Epiphany 3 –
Series B (January 21, 2018)
“The Kingdom of God is at Hand” (Mark 1:14-20)
INI
Jesus announces the arrival of his kingdom. The time is fulfilled. The wait is over. The Messiah is here. Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. The kingdom of God is at hand. God is on the scene in the flesh of
Jesus. He is staring you right in the
face. God has visited his people. That’s what the priest Zechariah said when it
was announced to him that he would have a son: “Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:68). Zechariah’s son John would grow up and be the
one to preach to the people and prepare them for the arrival of the
Messiah. Many people from Judea and
Jerusalem went to him in the wilderness, confessed their sins, and were
baptized by John in the Jordan River.
That’s why we call him John the Baptist or John the Baptizer.
But John stirred up more than just the water in
the Jordan. He got Herod Antipas ticked
off at him. At the time, Herod Antipas
was the ruler of Galilee – up north – and Perea, the region to the east of the
Jordan River. John had been publicly
criticizing Herod for his incestuous marriage to his brother’s wife, who also
happened to be his niece. And for all
this, Herod locked John up in prison.
When you publicly speak out against the ruling authorities, you better
be prepared for the consequences … even if you are speaking the truth, as John
was.
Our text today begins after John was
arrested. Mark has Jesus heading into
Galilee after John’s arrest. It was time
for him to begin his public ministry.
You’d think that Jesus would head to Jerusalem, the place of the temple
and the religious establishment. But for
Jesus, it was not yet time to confront the leaders in Jerusalem. That was coming, certainly. Perhaps he decided to go to Galilee
specifically at this time to challenge the authority of Herod Antipas, in his
own territory. Jesus goes to the place
of Herod’s rule and reign to announce and to demonstrate the rule and reign of God. Galilee does not belong to Herod. It belongs to Jesus. Jerusalem does not belong to the scribes and
Pharisees or even the Romans. It belongs
to Jesus. The whole world belongs to
Jesus. The whole universe belongs to
Jesus.
But you and I and every other sinner in the world
like to be in charge of our own kingdom.
We like to be the center of our universe, not God. We like to rule and reign our own lives,
doing what we think is right, doing what feels right. The watchwords of the day are “listen to your
heart” … “follow your heart.” This, in
spite of the fact that the prophet Jeremiah rightly declared, “the heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer.
17:9). That does not sound like a sound
source of direction.
We are also tempted to fear the kingdoms of this
world more than we trust in God and his kingdom. There are authorities and authority figures
who challenge God’s authority constantly, who permit things that are contrary
to Holy Scripture. And as God’s
representatives, Christians are caught in the crossfire … sometimes
figuratively, sometimes literally. We are
to obey the authorities over us insofar as their laws do not conflict with the
Word of God. But when they do conflict,
we must obey God rather than men. The
authority of Jesus challenges this world’s authority even today. Both our hearts and our consciences must be
captive to the Word of God.
The kingdom of God is present in the presence of
Jesus. How should one react? If God is present, what is our rightful
response? Repent and believe the gospel. It’s time to repent. Don’t waste time in doing so. Can you hear the urgency in Jesus’
words? “The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand.” Can you hear
the urgency in Paul’s words in today’s Epistle?
“The appointed time has grown short … the present form of this world is
passing away.” Paul and the other
disciples were under the impression that the return of Jesus was imminent. And even if the return of Jesus is still hundreds
of years away, we should still have the expectation that he will return at any
moment. So, what do we do with the time
we have? Are you making the most of the
time God has given you? There’s nothing
wrong with leisure and rest and vacation time, for sure. We need that … to recharge and refresh. Even Jesus got away sometimes to deserted
places. But laziness or complacency have
no place in the kingdom. If Jesus rules
and reigns now, and if he is coming again soon, then this should certainly
affect the way we live now.
So, what do we do?
We do what Jesus says. Repent and
believe the Gospel.
Repent.
That is, turn away from your sins.
Have a change of heart and mind.
Repent like the people of Ninevah did when they heard the preaching of
the reluctant prophet Jonah. Repent of
our sins of laziness and complacency when it comes to the things of God and his
Word. Repent of the ways in which we
have followed our heart when it has led us in courses of action that are not
God-pleasing. Repent of our failure to
confess Christ clearly as individuals and as a church because of our fear of
how the secular society around us will respond.
Repent … and believe the Gospel. That word means “Good News.” Now, I assume you all know what the Gospel
is. But before we say why it is good
news here, I want to talk about how Mark unpacks it for us. He doesn’t quite define it for us here … not
just yet. The Gospel for Mark is the
reign of God in Jesus demonstrated, unfolded, unpacked in the chapters
following today’s reading.
It begins with the kingdom being reconstituted
through the call of the first disciples.
Today, Jesus calls four Galilean fisherman to follow him. He calls more later…eight more, to be exact,
to be his Apostles. Twelve men …
corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, to be the beginnings of the New
Israel, the Holy Church sent out to fish for men as they proclaim the Gospel …
to catch people in the net of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. And the Holy Spirit by the power of the Word pulls
in to the boat those whom he will.
The kingdom is reconstituted in the
Apostles. Then the rule and reign of God
is demonstrated in the works of Jesus.
Jesus casts out demons to prove his power over Satan’s opposition to
God’s rule and reign. Jesus heals the sick,
makes lepers clean, makes a paralytic walk, reversing the effects of living in
a sin-broken world. Jesus forgives the
sin of that same paralytic, and thereby comforts the hearts of all those who
think that they are broken because of their own particular sins. Jesus has power over nature. He feeds the multitudes. He calms the raging storm. All creation groans now, but Jesus pictures
for us the way in which God will one day restore all things. A new heaven and new earth is coming. Jesus also raises the dead. This is a preview of our Lord’s own
resurrection and the resurrection to eternal life that he promises to all who
believe in him. All of this is a preview
of the wholeness of body and soul and all creation that will finally be made
complete when he returns.
Yes, all this is Good News. It is the Good News demonstrated all the way
to the cross. Jesus foretold his
suffering and death three times in Mark’s Gospel … in chapter 8, chapter 9, and
chapter 10. And finally, in chapter
10:45 – right before his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem – Jesus reveals the
meaning of his death. He says, “The Son
of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.” It’s only through the death of
Jesus that our sins are atoned for. It’s
only through the death of Jesus that our sins are forgiven. It’s only through faith in this death that we
receive his forgiveness. It’s only through
faith in this death that we can enter into and live in God’s kingdom, now and
in eternity. And this kingdom is near to
you today … present for you … staring you right in the face … in these words
you have been hearing, and on this altar today. The kingdom of God is at hand.
God is on the scene here in the body and blood of Jesus, given and shed for you.
God visits his people today. Repent and believe
the gospel.
INI
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