Mark 1:15 tells us that Jesus arrives on the scene of the Gospel and proclaims a simple message: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” Such a simple message with such a profound statement. This week at Hinds Community College we have been studying Mark, and as I’ve been doing some reading and reviewing of material about the Gospel of Mark, I’ve been struck by how much focus Mark seems to give the Kingdom of God. Sure, the other synoptic gospels (Matthew & Luke) mention the kingdom, but none seem to completely revolve their message around the kingdom, and more specifically, it’s immediacy. In Jesus’ Galilean ministry, Mark’s use of the present tense and the word “immediately” seems to be rushing us along several years to get to the climax of the gospel.
As the story shifts-from the miracles & healings of Jesus in Galilee, to his teachings about suffering regarding true discipleship on the road to Jerusalem, & finally to his conflicts with the religious leaders once in Jerusalem-the sense of the book is very clear: everything is happening now and thus a response is required now. Written in the context of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple as a result of the Jewish revolt of 66-70 CE, Mark is very clear about the immediacy of the Kingdom: it will happen now! Thus, the concern about the eschaton (the end times) is very evident; this is something which Matthew & Luke dampen a little bit. This also contributes to a lack of post-resurrection stories in the earliest of manuscripts (look at Mark ch. 16 and tell me what your Bible mentions about verses 9-20). In Mark’s eyes, the kingdom is happening now! He even seems to stress Jesus’ statement about the eschaton that “this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Mark 13:30) What things? Those which we would expect to trigger the final day of God’s kingdom and the (for us now 2,000 years later) the second coming of Jesus: earthquakes, floods, chaos, & astronomical signs.
With this is mind, what is Mark’s point? What is our response? The answer is found in the pivot of the entire gospel. Immediately after the scene with Peter where he confesses Jesus as the Messiah (though he clearly doesn’t understand fully what he is saying), Jesus calls the crowd around and says “If anyone would come after me, let me deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” To follow Jesus & live in the immediacy of the kingdom means to give up everything one holds precious and dear and sacrifice it upon the altar of trust. It means looking for the people in our lives that mirror those that Jesus ministered to. It means understanding that if we are to fulfill the commands of Jesus (however we might define them), we are to follow them today-not tomorrow. As we begin to enter into the season of Lent, I pray that we begin to try to understand how Mark structures his gospel around the immediacy of the kingdom of God, and how that calls us to respond today.
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