The Most Important Verse in the Bible (Mark 1:14-15) | 5/5/19
Mark 1:14-15 | 5/5/19 | Will DuVal
Friends, I’m here to tell you this morning, AS your pastor, that Mark, ch.1, v.15, is as good as it gets in Scripture. It’s all downhill from here. Now, make no mistake: it’s ALL good. All of God’s WORD is good. All equally inspired, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, training in righteousness, YES. But it’s not all equally CENTRAL. Just like in ANY good story, there is a CLIMAX to this story, a center-point of Scripture, to which the rest of the Bible is pointing and BUILDING all the way through. And as I’ve so BOLDLY titled this morning’s message, I think this is it. THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT verse, in all of the Bible.
That’s quite a pronouncement! So before we dive in, let me try and SUPPORT my claim. Justify my title.
In Romans 1:16, Paul tells us “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”. WOAH! Now just STOP, and consider everything that Paul wraps into that one verse alone:
1) That I need saving. Here’s the bottom line according to Romans 1: God is Holy, He created ME for holiness, He wants holiness FOR me, but I’m not. I’m sinful. And that makes for a MASSIVE relationship problem, with a Holy God. So I need saving.
2) God does save. Paul says, “there is a POWER from God... FOR salvation.” That should cause us to respond – “Well what IS it?! God - GIVE ME this power, to be saved, to be reconciled to You...”
3) Paul identifies God’s saving power for us: the GOSPEL. The GOSPEL is the power of God for salvation. The euanggelion. The “good news”. News? “News that SAVES me?”, we ask. How does that work?
Last point, 4) The GOSPEL is God’s saving power... how? for WHOM? “To everyone who believes”. So according to the Bible: we’re sinful, we need saving, God WANTS to save us, and He’s made it possible... through some GOOD NEWS, that I need to HEAR, and UNDERSTAND, and RESPOND TO by believing... TRUSTING... for salvation.
So what’s the obvious question we’re left with then?
“WHAT’S THE NEWS?!?” What’s the news, that I need to believe?
And before I give you the answer, I want to give YOU a crack at it. We do this every week in my LG. Remind one another of the gospel. Evangelize one another. Because if we’re gonna be a GOSPEL-centered church, and a MISSIONS-driven church, whose vision is to reach all of St. Louis and BEYOND with the good news, we better make sure that WE actually KNOW it first!
So what IS the gospel?
All good definitions. The reason Mark 1:15 is the most important verse in the Bible, is that in Mark 1:15, Jesus HIMSELF, is going to define the gospel. The very power of God for salvation. From the lips of the Savior himself.
So would you stand with me as you’re able... Mark ch.1, vv14-15:
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;[e]repent and believe in the gospel.”
This is the word – the GOSPEL – of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray...
We left off last week in v11 of Mark 1, with John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. To fulfill all righteousness, and to inaugurate, to officially kick-off, the public, earthly ministry of Jesus. And the very NEXT thing we hear from Mark, is that “IMMEDIATELY”, the Holy Spirit who had descended on Jesus AT His baptism, “drove him out into the wilderness, to be tempted by Satan”, vv12-13. Now, John was already BAPTIZING in the wilderness, v4, so this must have been like the WILDERNESS. Okay? Like, if Jesus got baptized in St. Charles, NOW he’s sent out to O’FALLON. We’re talking, the STICKS! But Mark only gives us 2 verses on Satan’s temptation, so I’m gonna save that sermon for a future series in Matthew or Luke, and we will jump to vv14-15, where Jesus RETURNS, to Galilee, and Mark informs us that John the Baptist has been arrested, but most significantly in v14, Mark sets up v15 by telling us that Jesus came “proclaiming the GOSPEL of God”. Now after hearing Romans 1:16, we should all be paying FULL attention at this point. “Tell us, Jesus - What IS the good news?”
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”.
