be

this way?

that it shouldn't

be this way

to have families

break apart

and to have

children estranged

from their parents

or husbands

estranged

from their wives

families

breaking up

people

making bad

life decisions

that snowball

and snowball

and inability

to rectify

the bad things.

on a grand scheme

we see war

and war is not

the way it's supposed

to be.

We see that there's

this brokenness

this unrest

and we

somehow know

in our bones

that something

isn't right

and it needs

to be fixed.

It just needs

to be.

Doesn't this

doesn't just

this is a part

of what it

means to be

human

to see

something

that's

broken

and wish

that it

weren't so?

It seems

as though

from the very

beginning

God created

us in such

a way

to

long

after

wholeness

and

because of

sin

entering in

and because

of death

entering in

we have been

grasping at

that idea

not even

really sure

what that

idea is

but knowing

most certainly

what it's

not

grasping

at it.

So doesn't

this promise

of God

restoring

and fixing

and mending

and replacing

seem exactly

what hope

is?

So

God always

another part

of this

is that

what was

also lost

in the

garden

is that

God no longer

dwelt with

his people.

The garden

sure it is

this beautiful

picture of

God creating

and man

naming

the animals

and it

seems like

everything is

fantastic

and beautiful

and wonderful

but the

most beautiful

thing about

the garden

is that

God is

dwelling

with his

people.

There's

this bit

where it

says that

God was

walking in

the garden

in the

cool of the

day

but Adam

wasn't with

him and he

calls out to

find Adam.

what's

implied there

is that

Adam would

be walking

with God

in the

garden.

That he

would know

that relational

intimacy

and connectedness

and vulnerability

without the fear

of getting

trampled on

this complete

wholeness

of God

dwelling with

his people

and yet

that was

lost.

And ever

since then

what happens

is that we

get little

pictures of

God wanting

to dwell

with his

people again.

We see it

in the

tabernacle.

God rescues

Israel from

Egypt but

then he

makes a

tabernacle,

this big

tent where

his presence

dwells.

And then in

the temple

he tells

King David

to make

the temple.

Eventually

his son

makes it

but it's

the idea

that's where

God dwells

among his

people.

And then

the time

is fulfilled.

And why

is it

fulfilled?

Because when

Jesus comes

it is

God

himself

entering

into

this world

into the

human experience

dwelling with

his people.

The gospel

of John

John will

say not

to be

confused

with John

the Baptist

the gospel

of John

John will

say in

chapter 1

verse 14

that God

he became

flesh

and dwelt

among us.

And this is

exactly what

we're seeing

here.

So when

Jesus says

the time

is fulfilled

it is

all of the

hopes

and all

of the

desires

of wholeness

and of

sin being

eradicated

and us

returning

to this

relationship

with God

himself

him dwelling

with us

and us

dwelling

with him

this is

what it

leads to.

The time

is fulfilled

and all

of a sudden

Jesus

appears

proclaiming

the gospel.

The gospel

is a

person.

The good

news

is a

person.

The time

is fulfilled

in verse

15

and it

is a

marvelous

marvelous

it's just

four words

and yet

it is so

heavy

and weighted

and the

anticipation

is just

it's

exploding

because God

is now

among his

people.

God has

arrived.

Good news

incarnate

has arrived.

God himself

would be the

savior and

he would

destroy sin

and he would

destroy death

on the cross

forever.

It's

interesting

that

in the

garden

God

makes

the

garden

he dwells

with

mankind

in the

garden.

