Good News
Notes
Transcript
Good News
Mark 1:14-15
Take your Bibles and turn to the first chapter of the gospel of Mark. We are beginning a new series called: “Encounters: Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.”
We find the key or theme verse for the gospel of Mark in chapter ten, verse forty-five, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom.” It’s unbelievable that the King of the universe would come to serve those who should serve him, and give his life as a ransom to save them. But that is what Jesus did.
Therefore, for sixteen chapters Mark will show how Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for sin. That is the good news. But, it’s not new news.
Isaiah declared the gospel in the first eleven verses of chapter forty. That God was going to pardon sin, not only for Israel, but also for the whole world by revealing his glory. This was good news for Israel, the world, and for us. Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the good news f
Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the good news.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the good news.
Notice verse one of chapter one in Mark’s gospel, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” You can also translate “gospel” good news. Jesus is the good news. This is the news that God has been declaring throughout the Old Testament, especially Isaiah chapter forty.
Notice verses two and three, “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare you way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” The very next verse tells us John the Baptist appeared, and was the fulfillment of this prophecy. God’s glory is revealed in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The first thirteen verses show us how Jesus was prepared for his ministry to serve and give his life as a ransom. John baptized him, the Holy Spirit descended upon him at the Baptism, and God the Father spoke his favor upon his Son. Soon after, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus to the wilderness where he is tempted for forty-days by Satan.
After the time of preparation in the first thirteen verses, Jesus begins his ministry. The first words that Jesus speaks in the gospel of Mark are found in verse fourteen and fifteen. Jesus expressed the good news in the message he proclaimed.
Jesus expressed the good news in the message he proclaimed.
Jesus expressed the good news in the message he proclaimed.
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God…” Mark doesn’t get into detail about what happened to John, at least not until we get to chapter six. He wanted to indicate that when Jesus started his ministry John the Baptist was finishing his. It’s interesting that John and Jesus’ ministry ended the same way. Both were handed over and put to death. Can I jus say this: Following Christ is dangerous. That is not the western gospel prosperity and comfort, but it is the true Gospel. Following Jesus is dangerous.
Jesus begins his ministry in the region of Galilee. This was a fulfillment of Isaiah chapter nine were God said light will shine in Galilee. That is good news.
The Greek word “euangellion” is the word that we translate “gospel.” It is a compound word in the Greek. Combining the word “anngelos,” which means “a message,” and the word “eu”, which means joyful. The gospel is good news because it is a joyful message.
When it was used during the days of Jesus, the word didn’t have religious connotations like it does in the Bible. It was joyful news because it was news that changed history and changed lives. When a battle or war was won, the messenger would come with joyful news to the winning King that the battle is over, the victory is won, and we are free from being slaves. Things will never be the same.
Now, put that into the context of the New Testament, and you find gospel of God. That is what Jesus is proclaiming, a joyful message from God, a message that is drastically different from any other life-changing message in history.
Jesus proclaims the content of his message in verse fifteen, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” This verse has two indicatives and two imperatives. The indicatives reveal the nature of the good news. First, it is good news because God is at work.
God is at work.
God is at work.
The first indicative, “The time is fulfilled” is full of meaning. The Greek word for time is “kairos,” which is different from the Greek word “chronos.” Whereas “chronos” is scheduled time, “kairos” is opportune time, or decisive time. “Chronos” speaks of being on time. “Kairos” speaks of the right time, when the opportunity is right.
The verb fulfilled is in the perfect tense. This means that what Jesus is announcing is already in a state of fulfillment. The very use of the word “beginning” in verse one signals that God is fulfilling his prophecies, his promises, his word. God is at work.
When Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled,” he is taking into eternity past, where God determined before the foundation of the world that he would send his Son to be the ransom for sin. God was working in eternity, before time came into existence.
Jesus is also taking us back to history, specifically, Old Testament history and how he is now going to bring to fulfillment his promises. Throughout history God has been working out his plan of redemption, and Jesus is the fulfillment of that plan.
Jesus also forces us to look into the future. The word “beginning” reveals that the arrival of Jesus Christ into redemptive history is the beginning of the end. The next act in God’s redemptive plan is the Return of Jesus, and the consummation of his kingdom. God is at work.
How does that help the person who is looking for restoration in a marriage? How does that help a couple trying to have children, but have been unsuccessful? How does that help people are battling cancer, or MS, or some other life threatening, life debilitating disease? How does that help the person needing a job? How can this good news get these people through the next year?
