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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 has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Mark is the Gospel that gets right to the point.  There is no fluff in Mark; he simply tells it like it is.  Unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark doesn’t give a birth account of Jesus.  He quickly covers the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus’ baptism, and his temptation by Satan.  While those things are quite important, it’s obvious Mark wants to get right into the ministry of Jesus.  By the middle of the first chapter, we are learning about Jesus’ purpose, witnessing his healing, and getting a feel for his prayer life. 

In today’s focus verses, we find Jesus starting his ministry.  He is still in Galilee, traveling around the towns there, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and preaching repentance.  For today’s reflection, I thought it might be prudent to spend some time on the kingdom of God.  Mark talks a lot about the kingdom and it’s important we all are on the same page.

In its simplest terms, the kingdom of God can be described as God’s work in the world at large.  Although the Psalms tell us that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the kingdom of God exists in those places where God is honored as sovereign and where his values are at work.

Jesus frequently spoke of the kingdom and announced its coming.  In all his teachings, his miracles, his interactions, through the cross and the resurrection, Jesus’ life embodied the kingdom of God, demonstrating this new way of doing life.  For instance, sickness is not part of God’s kingdom, it’s the result of living in a fallen world, so Jesus healed.  Hunger is not part of God’s kingdom so Jesus fed.  Discrimination is not part of God’s kingdom so Jesus hung out with people who were ostracized by their community, such as prostitutes and tax collectors.  In God’s kingdom, every single human life has value, so Jesus elevated the status of children, women, the disabled, and the poor. 

Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom demonstrates that his ministry was not simply about individual salvation and the idea that you can go to heaven when you die.  That was part of the good news but to leave it there would be incomplete.  Rather, life in God’s kingdom means you can be reconciled to God right now.  You can live under the reign of Christ and live life abundant.  God’s kingdom is a place of justice, hope, mercy, righteousness, and true joy; it’s about creating heaven on earth.  Jesus’ entire ministry, including his death on the cross and resurrection, pointed to God’s kingdom being ushered in on earth.  Although the kingdom is meant to be realized in the here and now, there is a certain “not yet” quality about it.  The kingdom is here, as Jesus proclaimed, but it will not be fully realized until he returns in final victory and makes all things new.  We pray for God’s kingdom to come, to be made real in our midst, each week when we say the Lord’s Prayer.  That seems like an appropriate way to close today…

Our Father,

who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.