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Scripture Reading: Mark 1:14-45
If you consult the outline of the Gospel of Mark printed in the Recovery Version, you will see that this Gospel is composed of six main sections: the beginning of the gospel and the initiation of the Slave-Savior (1:1-13); the ministry of the Slave-Savior for the spreading of the gospel (1:14—10:52); the preparation of the Slave-Savior for His redemptive service (11:1—14:42); the death and resurrection of the Slave-Savior for the accomplishment of God’s redemption (14:43—16:18); the ascension of the Slave-Savior for His exaltation (16:19); and the Slave-Savior’s universal spreading of the gospel through His disciples (16:20). In the foregoing messages we have considered the beginning of the gospel and the initiation of the Slave-Savior. With this message we shall begin to consider the ministry of the Slave-Savior for the spreading of the gospel.
We have seen that the Slave-Savior was initiated into His ministry by two steps — the steps of baptism and testing. In 1:14—10:52 the Slave-Savior carries out the ministry into which He has been initiated, a ministry that is for the spreading of the gospel.
In the third message of this Life-study we saw that the gospel is the fulfillment of the promises, prophecies, and types in the Old Testament and the removal of the law. Both the fulfillment of the promises, prophecies, and types and the removal of the law are a living Person, Jesus Christ. Christ Himself is the fulfillment, and He Himself is the removal of the law. What, then, is the beginning of this gospel? The beginning of the gospel is actually the ushering in of this living Person. For us today, Christ is everything. As long as we have Him, we have everything. We do not have promises — we have Christ. We do not have prophecies — we have Christ. We do not have types — we have Christ. We do not strive to keep the law, because Christ is here, and we have Him. In our spiritual dictionary the unique word is Christ.
Now that we have seen what the gospel is, we need to go on to consider the contents of the gospel service revealed in 1:14-45. According to this section of the Gospel of Mark, the contents of the gospel service include five items: preaching the gospel (vv. 14-20), teaching the truth (vv. 21-22), casting out demons (vv. 23-28), healing the sick (vv. 29-39), and cleansing the leper (vv. 40-45). In simple terms, the contents of the Slave-Savior’s gospel service are preaching, teaching, casting out demons, healing, and cleansing. It is possible to read 1:14-45 a number of times without realizing that these verses portray the contents of the gospel service. Let us now go on to consider what 1:14-20 records concerning the preaching of the gospel.
Mark 1:14 says, “And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God.” John’s imprisonment was a sign of the rejection of the gospel, especially in the region of honor. Hence the Slave-Savior left that region and returned to the despised region for His service of the gospel.
Although John the Baptist ministered in the wilderness, not in the holy temple in the holy city, his ministry was nevertheless in Judea, not far from the “holy things.” Due to the people’s rejection of John, the Lord Jesus came into Galilee to begin His gospel service, far away from the holy temple and the holy city. This occurred sovereignly to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-2. Galilee was a place with a mixed population of both Jews and Gentiles. Hence, it was called “Galilee of the nations (Gentiles)” and was despised by orthodox Jews (John 7:41, 52).
The gospel service was initiated by the ministry of the Slave-Savior’s forerunner (1:1-11) in Judea, the region of honor. But it continued by the ministry of the Slave-Savior in Galilee, the despised region, for a period of about three years (1:14—9:50). Mark narrates nothing of the Slave-Savior’s ministry in Jerusalem and Judea during this time, as John does in his Gospel (John 1:29-42; 2:13—3:36; 5:1-47; 7:10—11:57). Mark does not narrate anything of the Slave-Savior’s ministry in Judea until He left Galilee for Jerusalem the last time (Mark 10:1) to accomplish His redemptive work. Then the gospel service continued by His ministry on the way to Jerusalem and in Jerusalem and its vicinity (10:1—14:42). It was concluded with His redeeming death, His life-imparting resurrection, His ascension for exaltation, and the continuation of His gospel service by His disciples’ preaching to all the creation (14:43—16:20). The Apostle John, however, in his Gospel narrates events in Jerusalem and Judea before the time of Mark 10 that are not included in Mark’s Gospel (see John 1:29-42; 2:13—3:36; 5:1-47; 7:10—11:57).
