READ: Mark 1:14-20: … Jesus came … saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” … Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”
After His ordination and passing of the divine test of satanic temptation, Jesus begins His actual work as Priest-King, Prophet, and Teacher. His preaching is surprising and profound, not a moralistic story about doing good works. Jesus preaches that something incredibly great is about to happen: God’s prophecies from the Old Testament are coming true! It has taken a long time, centuries even, but now the time of fulfilment has come. It is the fullness of time.
The good news is that God looks after His people in His own time, and His kingdom is near. His own coming and presence are the hard evidence of this. However, in order to accept it, we need both repentance and faith. Repentance leads you to no longer expect salvation from yourself or your good works, to acknowledge that you need a Redeemer. Repentance is where you see and confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. And in addition to repentance, we also need faith in this wonderful Gospel of the Kingdom as the fulfillment of the prophecies and in the coming King-Priest who will establish this Kingdom.
He Himself is the fulfillment of all God’s promises, the Christ through whom God looks after His people. He is the Gospel. With this Gospel, Jesus goes around the region where He lives, Galilee, bringing to everyone a choice: to follow Him as the Savior of their sins or not. Jesus wants His Gospel to be spread as widely and powerfully as possible.
He chooses His servants, His disciples, for this purpose. These are people who follow Him in faith wherever He goes, who receive His teachings and pass them on. They will testify about Him not only during His life but also afterwards. In this way, Jesus takes possession of people, simple fishermen, to make them fishers of men. He is the King!
How do the Lord also take possession of you for His kingdom?
Singing: Ps.135:1