“The kingdom of God has come near!”

 

Sermon for Epiphany 3, January 28, 2024

To all those loved by God…called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Mark 1:14-20  ¹⁴After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.  ¹⁵“The time is fulfilled,” he said.  “The kingdom of God has come near!  Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  ¹⁶As Jesus was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.  ¹⁷Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  ¹⁸Immediately they left their nets and followed him.  ¹⁹Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in a boat mending the nets.  ²⁰Immediately Jesus called them.  They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (EHV)

“The kingdom of God has come near!”

Dear fellow redeemed,

            St. Mark begins his Gospel with a condensed account of what was likely a year or more of Jesus’ life, but this fits well with the purpose of his Gospel which was to teach his audience “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1)  You see, the Good News of Jesus Christ for sinners doesn’t end until all of God’s called children are safely and joyfully at home in heaven.  Thus, likewise for you and me, “The kingdom of God has come near!”

Mark jumps immediately from Jesus’ forty days of temptation in the wilderness to our text.  Jesus had already been active in His ministry and had numerous disciples, or those who followed Him to learn what He could teach them.  Yet, Mark wanted to show us something more; he wants his hearers to know how the Good News of what Christ has done for them comes to each believer.  Here, Mark wrote, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.  ‘The time is fulfilled,’ he said.  ‘The kingdom of God has come near!  Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”

The time had come for John’s ministry to fade into the background.  John, himself, had declared, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)  This had to be, because only Jesus can save.  John the Baptist couldn’t save anyone; he could only point them to Jesus.  Now, John’s call was to prepare the way for Jesus and then to point the crowds to the Savior, and he did that in an exemplary way, but only Jesus can save.  Now, the time had come.  From this point on, Jesus was the focus of all present.  The crowds would follow Jesus.  The chief priests and Pharisees would be watching with fear and apprehension, but all of this is the continuation of Jesus living for you and me.

“Jesus went to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.  ‘The time is fulfilled,’ he said.  ‘The kingdom of God has come near!  Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”  The Son of God and man was living righteousness for all people.  In order for them to be saved by His work, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus must be heard.  Jesus preached it until the last day of His life when He took the punishment needed to clear our record of wrongs.  For God’s plan to save sinners to continue, men would have to be called and trained to proclaim the Good News.  Mark was telling his gentile listeners how the Word had come to them—how “The kingdom of God has come near!”

As Jesus was going along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.  Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  It is likely that Simon and Andrew already knew Jesus and had heard Him speak previously.  They already believed in Him.  Now, Jesus was calling them to greater service.  And just like the call of Jesus’ voice had changed them to believe in Him, now His call changed their lives and vocations.  Previously, they made their living pulling fish from the Sea of Galilee.  Now, they would learn how to draw people into the Kingdom of God through the throwing out, not of a net into water, but throwing out to the people the Good News of forgiveness and salvation through faith in Jesus, who gave His life to bring people out of the sea of the world into the lifeboat of the Church.

This picture of the Christian Church as a boat rescuing drowning souls from the cruel seas of life on earth has a long history simply because of picturing Jesus’ call to these men.  On our own, we could not escape the tumultuous storms and waves of trouble, sorrow, and sin crashing over us continually since sin entered the world.  But through His Church on earth, Jesus throws out Gospel lifelines to pull people out of the depths of the darkness of death into the bright new day of His Kingdom.  In the past, many churches were even built to give the feeling of a boat turned upside down with the congregation kept safe underneath.  Still, the main message was that the Lord was pulling us to safety by the message of the Gospel thrown out to the masses so that some may be saved.

Those two men immediately left behind their previous life to walk with Jesus.  In the nearly two thousand years since that day, thousands more men have been called to do the same.  Even today, the Lord is calling young Christians, and some not so young, to leave behind the things of their past to throw out lifelines to sinners who need to hear the Good News of Jesus.  He may well be calling some here this morning to consider a lifetime of service in His public ministry, but even if that is not the case, Jesus calls all of His followers into service for the cause of saving friends and neighbors from their sins through the sharing of the Good News of all Jesus has done for us.  Not all are called to be preachers, teachers, pastors, or missionaries, but all who believe are called to help toward His goal of rescuing the weary, struggling, and lost.

“Going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John.  They were in a boat mending the nets.  Immediately Jesus called them.  They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”  Again, we see the power of Jesus’ call.  You and I first felt that call when Jesus made us believers.  By His Holy Spirit in the Word and Baptism, Jesus turns souls who wanted nothing to do with God into disciples of faith.  Some people want to believe they made the decision to believe, but only God’s power in the Holy Spirit can give new life to formerly dead souls.  Therefore, when that call comes, power comes with the call.  Power to live for Jesus.  Power to turn away from sin to the One who had no sin.  Power to trust that Savior who we formerly viewed with terror.  Power to believe in the One Savior who willingly gave His life so that we could live.  Power to leave behind the things of this world in order to rejoice for the gifts of heaven to come.

Dear friends, whether we remember the days of our youth when we didn’t know Jesus, or we remember the moment He entered our life through His Word, the truth is, Jesus has called us to be His disciples.  He calls us to hear His Good News—that God the Father loved us so much He sent His Son to suffer the punishment and death that our sinful nature brought upon us.  That Jesus loves us so much He willingly took up the mantel of our flesh so that He could live a holy life in our place.  So much love for sinners, that the Father and Son together send the Holy Spirit out across the sea of nations through men of Christian faith called into the ministry of the Gospel so that many more might believe and be saved.  So much love for sinners, that the Spirit moves ordinary people into lives of service in the church through which God saves those drowning in sin.

In our Old Testament this morning, we saw what God can do even through the mouth of a reluctant preacher.  Jonah had no desire to tell the people of Ninevah that God wanted to save them from sin.  Jonah so despised that cruel nation that he desired only to see their destruction.  Yet, God showed them His love.  In love, the Lord God who created heaven and earth sent a preacher to call great sinners to repentance, and the message of God’s call changed their hearts.  Instead of continuing in their idol worship, those great sinners responded to God’s call with repentance and changed hearts.  Hearts not changed by personal decision, nor be fear alone, but made alive by the promise of the Gospel, that the God who had every right to destroy them for their sins, was ready to forgive them should they heed His call.

Today, Mark gave us a taste of what was to come.  Jesus has been sending messengers of peace for almost two thousand years, and millions of former sinners have heeded the call to repentance and turned to Him for life everlasting.  That call stands for you and me still today.  Believe in Jesus and follow Him.  Trust that His Gospel is true.  Jesus came into this world to save sinners.  He lived perfectly so that you and I can be covered in His righteousness.  Then Jesus died on the cross to satisfy the demand of the law for death to the sinner.  Jesus stepped into that role for you and me.  Today, in connection with His death and resurrection, we now also have life everlasting.  Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, and by the proclamation of that truth, “The kingdom of God has come near!”  It is here for you and me, now and forever.  Amen.

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.  Blessed be his glorious name forever.  May the whole earth be filled with his glory.  Amen.