Mark 1:14-15

Mark 1:14-15 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

John was a heavenly light; he spoke the words of a prophet. He prepared the way for Jesus. But when Jesus arrived on the scene, He brought the ultimate light to the world. He brought God down to men. Jesus' message was repent, turn from your wicked lifestyle, and receive the message of redemption: the good news. Of course the "good news" was that He was the light of the world and the Savior of mankind. He alone would bring in the kingdom of God: the place where men could receive the grace and mercy of God and be received into God's heavenly family. Of course the embodiment of this message was found in Jesus, the Son of God. He was the door to the kingdom of God, and no one could enter into that kingdom without entering through Jesus.

This message that He was the Christ and the door was hard for the Jewish elite to accept. They had been taught that the patriarchs and their teachings were the door to God's special blessings and to favor with God, for weren't they the "chosen people"? Didn't Abraham receive the covenant of blessings? Weren't they, the Jews, the very children of God? How could this man Jesus say that He was the door? How could He claim to be greater than Abraham, and the patriarchs? Jesus certified his claim of divinity and of being the Christ, the Great Messiah, by performing healings and miracles among them. He did such wonderful exploits that they had to acknowledge that no man had done such things from the beginning of time. Nevertheless, for Jesus to claim that He was the way, the door, the "Messiah" was more than the religious leaders and many of the people could accept. This was a contentious message for the Jewish people. They could accept Jesus as a great leader, one to follow, maybe even the person who would deliver them from the yoke of the Romans, but not as the Son of God, not as the "door" to God's blessings. But Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8) And He alone was and is the door. Therefore, for most people, Jesus' message of "repent" and receive the "good news" was especially hard to receive. They believed that they had special access to God himself, so why repent?

However, Jesus did not come to those who thought they were already in right standing with God. He came to those who needed healing, needed a miracle, needed a change of life. So they alone received his message gladly and unreservedly. They knew their lives were not paying off with the blessings of peace and righteousness. They knew they needed a compassionate and loving Lord in their lives. They needed the kingdom of God in their lives. Today the kingdom of God has come; it has come to all those who have entered in through the door by faith. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17) Salvation has come to the weak, the sick, the brokenhearted: heaven is open to them, for the Kingdom of God has come. Let all the people rejoice and be exceedingly glad!