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Say it with me, would you? “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Again - “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
If you only have ONE verse of the Bible memorized, it should be this one; so KEN - without the words this time, please: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Now, if your agnostic neighbor asks you about the gospel, and you tell him ““The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”, he’s PROBABLY going to politely but quickly send his kids back inside the house and draw the blinds because it SOUNDS like the kind of thing you’d say right before you pull out a weapon. Or at least a soapbox and a megaphone. This is, by ALL accounts, to 21st c. Western ears, a bizarre statement. But for CHRISTIANS, it’s the most important statement in the entire BIBLE, in all of HISTORY. So we need to be REALLY clear in our understanding of what Jesus means, so that we can TRANSLATE it for others, into American-ese today.
So let’s unpack it, biblically. And I’ll just warn you: this sermon is going be extremely BIBLICAL, but not the most personal. I will try and leave you with some personal takeaways at the end, but I’m going to spend the bulk of the message simply DEFINING the gospel as Jesus articulates it, and perhaps surprisingly, the good news really isn’t ABOUT you. Or me. At its heart, its core. I want to show you from Scripture that the good news is SOOO much BIGGER, and so much BETTER, than if it focused just on you or me. God’s got a whole KINGDOM in mind. Spanning all of HISTORY. And we are NOT, in fact, the main act; certainly not the protagonists. We’re not even up for best supporting actor/actress. We are relatively minor characters in God’s unfolding drama, who are MADE important. MADE significant, by our protagonist and AUTHOR, who graciously writes us into HIS story. So here we go:
Jesus offers 3 separate phrases here, so let’s take each in turn.
First: “The time is fulfilled.” Now, we emphasized this last week that Jesus didn’t show up in a vacuum. He didn’t arrive on a scene DEVOID of context; the Bible doesn’t start in Mark ch.1. Mark reminds us, with John the Baptist and his fulfillment of prophecies from the Books of Exodus, Isaiah, AND Malachi, that Jesus stepped into a LOT of context. THOUSANDS OF YEARS of context. 2/3 of the BIBLE worth of context. The Old Testament. And so when Jesus opens his mouth for the first time, this LANDMARK, WATERSHED moment, it is SIGNFICANT, that he too, begins, by recognizing that. When Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled”, first of all, we need to recognize He’s talking TO a Jewish audience that would APPRECIATE his context. He’s in GALILEE. Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:24 that he was sent FIRST to the Jews. Paul reminds us of that, in the second half of Romans 1:16 actually – “the gospel... is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” So we’ve gotta hear Jesus through 1st c. JEWISH ears here. And what would EVERY 1st c. Jew listening to a guy who moments ago, God parted the clouds and proclaimed to be his very own beloved SON, what would they hear, when next, Jesus says: “The time is fulfilled”? Well, they would hear:
Zechariah 9:9-11
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey...
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea...
11 Because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free...”
They would hear: Micah 5:2-5
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah...
from you shall come forth for me [for GOD]
one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days...
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace.
They would hear: Ezekiel 34:
“Thus says the Lord God... I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak... I will feed them in justice... I will rescue[b] my flock; they shall no longer be a prey... 23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.24 And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord; I have spoken. (vv11-16; 22-24)
Friends, Ezekiel’s writing from exile in Babylon 400 years after David’s death. He’s not prophesying David; he’s prophesying a NEW David. A NEW... KING for God’s people.
Isaiah 9:1-7
But there will be no gloom for... [WHO?] Galilee of the nations.
2 [c] The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone...
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon[d] his shoulder,
and his name shall be called[e]
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of [Who?] David, and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
And for THOUSANDS and thousands of years now, as a people, the nation of Israel has been collectively saying, “Bring it ON! God - we’ve been enslaved in Egypt, threatened by the Philistines, conquered by the Assyrians, exiled by the Babylonians, ruled by the Persians and Greeks, and now PERSECUTED and ABUSED by the Romans... so God - ANY DAY you want to send that Messiah, usher in that day, of PEACE, and hope, and freedom, and justice, that light in the darkness, God Himself, DIVINELY shepherding us again, our “Wonderful Counselor and Mighty God” replacing Pharaoh, and Nebuchadnezzar, and Caesar, to once again rule over us from David’s throne – that would be FANTASTIC!”
And Jesus tells them: “The time is fulfilled.” It’s time.
“Fulfilled” implies something ELSE had to happen first... Why not send JESUS instead of Moses, 1500 years earlier, just free the Israelites straight from slavery in Egypt and save the rest of the pain and trouble? Wasn’t time yet.