According to Mark 1:14, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God. The Slave-Savior’s preaching was to announce God’s glad tidings to the miserable people in bondage. His teaching (vv. 21-22) was to enlighten the ignorant ones in darkness with the divine light of the truth. His preaching implied teaching, and His teaching implied preaching (Matt. 4:23). This is the first thing He did in His ministry, and it was the all-embracing structure of His evangelical service (Mark 1:38-39; 3:14; 6:12; 14:9; 16:15, 20).
The first item in the Slave-Savior’s gospel service was to preach the gospel. We have pointed out that the Lord’s preaching always implied teaching, and His teaching implied preaching. This indicates something important related to our gospel preaching today. Many saints are burdened for the preaching of the gospel. They earnestly desire to preach the gospel to their relatives, neighbors, friends, classmates, and colleagues. However, many have had the experience of not knowing what to say when they try to preach the gospel. The reason for this is that they have not developed the skill to teach the gospel, although they have the burden to preach the gospel. If we do not know how to teach, we shall not be able to preach effectively. Gospel preaching depends on teaching.
I urge all the saints who are faithful to the Lord in His recovery to learn not just to preach the gospel, but also learn how to teach the gospel. For example, in speaking of God, some may say, “Friends, in the universe there is only one true God. Apart from Him, there are no other gods. Anything that claims to be God is false. The true God is the God we worship.” This way of speaking concerning God is very limited. In this kind of preaching, there is no teaching of others concerning God. I use this as an example of the need to develop the skill both to teach and preach the gospel. Therefore, I would encourage the elders in the churches to spend much time and energy to get into the Word and to help the saints learn the various truths of the gospel and also learn how to present them to others. First, all the saints need to learn the truths themselves. Then they need to gain the skill of presenting these truths to others.
The meetings of the local church should be all-inclusive. Spiritually speaking, the church is a home, a restaurant, a hospital, a hotel, a gymnasium, and also a school. Regarding our need to develop the skill of teaching the gospel, certain meetings of the church should be like a class for instruction. In these meetings the saints may be helped to know the truth and present it.
Concerning this need, I would say a word to the elders. It is very difficult to be an elder in a local church because an elder must be able to do a number of different things. Since the church is a home, an elder must know how to raise spiritual children. Since the church is the restaurant, an elder must know how to prepare nourishing spiritual food for the saints. Since the church is a hospital, an elder must learn to care for the brothers and sisters as a spiritual doctor. Since the church is a hotel, an elder must learn how to serve the saints, how to wait on them. Since the church is a gymnasium, an elder should know how to be a coach, training the members of the “team” in their spiritual exercise together. Since the church is also a school, an elder must know how to teach the saints. This teaching of the saints is on different levels: kindergarten, elementary, junior high, college, and even graduate school. An elder should be able to teach the saints in spiritual things on all these different levels. Although the responsibility of the eldership concerning all these matters is extremely heavy, by the Lord’s mercy the elders need to learn to do these things.
The way of the Lord’s recovery is narrow. Because this way is narrow, we should not expect that a large number will take this way. Nevertheless, if the present number of saints in the Lord’s recovery are properly trained, all the saints will be able to present the truth in their daily living at school, at work, and in their neighborhoods. Wherever the saints may be, they will preach by teaching and teach by preaching. If we preach in this way, our preaching will be effective.
Much of our gospel preaching has not been effective or fruitful. The reason for this lack of effectiveness or fruitfulness is that the preaching of some saints is lacking in content. When we speak to others, we need to have something rich to present to them. For example, it is certainly not adequate to give someone a cup containing only a few drops of water. Instead, you should give him a cup that is filled to the brim. This is an illustration of our need to be filled with the divine riches so that whenever we speak to others we may supply these riches to them.
