Mark 1:35-39 | “The Kingdom of God Must Be Preached”

What Has Mark Told Us About Jesus So Far?

As we’ve moved through the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we’ve seen Mark tell us plainly who Jesus is and why he came.  He tells us in verse 1 that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of God.”  He tells us that John the Baptist saw Jesus as one “who is mightier than I” and who was so great that he couldn’t even touch his sandals (v. 7).  Mark says that God the Father affirmed Jesus’ identity as his “beloved Son” (v. 11).  He says that Jesus resisted the temptations of Satan for forty days in the wilderness (vv. 12-13).  He says that Jesus preached “the gospel of God” (v. 14), a message that centered on the arrival of the kingdom of God (v. 15).  And he says that Jesus’ message demanded an immediate and radical response (vv. 15-20) because he came with authority from God (vv. 21-28).  His authority was used to bless people in need (vv. 29-34).   

As Mark begins unfolding the story of Jesus for the persecuted Christians in Rome, he makes it clear at the outset that Jesus was sent by God, with the power of God, to preach the “gospel of God,” and announce the arrival of the kingdom of God. 

The Kingdom of God and the Day of the Lord

What is the kingdom of God?  If Jesus’ message centered on the kingdom of God, then we need to make sure that we understood what he’s talking about.  The kingdom of God refers to God’s kingly rule (or God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule).  A biblical theology of the kingdom of God must start in the Old Testament.  The prophets looked forward to a day when God would purge the world of all evil and establish his perfect rule over all the earth.  They called this the “Day of the Lord.” 

The Day of the Lord will be a day of judgement for God’s enemies (Isaiah 13:6, 9, Amos 5:18-20) and a day of salvation for God’s people (Amos 9:13-15, Isaiah 65:17-19).  There will be a day when God’s judgment comes upon his enemies and God’s salvation comes to his people.  God’s people will be in God’s place and will live under God’s rule and blessing. 

Satan Invades God’s Kingdom

The Garden of Eden gives us a glimpse of what this will be like (Gen. 1-2).  Perfect peace in God’s perfect place for God’s perfected people.  This was all disrupted when Satan entered the Garden and convinced Adam and Eve that God wasn’t good, that his word wasn’t to be strictly obeyed, and that judgement for disobedience wouldn’t happen.  He said, “You will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4).  Adam and Eve believed his lies, doubted the goodness of God, and disobeyed God’s word.  And the curse of sin entered the world. 

In that moment, the kingdom of God was besieged and overrun by the kingdom of darkness.  This is why Paul calls Satan the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4).  In the narrative of Jesus’ temptation, Satan claims a power over the world that Jesus doesn’t question (Matt. 4:8-10).  Satan isn’t stronger than God, but because of him, the world is now called “this present darkness” (Eph. 6:12) and everyone in it lives in the “domain of darkness” (Col. 1:13).

Jesus and the writers of the New Testament don’t view the created world as inherently evil.  Everything that God made is good, even though it lies under the domain of Satan.  God’s world is plagued with evil but is in itself still good.  Every person who’s ever lived bears the image of God.  But every person who’s ever lived is also a sinner.  This is why Jesus calls everyone to repentance, even the people of Israel.  Nationality or religion or ritual or good works save no one from the judgment of God.  Our sin must be forgiven and we must be declared clean if we want to be with God.  Jesus came to do this for all who trust in him.

Jesus Invades Satan’s Kingdom

But he also came to bring the kingdom of God.  His coming signaled the arrival of the kingdom of God on the earth.  This is why he had so much conflict with Satan and demons.  He was coming into their house.  They knew who he was (Mk. 1:24).  They knew that he had supernatural power to crush them.  But they had no chance when Jesus opened his mouth, the same mouth that created the universe, and commanded them to be silent or to flee. 

The powers of darkness oppose God and God’s plan to establish his kingdom on the earth again.  This is why the Gospels show us a struggle between Jesus and powers of evil.  The way Jesus dealt with them made it clear that God’s kingly rule was back in town.  Luke 11:20, “If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

The kingdom of God came when Jesus came.  In a very real sense, the kingdom of God came into human history through the person and work of Jesus.  In Jesus, God began to conquer evil and establish his rule of peace and blessing. 

But the kingdom of God didn’t come in its fullness.  It only came in part.  Upon Jesus’ arrival, God began to defeat evil, save his people, and make the world new again.  He began to re-establish his kingly rule on the earth.  This is why Jesus’ message centered on the kingdom of God.  The kingdom came with Jesus, if only in part. 

