HERE COMES THE SON

 SERMON: HERE COMES THE SON

Mark 1:1, 14-15

INTRODUCTION

Mark begins his book by telling us it is the gospel of Jesus Christ. “Gospel” means “good news”. The word gospel comes from the Old English word “godspel” which means a good story or good news.  

Most of us automatically translate the word “of” in verse 1 to “about” as the NIV does. And certainly, the gospel is about Jesus Christ. But the gospel is also “of Jesus Christ” in that it is the gospel from him, the good news he proclaimed.

In verse 14, we see Jesus begin to preach the good news of, or from, God. He said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.”

TIME FULFILLED

What did Jesus mean by “the time is fulfilled”? He meant the time had come for God, in the person of Christ, to visit this sinful world and begin to rule it.  The word for time here means a significant moment in time that affects everything that comes after it. 

The Israelites looked forward to the specific moment in time when the Messiah would come. The Old Testament had many prophecies that this would occur. All the way back to the Garden, at the fall of man, God said the woman would have an offspring who would defeat Satan. (Genesis 3:15)

God promised Abraham that his descendant would be a blessing to all people (Genesis 12:3). Paul, in Galatians 3:7-9, tells us this prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 

Moses foretold the coming of a prophet like him and said the people should listen to him. (Deuteronomy 18) We know that the Jews looked for that prophet, since, after Jesus fed the 5,000, the people proclaimed him to be this prophet. (John 6:14) 

In 2nd Samuel 12:7, we read of God promising David a descendant whose kingdom will last forever. The Jews longed for this king to rule them in glory as David had. 

Isaiah prophesied that God would give a virgin a son called Immanuel, which means God with us. (Isaiah 7:14) 

The Old Testament contains many more prophecies of the coming of Christ and his salvation at the time set by God. The Jews heard these read and explained week by week ih the synagogues and longed to know when it would happen. It was not unlike the way we now look for Jesus to return. 

But here at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus himself proclaimed it: the time has come! He is the promised one and he is here. He is here at the time in history God prepared for him to appear. 1 Peter 1:20 says “He was foreknown (chosen) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for you. 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND (HAS COME NEAR)

The Jews longed for the restoration of their kingdom. They knew the stories of David and Solomon and the greatness of their kingdoms. They also knew the story of God sending their nation into exile in Babylon and God bringing them back to their own land.  

But, they saw themselves as still in a form of exile because, despite the fact that they had returned to their land, they did not rule it. The Romans ruled it, even appointing their high priest. A Roman garrison overlooked the Temple. Roman garrisons were placed in various cities. Roman soldiers were always available to quash rebellions and keep the Jews in submission.

They believed the Messiah, as the greater son of David, would be a warrior king who would throw off the Roman yoke and restore the kingdom to the greatness it had under David. 

Jesus’ disciples thought this even after spending years with him. As Jesus was about to ascend to heaven they asked him if this was the time when he would restore the kingdom to Israel. (Acts 1:6) 

But Jesus had proclaimed that the kingdom of God, not of the Jewish race, was at hand. The kingdom of God is where God rules. It is both a present reality and a future hope. 

It became a present reality when Jesus appeared. That is why he said the kingdom is at hand. The kingdom comes with the king. 

Jesus continually talked about the kingdom. He refers to it 15 times in Mark’s gospel and about 50 times in Matthew. 

Mark repeatedly shows Jesus expanding the kingdom as he casts demons from people. He invades the kingdom of Satan, whose kingdom dominated the earth, and shows his authority over Satan. He would later say: “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”. (Matthew 28:18) 

In that authority, he instructed his disciples to go into all nations. He told them he would empower the church so that the very gates of hell could not prevail against it. The kingdom of God is more powerful than the kingdom of Satan because God is more powerful than Satan. 

Jesus also expanded the kingdom of God by preaching all over Galilee and Judea. He also called apostles, men he would send to make disciples of all nations. And today, when we proclaim the gospel to the lost, we too participate in the expansion of the kingdom.

Every person who commits his or her life to Christ moves from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God. Colossians 1:13 says that God delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. 

Like Jesus and the apostles, we work to expand the kingdom of God through the proclamation of the gospel. We do that in our city. We do that through the missionaries we send and fund through the Cooperative Program. We do that with those we send out on our church mission trips.

College students, when you witness to your friends, or bring them to church, and they come to Christ, you are expanding God’s kingdom and bringing glory to God. 

Not only is the kingdom a present reality, it is a future hope. Some say the kingdom is inaugurated but not consummated. The kingdom will not be fully realized on earth until Jesus returns and Satan’s defeat is final. 

All those who rejected Christ are cast out to eternal punishment. Those who believed and committed themselves to Christ are allowed into the new heavens and earth where there is no evil or suffering. God will dwell among them in this new creation. 

REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL

Although may of the Jews had looked forward to the coming of the Messiah and King, they were not spiritually ready to enter the kingdom. They were, in fact, enemies of God and his kingdom as sinners who had violated the laws of God and thereby rejected his rule over them. 

Adam did this in the Garden when he literally chose to believe Satan and not God. Ephesians 2:2 says all who are not in Christ follow the prince of the power of the air who works in the sons of disobedience. We have all followed suit as sinners.

So, Jesus tells them they must repent. Repent means to turn away from the life of sin and turn to follow Christ in obedience. It is more than remorse, although that is part of it. It is a commitment to turning away from the life devoted to self and sin and turning to following Jesus. 

A great picture of repentance is the tax collector Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector. They were known to get wealthy from their collections. When Zacchaeus came to Jesus, he vowed to give one half of his possessions to the poor and to pay back anyone he cheated 4 times over. (Luke 19:8) Jesus proclaimed that salvation had come to him. (Luke 19:9) 

Zaccheaus turned from his ways of cheating and toward Christ in obedience, even giving half of his possessions to the poor. 

Jesus also told them they must believe the gospel. The gospel is the good news that God sent his son who died for our sins and was raised to heaven. Those who believe in him will receive eternal life. They will have Jesus with them in this life through the Holy Spirit, heaven when they die, and a place in the restored creation at the end of this age.

So, Jesus placed each person he confronted with a dilemma. They could believe and become part of God’s kingdom. Believers are citizens of heaven according to Philippians 3:20.

In the alternative, they could reject Jesus. We will see in Mark, and in all the gospel accounts, how the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders rejected Jesus. They did not believe he was the Messiah or the Son of God despite his miracles. John 3:18 tells us those who reject Jesus are condemned. 

That dilemma of decision has come for some of you today. If you have not committed your life to Christ and received him as savior and lord, you stand subject to God’s condemnation just as the unbelieving Pharisees did. 

But, you can come to Christ today. Believe in him and commit your life to him, and you can be saved from eternal punishment and given eternal life with Jesus and all those who believe in him. 

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