This Message Changed the World
The Good News Was Simple and Good — Part 2
Go behind the scenes of the first 24-hour day in the public ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. The day began with his entrance into the fishing village of Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee; it ended when he left the region 24 hours later. After that, nothing was ever the same.
This online multi-part series, like the TV series “24”, is the story behind the story of the day when everything changed.
And immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. — Mark 1:21
Inside the Synagogue
We are looking behind the scene at one of the most extraordinary days in the history of the world. When Jesus begins to speak in the synagogue, he will lose any anonymity he had until this point. It’s a turning point in his life: he will never be able to come back to where he is now.
Jesus entered Capernaum intending to stop at the local synagogue where people had gathered for worship. The synagogue was small, holding no more than 150 people. On the first day of Jesus’ public ministry, he planned to deliver a message to the congregation.
Once inside the synagogue, Jesus took over. How did this happen? We don’t know. Jesus was a preacher and itinerant rabbi, so it’s not unlikely that they asked him to speak. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Jesus took center stage, delivering a message that would shake the foundation of the world and propel his public ministry into motion. He was about to blow people’s minds.
But what did he say?
We have only a few instances where we receive the direct contents of Jesus’ sermons. One of those is “The Sermon on the Mount.” Later, Jesus delivered a condensed version of the same message in a field to another group. We have the text of that sermon as well. The only other sermon for which we have the detailed outline or text is the verbal indictment of the Pharisees in Matthew’s gospel. We have most of that sermon, maybe even all of it, and it is a scorcher!
The sermon that’s part of our story is one where we don’t know all that was said, but we do know the theme. We see the keynote for all his preaching and teaching: The Gospel of God. And we also can see the subtitle for most messages ever preached by the Lord. It is given to us in Jesus’ very first announcement in Mark’s gospel, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15).
This keynote was the great theme of the sermons he would preach during the three years of public ministry. It was like an overture for his entire life, teaching, travel, compassion, works, and miracles. This was the simple message of Jesus.
His Keynote Message
His opening keynote line is memorable and memoizable. Here it is again: “The time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15). What a powerful statement! When we analyze it, Jesus’ simple message of the Kingdom is what today we call a three-point sermon.
These were Jesus’ three points: 1. Relief — The Time is fulfilled. The long, long period of waiting is over! Then he spoke about. 2. Hope — The Kingdom is here. It had arrived. Today! And he ended with a clear call to action. 3. Repent — Change the way you think.
This threefold message of relief, hope, and repentance may have comprised the opening line of Jesus’ sermon that morning. In any case, it was the phrase that launched his ministry. And what a ministry it was. Jesus set the stage for his church to come. That’s why his message should be the central message of the church!
Jesus’ message that day has been studied by teachers, clergy, theologians, Bible scholars, philosophers, followers of Christ, and preachers of his Word up until this very day. Though all that study has led to many interpretations and commentaries on Jesus’ message, what He was trying to say is actually quite simple and profound: The Kingdom of God had come, and the only appropriate response to it was repentance.
The Good News was Good
We should remember that Jesus’ message was good news to those who heard it! He was not there to condemn the people for their sins but rather to offer them forgiveness through repentance. This message resonated loudly in their hearts and minds. They were in awe of Jesus and the words he spoke. They had never heard anything like it. Through his teaching, they knew God was doing amazing things among them!
In other words, the Good News wasn’t bad news. It was a breath of fresh air to those who received it. The Good News was a grand announcement of change, not blame. It was the declaration that God was active and moving in their world! And the people were astonished at it.
When was the last time you left your church and used the word “astonished” to describe what you felt or heard? When was the last time you heard a preacher speak with true power and authority? If only we could go back and hear Jesus’ sermon for ourselves! But thankfully, the core and driving point of his message has been recorded for us. It is equally as life-changing and world-shattering now as it must have been back then.
The message of the arrival of God’s Kingdom was the most incredible thing they’d ever heard! Jesus, in effect, blew their minds. He spoke with a power and authority unlike anything they had ever heard before. The content of his message was world-changing in scope, continuing to impact the lives of countless people today.
Next: Jesus takes the offensive. It’s time to crush the power of evil in this world!
This post is adapted from the author’s new book, The First 24, a 24-chapter investigation into the first 24 hours of Jesus’ public ministry told in 24 verses in the Gospel of Mark (1:21–45) The book is available on Amazon. Visit the Author’s Amazon Page for more information here.