The Kingdom of God Must Be Announced

It wasn’t readily apparent that Jesus, a poor carpenter from Nazareth, had brought the kingdom of God with him.  So his ministry focused on announcing or proclaiming that the kingdom of God had come.  When Jesus comes a second time, there’ll be no need for an announcement.  The deafening sound of the trumpet of the Lord will signal the arrival of the King of Heaven to the earth.  Jesus will come riding on the clouds with myriads of angels, with flaming fire and great glory.  Every eye will see him.  Every knee will bow.  And every heart will melt, either with joy because they’ve trusted in him, or with fear because they’ve rejected him.

But until that day, the “Day of the Lord,” the message of the arrival of the kingdom of God must be announced through the normal means of public speaking.  This is why Jesus came “proclaiming the gospel of God” (1:14).  The kingdom of God came with Jesus, but this wasn’t a self-evident fact.  So the focus of his ministry was proclamation, or announcing, the arrival of the kingdom.  In order to prove that the kingdom of God had indeed come with him, he confirmed his message with miracles and exorcisms.  Jesus revealed the kingdom of God that he preached through supernatural acts of power, the chief of which being his resurrection from the dead.

This is why the Gospels are full of Jesus’ teaching and Jesus’ miracles.  He came to tell people that the kingdom of God had arrived, and he proved that he wasn’t a liar by doing things unexplainable by natural causes.  The other thing that Jesus’ miracles do is show us what life looks like in the kingdom of God.  In God’s kingdom, there’s no evil, no demons, no sickness, no disease, and no death.  Jesus’ miracles not only prove that the kingdom has come with him, they also reveal what life in God’s kingdom looks like. 

Jesus Preaches the Kingdom

The Gospels show us Jesus preaching the kingdom and demonstrating the kingdom.  This morning, we’re going to see Jesus’ focus on preaching the kingdom of God (vv. 35-39).  Even the Son of God needed to step away from the crowds and get alone with the Father through prayer.  He was completely dependent on the Father for strength and energy and wisdom and power to do what he was sent to do.

When Simon Peter and the others found him, they mildly rebuked him, saying, “Everyone is looking for you” (v. 37).  They were saying, “Come on Jesus, what are you doing?  Lots of people are waiting on you.  You have ministry to do.  Lots of people need your help.  Why are you out here praying?” 

How did Jesus respond?  He didn’t say, “That’s great!  Since lots of people want their diseases healed and demons cast out, let’s plant a church here!”  No, he knew that the people were coming to see him, not to hear his message about the kingdom of God but to have their physical needs met.  They were looking for an improvement to their health and an ease to their suffering. 

There’s nothing wrong with going to Jesus to have physical needs met.  But that isn’t the main reason why Jesus came.  He didn’t come to heal everyone’s diseases and cast out all demons.  He came to preach the truth that the Father had sent him to preach.  He knew that the people weren’t coming in faith to receive him and his kingdom, but rather to receive relief from physical pain.

We are like these people.  We’re quick to go to Jesus when we’re in pain, when we’re sick, when we need some physical need met.  But we’re slow to go to him just to listen to his word.  We go to him when we want something from him.  Rarely do we just want him.  Do you use Jesus to make your life easier and more comfortable?  That’s not why he came.  One day, when the kingdom comes in its fullness, all our needs will be fully met.  But until then we’re called to listen to him and trust him.

Jesus didn’t go back to the town, instead he led the disciples to go to other towns so he could keep preaching (v. 38).  Jesus “came out” of Capernaum in order to preach in other towns.  But he’s also alluding to why he came from the Father.  He was sent by God to proclaim the message of the kingdom of God, not just do miracles and ease physical suffering.  So he went through the whole region preaching (v. 39).

Why Preaching Is Still Central

The early church focused on preaching.  Luke says that the early church “did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” in houses and in the temple (Acts 5:42).  Peter tells the Gentiles that God “commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42).  Paul told the church in Rome, “I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (Rom. 1:15).  He asked them how people are to hear “without someone preaching?” (Rom. 10:14).  Paul told the church in Corinth that “Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 1:17).  He told them that “it pleased God to save those who believe through the folly of what we preach” (1 Cor. 1:21).  Right before his death, Paul told Timothy, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:1-2a).

Why preaching?  Because God’s work is done through God’s Word and God’s Word does God’s work through preaching.  God’s Word, not human programs, buildings, or personalities is what reveals the person and power of Jesus.  This ensures that God alone gets the glory.

Preaching isn’t about someone giving a few thoughts about God or the Bible.  Preaching isn’t a Ted Talk about Jesus.  Inasmuch as preaching is faithful to the Bible, it’s the proclamation of an authoritative message from God himself.  It’s an announcement of who God is and what he has done and is doing in Jesus. 