Suppose you meet someone who says that the local church is heretical or cultic. Instead of arguing and denying that we are heretical and cultic, you should take the opportunity to give this one a “diamond” of the truth. For instance, you may refer that person to the promise made by God in Genesis 3:15 — the promise that the seed of woman would crush the head of the serpent. Then you may go on to point out that the Lord Jesus, as the seed of woman, is the fulfillment of this promise and that on the cross He crushed the head of Satan, thereby destroying God’s enemy. When you have another opportunity, you may share a different aspect of the truth with this person. It may be that after a period of time he will express the desire to attend a meeting with you. The right way to deal with those who accuse us of being heretical or cultic is to share with them the precious truths of the Word of God.
Although we have the riches, many of us do not know how to present these riches to others. We have no intention of selling these riches — we want to give them away. But we may not know how to give them to others. If you argue with someone, denying the false accusation that we are a cult, you may fail to give away any “diamonds.” Instead of arguing with others, we should give them one diamond of the truth after another.
I realize that many of the saints love the trainings and enjoy the Life-study Messages. But the saints may have only a general idea of what is contained in these messages. The real content of the messages may not have been constituted into them. Let us use once again the example of the promise in Genesis 3:15. If we are constituted of this truth, we shall be able to present the truth concerning the seed of the woman to others in a brief conversation, perhaps during a five-minute break at work.
At present there are approximately seventy-five hundred saints in the Lord’s recovery in the United States. Although this number is actually quite small, consider what the effect would be if all the saints were trained to report the truth day by day. I believe that after a number of years there would be a great impact upon the whole country. Therefore, although we are burdened to preach the gospel, we need the proper ability to teach the truth. In our preaching we must have teaching.
In the same principle, when we teach the truth, we should also preach. We should not teach in the way of dead letters. This means that our teaching should be living and not the teaching of mere doctrine. For example, if we study the virgin birth of Christ only in a doctrinal way, such a study will have a killing effect, first on ourselves, then on others. In our teaching we should have a living preaching. Whenever we teach a verse of the Bible to others, we also preach to them. In our teaching the holy Word, the gospel should go out. This was the Lord’s practice in the Gospel of Mark. Whenever the Lord preached, He taught, and whenever He taught, He preached. This combination of teaching and preaching is marvelous.
Fallen human beings need to hear both the preaching and the teaching of the gospel. What terrible ignorance there is among fallen people concerning God and the things of God! Even though our society may emphasize the importance of education, people are still ignorant of the divine truth. They do not know God, they do not know the meaning of human life, and they do not know where they came from or where they are going. Instead, in their ignorance, they care for the lusts of the flesh and the pleasures of the world. Therefore, people today need the proper teaching of the Word of God, the teaching that will enlighten them.
As a Slave serving God, the Lord Jesus preached the gospel and taught the truth to the people who were ignorant and were in darkness. The church, as the continuation of the Lord, His enlargement and increase, should do the same thing today. To the fallen people in darkness, the church should preach the gospel and teach the truth. I hope that all the saints in the Lord’s recovery will become good preachers of the gospel and good teachers of the Bible.
If we all become good preachers and teachers, the Lord will have a way to hasten His coming back. Today’s situation does not allow the Lord to come back, for nothing is ready for His coming. Therefore, we need to be faithful to follow the Lord’s steps in the matters of preaching the gospel and teaching the truth. He was a good preacher and a good teacher, and we must learn of Him also to be good preachers and teachers. Concerning this matter, I am especially hopeful that the young people will be faithful to the Lord in His recovery. Young people, there is a long way ahead of you. I urge you to be faithful in the Lord’s recovery to preach the gospel and teach the truth.
