Mark 1:14-15 What is God’s ETA?

First Things: Devotions in Mark’s Gospel

Mark 1:14-15 What is God’s ETA?

Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

We suppose we are safe from long-term consequences. And, at the same time, we gripe about delayed solutions to inconvenient problems. Which do we want - things right now, or out there in the foggy future?

Jesus shows up in Galilee, in fulfillment of the promises of God, and announcing the nearness of the kingdom. What has been awaited has finally come. Or, is it that what has been avoided has finally arrived? I guess it depends on one’s perspective.

If I have an intruder in my home, and I call the police, I anxiously wait for their arrival, and am quite impatient until they get there. If, on the other hand, I myself am the intruder, I want them to have time to make my get-away, and am jealous for every extra minute.

Jesus coming, based on Old Testament promises (which often come across as very foreboding - we might call them threats), if a coming in both judgment and salvation. If you fear judgment, you would like to delay His appearing. If you are anxious for salvation, you say, along with Scripture, “Maranatha,” (Come quickly). 

Not surprisingly, the Book of Revelation highlights this difference. The world is divided into two basic groups of people: those who are faithful followers of Jesus; and those who reject and oppose him. The latter group is shocked when He comes in judgment. They supposed it would be (much) later. The former group has been waiting anxiously. Final statements in the book highlight that His coming is imminent: “I am coming quickly.”

So Jesus’ statement which took place at the beginning of His public ministry in what we now know as His first coming - that statement about fulfillment and nearness - preaches loudly and clearly to us that it is time, now, to decide where you will stand. Will you pledge your life to the One who died to give you life? Or will you continue to live as a rebel to His will, and to His goodness, and to His grace. It’s time to decide, right now.