After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:14-15
What does it mean to repent?
What does it mean to believe?
The Jews and Romans held certain assumptions.
The Jews, the descendents of Abraham, waited for the Messiah, the anointed, or divinely appointed, King of God’s people. This was promised to them in their scriptures, and according to a prophet named Daniel, the time had indeed come. But they expected a conqueror of Rome who would subdue Rome, and the world, under the rule of God’s people—the Jews.
They needed to change their minds, their basic assumptions and expectations.
They needed to repent.
They needed to deny their self centered self exalting desires, desires they assumed the Messiah would be born to fulfill, as though He existed for them, and not them for Him.
They needed to repent. To change their minds, assumptions, and actions.
The Romans worshipped their Caesar, their emperor, as though he was a god.
They needed to repent: To stop worshipping a false god and worship the true and living God.
The Jews and Romans needed to place their trust and confidence in Jesus and what He proclaimed:
The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near.
Both knew this was true by the power Jesus displayed in words and miraculous actions. That this man was not merely a man. They had reason, good reason, to trust in Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To accept His kingdom as the true Kingdom.
But what about us as Americans?
How do we repent?
What do we believe?
No comments:
Post a Comment