For the child of God, it is good news because God is still at work, and he is still working in your life. If you know Jesus, the God who is working out his plan is doing so in and through you. He will bring his work in you to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.
Some may ask: “If God is at work, why am I in this situation that I’m in?” Let me just say that God’s destiny for your life consists of two things: a place to go, and a person to become. One day, the child of God will be with Jesus. Until that day, God’s destiny for our life is to conform us into the image of his Son. We will be with Jesus in the future, but we are becoming like Jesus now, and it is painful.
Charles Spurgeon had some good words: “Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, Divine love would have put you there.” Salvation now is God working in you to make you more like Jesus. If there were a better condition for God to meet that goal, he would put you there. God is working. The words that Jesus speaks are good news because God is near.
God is near.
God is near.
The second indicative says, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” The kingdom of God is the gospel of God. But what exactly is the kingdom of God?
The first three chapters of the book of Genesis help us understand the kingdom of God. In the first two chapters we have a perfect world, where Adam and Even are submitting to the kingly rule of God. He is their King and they are his subjects. But something goes terribly wrong.
In the third chapter of Genesis, Adam and Eve decided to become kings themselves. However, to do so would mean that they would have to rebel against God, and they did. But, they didn’t become the kings they thought they would. Instead, they became inhabitants of a world cursed by sin, a world where relationships are destroyed by self-centeredness prevails, a world in moral mess.
But remember, God is at work, and he is accomplishing his plan, a plan to restore creation to its original design, but this could only be done by removing the curse of sin, and that is why Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the good news. He came to give his life as a ransom to remove the curse of sin.
Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is hat hand.” The kingdom of God is not out of reach, but in reach. The kingdom is near.
This is what makes the gospel drastically different from other religions. Notice verse five of chapter one, “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him…” The people were going out to John the Baptist. However, verse fourteen tells us that Jesus Christ came to the people.
That is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to go to God; he comes to us. He comes to us in our bondage. He comes to us in our deep darkness and moral mess. He comes to us in our sinfulness, and brokenness.
The gospel is good news about what God has done to reach us. It’s not advice on what we need to do to reach God. (Tim Keller).
God has come near to us. His name is Jesus. He comes near and says, “I will make you whole. I will restore what sin has destroyed. I will change your life forever.” God is near, and that is good news. It’s also good news because God is for you.
God is for you.
God is for you.
God is working out his redemption in Jesus. He has brought this redemption near, within reach for all. When you reach out and receive Jesus, you find that God is no longer against you, but for you.
When you become a child of the kingdom, through Jesus Christ, you are totally accepted by God. You are no longer condemned for judgment. This acceptance has nothing to do with how good your past has been. It has nothing to do with how well you perform. Your acceptance before God is not based on you, but on Jesus.
In Christ, you are not accepted by your performance, but Christ’s performance. You are not accepted by how well you did in the past. You are accepted because of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary. When you are in Christ, the good news from Jesus is the battle is over, and the victory is won. You are no longer a slave to sin and death, but now you are free, free to be all that I have destined you to be. Of course, for this news to be good news for you, you must respond. You must respond to the imperatives that Jesus gives to experience the good news.
You must respond to the good news to experience it.
You must respond to the good news to experience it.
What do you need to do to experience the good news of the kingdom of God? Repent and believe. God is at work fulfilling his plan of redemption, he has brought in reach for all to experience, but you must repent and believe.
Repentance is a heart change that leads to a drastic direction change in your life. You turn from sin and self, and then you turn to Jesus, and believe in Jesus. Belief in Jesus is more than believing facts. Belief and trust in Jesus is a commitment of one’s life to the gospel.
When you repent and believe, you are telling King Jesus that you want his kingly rule in your heart and life. It means that you are making Jesus the priority of your life. He must have priority over your family, your career, over everything.
Good news for the New Year: God is at work, he has come near, and he is for you. All you have to do is repent, believe, and follow him.
For some this morning, Christ is calling you to experience the good news for the very first time. Jesus is here today. He has come to you. He has come to you where you are in life, as you are in life, and he says, “follow me. I will change your life. I will change your status and destiny forever.
And for those who have already experienced the good news of Jesus: “Is Jesus’ kingship ruling your heart, ruling your life? Is Jesus the priority of your life? Surrender to his kingship today, and for the next 360 days of this year.
ADVERTISEMENT