God sent Jesus to live a perfect life, die on the cross for our sins, and rise from the dead in order to conquer Satan, sin, and death.  Then God put Jesus on his throne.  This news must be announced.  It cannot be understood through nature or feelings or intuitions or meditation or education or enlightenment or reincarnation or cleaning up your life.  What God has done in Christ is revealed through the preaching of the Word of God. 

When God’s word is preached in God’s Spirit, by God’s grace, spiritually dead people are raised to life.  Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”  James 1:18 says that God’s will brings us forth “by the word of truth.”  And Peter says that we “have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass.  The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’  And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Pet. 1:23-25).       

Are You Bored with Preaching?

God gives us new spiritual life through gospel preaching.  He gives and increases our faith through preaching.  Are you bored with preaching?  If the preacher is boring, that’s on him.  Boring preachers are a contradiction.  Preachers have the most important and most exciting message in the world.  Preaching that doesn’t reflect this is a travesty.  R. C. Sproul said that preaching without passion is a lie.  The difference between a lecture and a sermon is passion.  Not passion for passion’s sake, but passion for the glory and fame of Jesus Christ.

Again I ask, are you tired of preaching?  Do you typically tune out after the singing?  Do you assume that, because you’ve been in church your whole life, you’ve already heard all this, so you don’t really need to tune in?  Maybe you think that since you’ve already studied the passage of Scripture that’s being preached, there’s nothing else you can glean from it?  Maybe you assume that your knowledge of Scripture nullifies your need for preaching?  Maybe you think that preaching is only for those who have their life together and are doing well, those who’re religious, those who know a lot about God?  Jesus preached to everyone, without qualification.

Biblical preaching is the lifeblood of the church.  God’s work is accomplished through his word.  His word does his work.  Maybe preaching is of little value to you because you assume that your life is all good and doesn’t need any attention from God?  Why do you think the church has gathered around the preaching of the word once a week for two thousand years?  Because God’s people need regular reminders of who he is, what he has done, and what he will do.  We’re prone to forget his promises, his judgments, his grace, his wisdom, his presence, his tenderness, his justice, his forgiveness, his truth, and his love.  So the church gathers weekly to remember, to hear again what our great God has done for us in Jesus. 

Jesus came to proclaim the arrival of the kingdom of God.  He wouldn’t be diverted from this his primary mission for any reason, even the meeting of legitimate physical needs.  We also, as his followers, must devote ourselves to the proclamation of the gospel.  We must not be sidetracked by the thousands of other good things we could be doing.  Preaching must remain central. 

Five Things We Should Do In Light of this Text

How can we do this?  First, we should commit to gather with the church weekly to sit under the preaching of the word.  If your job doesn’t allow you to do this, you should pray earnestly for a different job or a change in your job schedule.  God’s people prioritize the weekly gathering of God’s people to hear God’s word.

Second, we should pray for the preaching of the word in our local church.  We should ask God to bless the preacher as he studies, thinks, prays, and writes.  We should pray for undistracted time for him to devote himself to this task.  We should ask God to keep the preacher faithful to the text of Scripture, to bring out its meaning clearly and apply it appropriately. 

Third, we should pray for the preaching of the word in other local churches.  God’s word is preached all over this city every week.  We should pray that it would be preached faithfully and that it would be understood and accepted and obeyed.

Fourth, we should only support missionaries that are devoted to the proclamation of the gospel.  There are lots of good things that need to be done in the world.  But the best and most important thing is telling people that the kingdom of God has come in Jesus and that they can live in his kingdom forever if they repent of their sins and trust in him.

Fifth, we should pray for God to raise up more preachers.  We should ask God to call more men to devote their lives to the proclamation of the word.  We should encourage those with this calling in our church, pray for them, and do all we can to help them get the training they need. 

Charles Spurgeon started a Pastor’s College in London to train men to preach the gospel.  I share his vision for his students.  He said, “They are not to be warped into philosophers, polished into debaters, carved into metaphysicians, fashioned into literati, or even sharpened into critics, they are to be ‘thoroughly furnished unto every good work.’  The Scriptures must be their chief class-book, theology their main science, the art of teaching their practical study, and the proclamation and exposition of the gospel their first business.  With all knowledge they may intermeddle; but upon the knowledge of Christ crucified they must dwell.  Books and parchments should be prized, but prayer and meditation should be supreme.  The head should be stored, but the heart also should be fed with heavenly food.”  May God help our young men who’re called to preach and teach to prepare well, not neglecting to fill their hearts with the word of God and prayer.

Jesus devoted himself to preaching.  “That is why he came out.”  May our church continue to share Jesus’ commitment to the proclamation of the gospel.  And may we do all that is within our power to spread, both near and far, the news of the arrival of the kingdom of God in Jesus.