The

garden

is set

upon

a

hill

it is

this

kind

of

image

of

a

temple

the

tabernacle

is

kind

of

this

image

of

a

temple

where

man

meets

God

and

then

the

temple

obviously

is

a

temple

so

imagery

of

a

temple

but

we

will

see

that

what

ends

up

happening

is

that

we

become

the

very

temple

of

God

we

do

the

church

but

also

individuals

we

become

the

very

temple

of

God

he

lives

within

us

the

separation

between

God

and

man

is

no

longer

in

the

person

of

Jesus

Christ

but

it

also

is

no

longer

because

God

now

dwells

in

his

church

and

it

is

called

the

house

of

God

the

church

is

but

also

the

imagery

and

this

kind

of

speaks

to

the

closeness

of

this

redemption

is

that

we

the

church

are

called

the

body

of

Christ

the

very

body

of

Christ

he

is

our

head

we're

not

trying

to

say

we

are

now

divine

like

God

but

the

scriptures

describe

it

as

the

body

of

Christ

we

are

that

united

with

God

so

now

it's

not

that

we're

trying

to

get

back

to

Eden

because

what

we

have

in

Christ

and

our

hope

for

what

is

to

come

is

better

than

the

garden

it

it's

crazy

to

think

it's

a

scandal

that

God

would

dwell

among

us

again

but

in

a

way

that

far

exceeds

any

other

way

he's

dwelt

with

us

in

the

history

of

mankind

this

is

the

good

news

it

is

the

good

news

of

God

in

Christ

Jesus

himself

is

the

good

news

it

is

wonderful

this

you

know

verses

14

and

15

we're

reading

16

to

20

and

16

to

20

are

very

helpful

for

us

to

understand

to

know

how

we

are

then

to

live

the

first

thing

is

Jesus

says

to

repent

and

believe

so

what

does

it

mean

to

repent

and

believe

in

the

gospel

it

simply

is

to

not

trust

false

saviors

the

repentance

part

it's

to

not

trust

false

saviors

anymore

self

help

is

a

good

thing

but

when

destroy

you

because

you

can't

help

yourself

in

the

way

to

bring

complete

wholeness

if

you're

trying

to

justify

yourself

as

though

that

you know

your

sin

is

you're

proving

the

reason

why

you've

lived

a

life

of

brokenness

and

sin

it's

this

pride

that is

welling

up

if

that

becomes

your

savior

you

will

push

people

away

and

brokenness

will

be

your

calling

card

because

you

can't

justify

yourself

you

just

can't

we

trick

ourselves

all the

time

in

thinking

that

we

are

really

finding

the

true

savior

and

we

are

living

in

a

fiction

it's

not

real

reality

and

it's

hard

it's

not

like

I'm

saying

this

I mean

technically

I'm

raised

but

I

am

in

the

midst

of

you

guys

too

because

I

trust

in

many

things

apart

from

Christ

if

I'm

going

to

be

honest

and

it's

not

easy

but

the

Christian

life

is to

what

repent

and

believe

in

and

this

idea

of

repenting

and

believing

in

verse

15

it

is

not

just

a

one

time

only

thing

but

it

is

to

keep

on

repenting

and

keep

on

believing

not

as

though

we

were

going

to

get

saved

afresh

every

single

time

we

repent

and

believe

because

we

are

trusting

in

God

but

our

flesh

is

feeble

so

the

call

is

to

keep

on

repenting

keep

on

believing

keep

on

trusting

God

that

is

the

call

of

the

Christian

life

and

interestingly

we

open

up

our

service

here

I

mean

we'll

because

we're

doing

holy

communion

we'll

enter

into

a

time

of

repentance

in

a

bit

after

the

sermon

but

the

entirety

of

this

service

is

built

upon

repent

and

believe

repent

and

believe

repent

and

believe

again

we

will

come

to

the

table

I

am

not

worthy

as

to

gather

the

crumbs

under

your

table

but

I'm

trusting

in

your

mercies

oh

God

it's

beautiful

so

we

are

friends

with

God

the

call

is

to

repent

and

believe

and

continue

on

repenting

and

believing

and

the

wonderful

thing

about

this

is

that

we

will

have

our

citizenship

transferred

from

the

earth

to

heaven

so

Jesus

says

this

he

says

the

kingdom

of

God

is

at

hand

and

just

to

be

clear

that

the

kingdom

of

God

being

at

hand

is

an

implication

of

the

gospel

it's

not

the

gospel

itself

the

gospel

isn't

the

kingdom

the

gospel

is

Jesus

but

the

implication

is

Jesus

is

king

and

we

come

under

his

we

submit

ourselves

to

his

lordship

and

we

become

citizens

of

heaven

we

talked

about

this

in

our

bible

study

last

week

Philippians

Philippians 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

our

citizenship

is

in

heaven

so

we

get

to

participate

in

the

kingdom

of

God

and

what

is

the

kingdom

of

God

well

Jesus

will

show

us

what

the

kingdom

of

God

is

in

the

chapters

to

come

but

the

kingdom

of

God

is

where

there

is

wholeness

and

where

sin

is

not

counted

against

us

anymore

where

sickness

isn't

a

thing

in

the

kingdom

of

God

where

oppression

isn't

a

thing

in

the

kingdom

of

God

where

there's

no

higher

authority

than

the

king

in

the

kingdom

of

God

our

priorities

change

and we

pledge

allegiance

to a

new

crown

and

unlike

the

crowns

and

governments

here

on

earth

this

king

doesn't

change

and his

crown

is

eternal

and it's

only for

his

head

his

victory

and rule

is forever

and he

embodies

the very

kingdom

the very

kingdom

that he

establishes

this is

why

when we

come to

church

we

will

we will

partake at

the table

as

a renewal

of our

covenant

with the

king

we

will

say

the

creed

and we

will

pray

the

lord's

prayer

as

almost

like a

pledge

of

allegiance

so to

speak

that

here

we

are

in

God's

church

in

his

kingdom

and

we

get to

experience

what

life

is

like

in

part

in

heaven

you

get

little

tastes

of it

little

pieces

of it

little

whispers

of it

and

then

we

go

out

and

we

bring

this

message

to

everybody

that

we

see

because

again

verses

16

to

20

Jesus

is

calling

us

like

he

is

calling

his

disciples

his

apostles

this

is

what

it

says

passing

alongside

the

sea

of

Galilee

Jesus

saw

Simon

and

Andrew

the

brother

of

Simon

casting

a net

into

the

sea

for

they

were

fishermen

and

Jesus

said

to

them

follow

me

and

I

will

make

you

fishers

of

men

fishers

of

men

Jesus

is

calling

us

to

follow

him

calling

the

disciples

to

follow

him

it

wasn't

like

regular

rabbis

at the

time

for a

couple

reasons

number

one

you don't

follow

the

rabbi

you

follow

the

Torah

you

follow

the

teachings

the

rabbi

the

teacher

follow

the

law

follow

me

as

I

exposit

the

ten

commandments

or

something

he

says

follow

me

pattern

your

life

after

me

he

is

communicating

his

authority

his

divine

authority

and

also

he

is

inviting

the

disciples

into

his

own

ministry

this

is

what

it

says

I

will

make

you

become

fishers

of

men

and

these

were

fishermen

Jesus

went

right

to

them

they

didn't

clean

up

their

act

after

two

three

years

of

devotion

to

the

Bible

or

to

whatever

Jesus

went

to

them

straight

to

where

they

were

and

called

them

right

where

they

were

from

and

that's

what

he

does

for

us

we

don't

come

to

God

because

we

have

cleaned

up

lives

we

come

to

him

because

we

recognize

our

desperate

need

for

him

and

he

doesn't

say

come

and

and

you'll

be

rock

stars

overnight

what

does

he

say

to

his

disciples

he

says

I

will

make

you

become

fishers

of