GOSPEL READING:
Mark 1:14-2014 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." 16 And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.
Meditation: What is the Gospel of God which Jesus
came to preach? The word "gospel" literally means "good news".
When a king had good news to deliver to his subjects he sent
messengers or heralds throughout the land to make a public
announcement - such as the birth of a newborn king or the victory
over an invading army or occupied force. God sent his prophets to
announce the coming of God's anointed King and Messiah. After
Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan and anointed by the Spirit
he begins his ministry of preaching the Gospel - the good news
that the kingdom of God was now at hand for all who were ready to
receive it.
God rules over all
What is the kingdom of God? The word "kingdom" means something
more than a territory or an area of land. It literally means
"sovereignty" or "reign" and the power to "rule" and exercise
authority. The prophets announced that God would establish a
kingdom not just for one nation or people but for the whole world.
The Scriptures tell us that God's throne is in heaven and his rule
is over all (Psalm 103:19). His kingdom is bigger and more
powerful than anything we can imagine because it is universal and
everlasting (Daniel 4:3). His kingdom is full of glory, power, and
splendor (Psalm 145:11-13).
In the Book of Daniel we are told that this kingdom is given to
the Son of Man (Daniel 7:14,18,22,27). The Son of Man
is a Messianic title for God's anointed King. The New Testament
word for "Messiah" is "Christ" which literally means the "Anointed
One" or the "Anointed King". God sent us his Son not to establish
an earthly kingdom but to bring us into his heavenly kingdom - a
kingdom ruled by truth, justice, peace, and holiness. The kingdom
of God is the central theme of Jesus' mission. It's the core of
his gospel message.
As soon as John the Baptist had finished his testimony, Jesus
began his in Galilee, his home district. John's enemies had sought
to silence him, but the gospel cannot be silenced. Jesus
proclaimed that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God
is at hand. Jesus takes up John's message of repentance and
calls disciples to believe in the gospel - the good news he
has come to deliver. What is the good news which Jesus
delivers? It is the good news of peace (restoration of
relationship with God - Ephesians 6:15), of hope (the hope of
heaven and everlasting life - Colossians 1:23), of truth (God's
word is true and reliable - Colossians 1:5), of promise (he
rewards those who seek him - Ephesians 3:6)), of immortality (God
gives everlasting life - 2 Timothy 1:10), and the good news of
salvation (liberty from sin and freedom to live as sons and
daughters of God - Ephesians 1:13).
Two conditions for the kingdom - repent and believe
How do we enter the kingdom of God? In announcing the good news,
Jesus gave two explicit things each of us must do to in order to
receive the kingdom of God: repent and believe. When we
submit to Christ's rule in our lives and believe the gospel
message the Lord Jesus gives us the grace and power to live a new
way of life as citizens of his kingdom. He gives us grace to
renounce the kingdom of darkness ruled by sin and Satan, the
father of lies (John 8:44) and the ruler of this present world
(John 12:31). That is why repentance is the first step.
Repentance means to change - to change my way of thinking, my
attitude, disposition, and life choices so that Christ can be the
Lord and Master of my heart rather than sin, selfishness, and
greed. If we are only sorry for the consequences of our sins, we
will very likely keep repeating the sin that is mastering us. True
repentance requires a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17) and sorrow for
sin and a firm resolution to avoid it in the future. The Lord
Jesus gives us grace to see sin for what it really is - a
rejection of his love and wisdom for our lives and a refusal to do
what is good and in accord with his will. His grace brings pardon
and help for turning away from everything that would keep us from
his love and truth.
To believe is to take Jesus at his word and to recognize that God
loved us so much that he sent his only begotten Son to free us
from bondage to sin and harmful desires. God made the supreme
sacrifice of his Son on the cross to bring us back to a
relationship of peace and friendship with himself. He is our
Father and he wants us to live as his sons and daughters. God
loved us first and he invites us in love to surrender our lives to
him. Do you believe that the gospel -the good news of Jesus - has
power to free you from bondage to sin and fear?
Like fishermen - we are called to gather in people for the
kingdom of Christ
When Jesus preached the gospel message he called others to follow
as his disciples and he gave them a mission - "to catch people for
the kingdom of God." What kind of disciples did he choose? Smelly
fishermen! In the choice of the first apostles we see a
characteristic feature of Jesus' work: he chose very
ordinary people. They were non-professionals, had no wealth or
position. They were chosen from the common people who did ordinary
things, had no special education, and no social advantages. Jesus
wanted ordinary people who could take an assignment and do it
extraordinarily well. He chose these individuals, not for what
they were, but for what they would be capable of becoming under
his direction and power.
When the Lord calls us to serve, we must not think we have
nothing to offer. The Lord takes what ordinary people, like us,
can offer and uses it for greatness in his kingdom. Do you believe
that God wants to work in and through you for his glory?
Jesus speaks the same message to us today: we will "catch people"
for the kingdom of God if we allow the light of Jesus Christ to
shine through us. God wants others to see the light of Christ in
us in the way we live, speak, and witness the joy of the gospel.
Paul the Apostles says, But thanks be to God, who in Christ
Jesus always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the
fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the
aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among
those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:15). Do you witness
to those around you the joy of the Gospel and do you pray for your
neighbors, co-workers, and relatives that they may come to know
the Lord Jesus Christ and grow in the knowledge of his love?
Lord Jesus, you have called me personally by name, just as you called your first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John. Help me to believe your word and follow you faithfully. Fill me with the joy of the gospel that your light may shine through me to many others.
Psalm 116:12-19
12 What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,
14 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid. You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Common people on an uncommon mission, by Eusebius of Caesarea (260/263-340 AD)
"Reflect on the nature and grandeur of the one Almighty God who could associate himself with the poor of the lowly fisherman's class. To use them to carry out God's mission baffles all rationality. For having conceived the intention, which no one ever before had done, of spreading his own commands and teachings to all nations, and of revealing himself as the teacher of the religion of the one Almighty God to all humanity, he thought good to use the most unsophisticated and common people as ministers of his own design. Maybe God just wanted to work in the most unlikely way. For how could inarticulate folk be made able to teach, even if they were appointed teachers to only one person, much less to a multitude? How should those who were themselves without education instruct the nations?... When he had thus called them as his followers, he breathed into them his divine power, and filled them with strength and courage. As God himself he spoke God's true word to them in his own way, enabling them to do great wonders, and made them pursuers of rational and thinking souls, by empowering them to come after him, saying: 'Come, follow me, and I will make you fish for people' (Mark 1:17, Matthew 4:19). With this empowerment God sent them forth to be workers and teachers of holiness to all the nations, declaring them heralds of his own teaching." (excerpt from PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 3.7)
