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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - Mark 1:14 - 1:14
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Jesus came into Galilee (ēlthen ho Iēsous eis tēn Galilaian). Here Mark begins the narrative of the active ministry of Jesus and he is followed by Matthew and Luke. Mark undoubtedly follows the preaching of Peter. But for the Fourth Gospel we should not know of the year of work in various parts of the land (Perea, Galilee, Judea, Samaria) preceding the Galilean ministry. John supplements the Synoptic Gospels at this point as often. The arrest of John had much to do with the departure of Jesus from Judea to Galilee (Joh 4:1-4).
Preaching the gospel of God (kērussōn to euaggelion tou theou). It is the subjective genitive, the gospel that comes from God. Swete observes that repentance (metanoia) is the keynote in the message of the Baptist as gospel (euaggelion) is with Jesus. But Jesus took the same line as John and proclaimed both repentance and the arrival of the kingdom of God. Mark adds to Matthew’s report the words “the time is fulfilled” (peplērōtai ho kairos). It is a significant fact that John looks backward to the promise of the coming of the Messiah and signalizes the fulfilment as near at hand (perfect passive indicative). It is like Paul’s fulness of time (plērōma tou chronou) in Gal 4:4 and fulness of the times (plērōma ton kairōn) in Eph 1:10 when he employs the word kairos, opportunity or crisis as here in Mark rather than the more general term chronos. Mark adds here also: “and believe in the gospel” (kai pisteuete en tōi euaggeliōi). Both repent and believe in the gospel. Usually faith in Jesus (or God) is expected as in Joh 14:1. But this crisis called for faith in the message of Jesus that the Messiah had come. He did not use here the term Messiah, for it had come to have political connotations that made its use at present unwise. But the kingdom of God had arrived with the presence of the King. It does make a difference what one believes. Belief or disbelief in the message of Jesus made a sharp cleavage in those who heard him. “Faith in the message was the first step; a creed of some kind lies at the basis of confidence in the Person of Christ, and the occurrence of the phrase pistuete en tōi euaggeliōi in the oldest record of the teaching of our Lord is a valuable witness to this fact” (Swete).