My Walk Through the Book of Mark by Annette Godtland

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry (Mark 1:14-15)

14Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

This seems like it would have been a pretty exciting message. There had been so many prophesies through the generations and to finally hear "The time is fulfilled", must have conjured up many images for what would happen now.

One of the things that excites me most about this statement is its simplicity. If I were told that the kingdom is at hand, I would worry about my worthiness. But it isn't followed by "do penance for your sins", or "do enough good works to earn entry into the kingdom of God", but simply "repent and believe in the Gospel". Yes, we should admit to our sins, ask for forgiveness, do what we can to avoid sin, but believe in the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord. That is all it takes.

It is amazing in these days where people argue fair treatment and merciful judgment in everyday life. Mostly people argue something isn't fair when they would like a more merciful judgment or they feel they didn't get as good of treatment as someone else. This is the only case where I have heard people argue the fairness the other way around. I have heard it asked: is it fair for someone to live a sinful life then still be able to enter the kingdom of God if they just repent and believe in Jesus? According to Jesus, yes, that is all that is asked of us. Here we are all offered a very merciful judgment. Can we accept it? No one is perfect. Everyone is a sinner. God will forgive any of us if we just repent and believe in the gospel.