Day 1 | 40 Days through Mark

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 1:14-15

What is the “good news of God” that Jesus proclaimed? In Jesus' words, “the kingdom of God has come near.” But why is that good news? Why did Jesus go about proclaiming that to anyone who would listen? What should I do in response?

To understand why “the kingdom of God coming near” is good news, we need to have an idea about what the kingdom of God is.

Let’s start at the beginning of the story. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He then created human beings and placed them in a beautiful garden. He gave them the task of working together with God to subdue and rule the creation. This is what the kingdom of God looks like; God and humanity dwelling together and working together to accomplish God’s purposes.

In the very center of this garden, God placed two trees - one of which represented a choice to trust God or themselves. We know the story, they chose poorly and as a result the kingdom was lost. God and humanity no longer inhabited the same space. God promised humanity that someone would come who would fix the problem.

Mark says that someone is Jesus! “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1a)

At the beginning of his book, Mark wants us to know two things. First, Jesus is the promised one who will restore things to God’s original intention. Second, Jesus’ arrival is just the beginning of the good news. Why just the beginning? Because just as God wanted humanity to partner with him in the beginning, he now wants humanity to partner with him to re-establish his kingdom.
“The time has come!” Will you respond to his invitation? God invites you to receive this good news and to partner with him in re-establishing his kingdom.