According to 1:14, the Lord preached the gospel of God. Certain manuscripts add “the kingdom of” and therefore speak of the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of Jesus Christ (v. 1) is the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1) and the gospel of the kingdom of God (see Matt. 4:23). In 1:15 the Lord Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” The kingdom of God is the ruling, the reigning, of God with all its blessing and enjoyment. It is the goal of the gospel of God and of Jesus Christ (see notes 32 and 263 in chapter four). To enter into this kingdom people need to repent of their sins and believe in the gospel so that their sins may be forgiven and that they may be regenerated by God to have the divine life, which matches the divine nature of this kingdom (John 3:3, 5). All the believers in Christ can share the kingdom in the church age for their enjoyment of God in His righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). This kingdom will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for the overcoming believers to inherit and enjoy in the coming kingdom age (1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:21; Eph. 5:5), that they may reign with Christ one thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6). Then, as the eternal kingdom, it will be an eternal blessing of God’s eternal life for all God’s redeemed to enjoy in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (Rev. 21:1-4; 22:1-5, 14, 17). It was such a kingdom of God that had drawn near and that the gospel of the Slave-Savior would bring His believers into. For this kingdom, the Slave-Savior told people to repent and believe in the gospel. (See notes 33 in John 3, 281 in Hebrews 12, and 33 in Matthew 5.)
As used in Mark 1:15, the word “repent” literally means to think differently afterward, that is, to have a change of mind. To repent is to have a change of mind with regret for the past and a turn for the future. To repent before God is, on the negative side, to repent not only of sins and wrongdoings, but also to repent of the world and its corruption that usurp and corrupt people whom God made for Himself, and to repent of our God-forsaking life in the past. On the positive side, to repent is to turn to God in every way and in everything for fulfilling His purpose in making mankind. This is a “repentance unto God”; it is to “repent and turn to God” (Acts 20:21; 26:20).
In His preaching the Lord told people to repent and believe in the gospel. To repent is mainly in the mind; to believe is mainly in the heart (Rom. 10:9). To believe in something is to believe into the thing which we believe. It is also to receive the things which we believe into us. To believe in the gospel is mainly to believe in the Slave-Savior (Acts 16:31), and to believe in Him is to believe into Him (John 3:15-16) and receive Him into us (John 1:12), so that we may be organically united with Him. Such a faith in Christ (Gal. 3:22) is given to us by God (Eph. 2:8) through our hearing the word of the truth of the gospel (Rom. 10:17; Eph. 1:13). This faith brings us into all the blessings of the gospel (Gal. 3:14). Hence, it is precious to us (2 Pet. 1:1). Such precious faith requires repentance to precede it.
To believe is to receive the Slave-Savior not only for forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43) but also for regeneration (1 Pet. 1:21, 23), that those who believe may become the children of God (John 1:12-13) and the members of Christ (Eph. 5:30) in an organic union with the Triune God (Matt. 28:19).
Specifically, in Mark 1:15 the Lord Jesus preached that we should believe in the gospel. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (v. 1), the gospel of God, and the gospel of the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, with all the processes through which He has passed, including incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, and all the redemptive work He accomplished, is the contents of the gospel (Rom. 1:2-4; Luke 2:10-11; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Tim. 2:8). Hence the gospel is of Him. The gospel was planned, promised, and accomplished by God (Eph. 1:8-9; Acts 2:23; Rom. 1:2; 2 Cor. 5:21; Acts 3:15), and it is the power of God unto salvation to all believers (Rom. 1:16), that they may be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:19) and regenerated by Him (1 Pet. 1:3) to be His children (John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:16) and enjoy all His riches and blessings as their inheritance (Eph. 1:14). Hence, it is the gospel of God. It brings the believers into the realm of the divine ruling that they may participate in the blessings of the divine life in the divine kingdom (1 Thes. 2:12). Hence, it is also the gospel of the kingdom of God. Therefore, its full contents are the same as that of the New Testament with all its bequests. When we believe in this gospel, we inherit the Triune God with His redemption, His salvation, and His divine life with its riches for our eternal portion.