Why not a thousand years earlier? Send Jesus instead of David, the PERFECT king they TRULY needed? Wasn’t time yet.
Why not 500 years earlier and free them from exile? Wasn’t time yet.
Acts 1:7 – the FATHER fixes the times and seasons by HIS authority.
Daniel 2:21 – “HE changes times and seasons;
HE removes kings and sets up kings;”
Isa 46:9-10 “I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”
God established before the beginning of time ITSELF, exactly when, and where, and how Jesus would be sent to preach this gospel and CONSUMMATE the gospel, BECOME our good news, and it wouldn’t happen a moment too soon, or a second too late – Jesus says: NOW, it’s time.
Friends, if I could just give you one QUICK personal takeaway on this point: some of you feel like you are waiting, wanting, wandering, hoping and praying right now and you can’t understand why God is not coming through. Listen: Polly and I have struggled with infertility for 2 ½ years now since Ellery. And for 2 years before Ellery. I get it. I’m preaching to MYSELF. We either have to conclude that God has FORGOTTEN about us, or that He really does have a plan, and the time just isn’t fulfilled yet.
Galatians 4:4 “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son”
Romans 5:6 “at just the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Trust His timing. Keep holding on. Keep hoping and praying. God hasn’t forgotten you.
That’s the first phrase; what’s the second? “The time is fulfilled.” AND...WHAT? “ ...the kingdom of God is at hand”
The Greek verb is “EN-gi-ken”. The kingdom is AT HAND. It’s DRAWN NEAR. It is UPON YOU. It is... IN YOUR MIDST. In FRONT of you. Right under your noses. TALKING - TO - YOU!
It’s ME! When Jesus says, “The kingdom of God is EN-gi-ken”, he’s saying, “I’ve BROUGHT it. God’s Kingdom is now here, because I’m here; to fulfill it; to embody it.” In a nutshell, Jesus is saying, “I am King”. “JESUS is King”. And biblically, that is the shortest, most to the point, way that you can summarize the gospel without cheapening it one bit; someone asks you “What’s the gospel?” Tell them: “Jesus is King”.
Jesus is saying, “I’m your long-AWAITED king.” Zechariah’s humble king. Micah’s great ruler. Ezekiel’s servant shepherd. Isaiah’s Prince of Peace. I’m finally here.
If you don’t know much about OT history, I want to sum up the OT for you in our remaining 8 or so minutes, using this THEME of kingship. And if you’re a visual learner, I’ve included some REALLY unattractive visuals to go with it. Visual art is NOT my spiritual giftedness. But hopefully helpful nonetheless.
So in the beginning, God was King. Ruling Sovereignly over everything He created. One Kingdom.
Now, some time in ancient history between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis THREE:1, a SECOND Kingdom is born. One of God’s angels, Lucifer, in his pride, rejects God as King, rebels, and consequently is thrown OUT of God’s Kingdom, and now the Kingdom of HELL is born. Jesus himself CONFIRMS that Satan was given a kingdom BY God, in Matthew 12:26, and Luke 4:8-9. The NT calls Satan
2 Cor 4.4 “the god of this world”
Eph 2.2 “the prince of the power of the air”
John 12.31 “the ruler of this world”
Back to Genesis. And before we even get to ch. 2, we hear of a THIRD Kingdom. OUR Kingdom. Humanity’s. Because part of what it means to be created in God’s own image, is that he gave us “dominion over the earth”. Agency. Autonomy. Free will. And that goes okay. For 4 verses...
But in chapter THREE it all falls apart. Because of the influence of the second Kingdom – Satan’s – over OUR Kingdom. Satan convinces Adam and Eve that THEY would make better kings for themselves, calling the shots for THEMSELVES, than to go on submitting to GOD’S kingship and rule. So God gives them what they want. His rightful place on the throne of their hearts. God steps away. And lets us rule for ourselves. And within just 3 chapters, we hear that humanity has already devolved into a lying, idolatrous, vengeful, murderous, polygamous people, of whom God says “every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth” (Gen. 6:5-6).
