Commentary - Mark 1:14-15

Bird's-eye view

In these two brief verses, Mark gives us the concentrated essence of the entire Christian message. This is not a gentle suggestion, nor is it a new philosophy for self-improvement. It is a royal proclamation from the King Himself, delivered at a pivotal moment in redemptive history. With the forerunner, John the Baptist, now removed from the scene, Jesus Christ steps onto the public stage, not as a mere teacher, but as a herald of victory. The message He brings is the "gospel of God," which is to say, the good news that originates with God and is about what God has done. This good news has four distinct but inseparable parts: a declaration about time, a declaration about territory, and two corresponding commands. The time of waiting is over, the promised kingdom has arrived, and therefore the only sane response is to abandon all previous loyalties and swear fealty to the new King.

This is the inauguration of a new world order. The arrest of John the Baptist was the last gasp of the old age trying to silence the announcement of the new. But the word of the King cannot be chained. Jesus comes into Galilee, a place of turmoil and Gentile influence, and announces that the beachhead of God's kingdom has been established right there, on enemy-occupied soil. This passage, then, is the central thesis statement for the entire Gospel of Mark. Everything that follows, every healing, every exorcism, every parable, and ultimately the cross and resurrection, is an outworking of this initial, authoritative announcement. The King has arrived, His kingdom is here, and everything must now be reevaluated in light of that stupendous fact.

Outline

Context In Mark

Mark's gospel is a book of action, and these verses represent a significant gear shift. The prologue (Mark 1:1-13) has set the stage perfectly. We have seen the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in John the Baptist, the forerunner who prepared the way. We have seen Jesus identified as the beloved Son of God at His baptism and validated as the victorious champion in His temptation by Satan. The credentials have been presented. Now, the mission begins in earnest. John's arrest is not an incidental detail; it is the catalyst for Jesus' public ministry. The voice crying in the wilderness has been silenced by the petty tyrant Herod, but this only serves to unleash the very Word of God Himself. Jesus does not retreat in the face of this opposition; He advances. He moves into Galilee, the heartland of the coming conflict, and begins to preach. This proclamation in verses 14 and 15 is the foundational sermon upon which the rest of the book is built. From here, Jesus will call His disciples, demonstrate the power of the kingdom through miracles, and march inexorably toward the cross, where the kingdom will achieve its decisive victory.

Key Issues

The Royal Announcement

We have domesticated the word "gospel." For many, it has come to mean "a plan of salvation" or "four spiritual laws" or "how to get your sins forgiven so you can go to heaven when you die." Those things are true, and they are glorious benefits of the gospel, but they are not the gospel itself. The word euangelion was not primarily a religious term in the first century; it was a political one. It was the "good news" of a military victory or the ascension of a new emperor. When a runner came from the battlefield, he brought the "gospel" of the outcome. When a new Caesar took the throne, heralds were sent throughout the empire to announce the "gospel" that there was a new king.

So when Jesus comes preaching the "gospel of God," He is making a royal announcement. He is declaring that a new King has been enthroned and a new kingdom has been established. This is not advice; it is news. This is not a suggestion; it is a proclamation. The implications are total. If there is a new king, then all old allegiances are null and void. You cannot hear this news and remain neutral. You must either bend the knee or be counted a rebel. This is the framework we must have in our minds as we approach this foundational text.

Verse by Verse Commentary

14 Now after John had been delivered up into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,

Mark begins with a crucial historical marker: after John had been delivered up. The forerunner's work is done. The powers of the old age, represented by Herod, have done their worst to the prophet of the old covenant, arresting him and putting him in chains. This is what the world does with the truth. But God's plan is not thwarted by the machinations of petty kings. In fact, it is the very trigger for the next phase. The silencing of the herald only makes way for the arrival of the King Himself. Jesus does not shrink back; He advances. He came into Galilee, not the holy city of Jerusalem, but the rough-and-tumble northern region, a place teeming with Gentiles and revolutionary zeal. This is where the invasion begins. And what does He do? He begins preaching the gospel of God. He is a herald, a town crier, making a formal, public proclamation. And the news He brings is from God Himself. It is not His own opinion; it is a declaration of divine fact.

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Here is the content of the proclamation, delivered in four crisp, authoritative clauses. First, "The time is fulfilled." The Greek word here is kairos, not chronos. This isn't just about the clock ticking; it's about the appointed time, the decisive moment in God's redemptive calendar. All the centuries of promise, all the prophecies, all the types and shadows, have reached their appointed culmination. The long period of waiting is over. The moment for God's definitive action has arrived.

Second, because the time is fulfilled, "the kingdom of God is at hand." This is the central reality. The reign and rule of God has broken into human history in a new and powerful way in the person of the King, Jesus Christ. It is "at hand," meaning it has drawn near, it has arrived, it is accessible. This is not a future, pie-in-the-sky reality. It is a present invasion. When Jesus heals the sick, casts out demons, and forgives sins, He is demonstrating that the kingdom has crashed the gates of the kingdom of darkness.

Because these first two statements are true, two commands logically follow. The third clause is, "repent." This is not simply "feel sorry for your sins." The Greek word metanoeite means to change your mind, but in this context of a new king, it means to change your entire allegiance. It is a call to lay down your arms of rebellion, to turn your back on your old masters, sin and self, and to surrender unconditionally to the rightful King. It is a radical reorientation of your entire life around the new reality of God's rule.

And fourth, "and believe in the gospel." To repent is to turn from your old allegiance; to believe is to turn to the new one. Belief here is not mere intellectual assent. It is trust, reliance, and loyalty. It means to hear the good news that the King has come and to entrust your entire existence to Him. It means swearing fealty to Jesus, banking your whole life, both now and for eternity, on the truth of His royal proclamation. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot swear allegiance to King Jesus without renouncing all other lords.

Application

The message of Jesus has lost none of its potency or its sharp edges. It comes to us today with the same force it had in Galilee two thousand years ago. The time is still fulfilled. We live in the era of the kingdom, the time between Christ's first coming and His second. The kingdom of God is still at hand, advancing throughout the world through the preaching of this same gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the two great commands are still in effect for every person who hears this news.

First, we must repent. This is not a one-time act but a continual posture of the Christian life. Where are our allegiances divided? What lesser lords are we serving? Do we give fealty to our political party, our career, our reputation, our comfort, or our lusts? To repent is to recognize these rival kings, to name them as traitors, and to dethrone them daily, reaffirming our loyalty to Christ alone. It is to constantly re-align our thinking, our desires, and our actions with the reality of His kingdom.

Second, we must believe the gospel. We must not just believe the facts of the gospel, but live in reliance upon the reality of it. We must believe that Jesus is King, not just of our private spiritual lives, but of our families, our work, our finances, our culture, and our nations. To believe this gospel is to live with a confident optimism, knowing that our King is on the throne and that His kingdom is an ever-expanding reality that will one day fill the whole earth. It is to reject the fearful, retreatist mindset that sees the world as belonging to the devil. The world belongs to our King, and we, as His loyal subjects, are called to live joyfully and courageously as we advance the interests of His crown in every sphere of life.