So in His mercy and His GOODNESS, God starts over, in Act 3. First with Noah. Then with Abram. And later with Moses, then David. God is restoring his Kingdom rule within our earthly domain through a chosen people, who are specifically called out to be His KINGDOM people – Exodus 19:6 – and He tells THEM – Deut. 33:5 – that “I will be your king” once again. But the story of the rest of the OT, can basically be summed up as the Israelites REJECTING God as their king, over and over and over again, by making golden calves, worshipping the false gods of other nations, even explicitly asking for a human king like the other nations to replace God as king. But even Israel’s BEST kings were adulterous murderers. And so God’s people are led further astray, deeper into sin, and no amount of warning or rebuke from God’s anointed messengers, His PROPHETS, who constitute a full THIRD of the OT, seem to make much difference. We’ve made up our minds. WE want to rule instead. But the prophets DO give us glimpses of hope. Of a brighter future. A FULLY restored Kingdom. When God will return in the FLESH to rule IN PERSON as King once again. Zechariah 9. Micah 5. Ezekiel 34. Isaiah 9. Unto us a child will be born. Emmanuel. God WITH us. Not just speaking TO us. Not just existing NEAR us... in the ark of the covenant, in the Holy of Holies, accessible only once a year to a single designated high priest... not just God nearby, but God WITH us.
Which brings us to JESUS. And his pronouncement in Mark 1. Time’s up. Wait’s over. I’m here. Your long-awaited King.
Now, there is an Act 5 where God’s Kingdom actually ADVANCES in this world and pushes BACK the darkness; spoiler alert: we’re LIVING it today. We’re SUPPOSED to be “Act 5” people. That’s why God’s LEFT US here. THIS is Act 5. And there will be an even better Act 6 that we await. ULTIMATE restoration. When ALL darkness, all suffering, every tear is wiped away. When God will be with us, not just in human form like Act 4, and not just in SPIRIT form, in our hearts like Act 5, but the entire TRINITY reigning together over the earth, and GATHERING together a multitude from EVERY nation and every tribe, with every knee bowed and every tongue confessing that God is King.
But let’s just live in the story for a moment here as we wrap up. And return to Act 4. And the SIGNIFICANCE of Jesus showing up on the scene and announcing the GOOD NEWS, that I’m HERE. I’m finally here. To be your King. And I want to close by offering some thoughts on what that means for you personally. To call Jesus your King. He gives us a hint in his third phrase in v15. How does Jesus CONCLUDE His gospel presentation?
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; [SO WHAT? what am I supposed to do about it, Jesus? 2 things – what are they?] repent and believe.”
Repent – TURN from your sin. Your selfishness. Your self-sufficiency. CONFESS that you make a lousy king. And finally step OFF the throne of your own heart; it’s a throne too big for you. It was never meant for you. Repent, and then what?
BELIEVE – I’ve said it a thousand times – it’s a bad English translation. Believe for us is such a cognitive thing. It’s a doctrinal thing. A head thing. The Greek verb pisteuw is about your HEART. Who holds your heart? If God forbid something happened to my daughter tomorrow, I would be WRECKED. Because she’s got my heart. How different would your life look today, if you had never even heard about Jesus? That’s the question. If the honest answer is “not much”, then you might know plenty about Jesus. You might believe all the right doctrine in your head. But friend, you don’t pisteuw. He has your head but not your heart. Your BELIEF, but not your TRUST. Your FAITH. Where does your HOPE ultimately lie. Who is your King?
You know, I was thinking this week: What does it MEAN to be a King? What does a King do? And it occurred to me that a king really does 2 things: He governs, and he PROTECTS. Whether it was King David 3,000 years ago or President Trump today, that’s really the job description: GOVERN – lead us, guide us, enact and enforce regulations that promote our welfare; and secondly, PROTECT us – keep us safe from the Philistines, from ISIS, from OURSELVES, that’s part of what governing is: protect us from ourselves. And it just occurred to me for the first time: that’s exactly what it means for us as Christians to call Jesus our LORD and our SAVIOR. Think about it. To trust Jesus to be your King, means to trust him to 1) govern you PERFECTLY, as your LORD, and 2) to protect you COMPLETELY from your ultimate enemy: sin, because He is Savior. Jesus is Lord and Savior. He is King. And he’s a good King. Is he YOUR king?
Let’s pray...