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Reset: What Jesus Said Before He Said Anything Else

Mark 1:15 (NIV) "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!"

1. He announces before he asks.

God's arrival is not the reward for your turnaround — it's the reason for your turnaround.

• The first half of the sentence is an announcement ("The kingdom has come near"); the second half is an invitation ("Repent and believe"). Jesus puts the announcement first.
• Most of us reverse the order — we assume we must clean up before God shows up. That wrong sequence poisons everything: good weeks God feels near, bad weeks God feels far, and your whole relationship rides on your performance.
• The Greek word for "good news" is euangelion. In the ancient world, a herald would run into a city after a battle and announce: "We fought for you. We won. It's over. You're free." The gospel is not advice — it's a headline.

"The essence of other religions is advice. Christianity is essentially news." — Tim Keller

2. Repentance is a direction, not an emotion.

The Greek word metanoia means a complete reorientation — not "feel bad," but "face him." You don't need the right emotions; you need a new direction.

• Most of us have tried the emotional version of repentance — the retreat moment, the music swelling, the tears — and it lasted about nine days. That wasn't failed repentance. It was never repentance. You stood in the same spot, facing the same direction, and just cried for a minute.
• Jesus speaks these words into darkness. John — the faithful prophet — was just thrown in prison. Repentance isn't something you do when life is together; it's something you do in the dark.

Mark 1:14 (NIV) After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

3. It comes first because everything else depends on it.

Mark records this as Jesus' very first public statement for a reason — every other word Jesus says in this gospel lands differently depending on which direction you're facing when it hits you.

• Mark is the shortest gospel, likely written first. He uses the word euthys ("immediately") over 40 times — he's not wasting a single line. If this is the first thing recorded, it's the foundation.
• At this point Jesus hasn't called a disciple, healed anyone, taught a parable, cast out a demon, fed the five thousand, walked on water, or gone to the cross. All of that is coming — but none of it comes first. This does.
• Every one of those moments requires a posture to receive it. And the posture is: facing him. A clock set to the wrong time throws off every appointment you set from it — close but late, almost there but not quite.

Your Response This Week

1. Tonight: Get alone — your car, your room, your back porch — and say this out loud: "God, I'm turning toward you. I don't have it figured out. But I'm facing you." That's metanoia. No performance. No cleanup. Just a turn.
2. This Week: Begin reading the Gospel of Mark. 16 chapters over 40 days. Firsthand. No filter. Not a devotional about Mark. Not a podcast about Mark. You and the text, face to face. Stop setting your clock by someone else's clock.

The Bottom Line: The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. — Mark 1:15

Sermon Resources

Robert H. Stein, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Mark
This summary of Jesus' preaching in Mark 1:15 is of the greatest importance. The time of waiting is over, and the time of fulfillment has come. The long-awaited intervention of God to redeem his people is taking place. The sovereign power of God is present in the person and ministry of Jesus to overcome the forces of evil, to redeem people from their bondage to sin, and to bring them into the blessing of his reign. The appropriate response to this proclamation is repentance and faith. Jesus' announcement of the presence of the kingdom of God is the good news that requires a radical reorientation of life.

Timothy Keller, King's Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus
To believe the gospel is to believe that the story of Jesus is the true story of the world. It is to believe that in his life, death, and resurrection, the kingdom of God has been inaugurated. It is to transfer our trust from our own achievements, our own moral resume, our own religious performance, and to trust wholly in what Jesus has done for us. This belief is not merely intellectual assent. It is fiducia, a personal trust and reliance. It is staking your life on the truth of the announcement. This belief reorients everything. It changes our identity, our security, our value, and our destiny. We are no longer defined by our success or failure but by the grace of the king who has come near to us.

N.T. Wright, Mark for Everyone
The word 'gospel' or 'good news' was not a religious word at all. It was a word from the world of politics. It was used to describe the announcement of a great victory in battle, or the accession of a new emperor. For a new emperor, ascending the throne, would send out 'gospels' or 'good news' round his empire, announcing the beginning of a new reign, a new order for the world. And this is what Jesus is doing. He is announcing that God is now becoming king. The story of the world, and of Israel, is reaching its long-awaited moment of climax. The exile is over; forgiveness of sins is available; God is pouring out his spirit on all flesh. This is the 'good news'. But if God is becoming king, this can only be good news if you give him your allegiance. Otherwise, it will be bad news. That's why Jesus follows the announcement with the command: repent, and believe the gospel.

James R. Edwards, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Mark
The command to repent is not a call to a new religious morality or to a new religious ritual. It is a call to a new relationship. The word 'repent' (metanoeite) means to change one's mind, to turn around, to change direction. It means to turn from sin and to turn to God. It is not merely a feeling of remorse or regret. It is a decisive act of the will. It is a radical reorientation of one's whole life. It is the response that the gospel demands. To believe the gospel is to trust in the good news that God's kingdom has come in Jesus. It is to entrust oneself to Jesus as the one who brings God's saving rule. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other.

D. A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus
The call to 'repent and believe' is the fundamental demand of the gospel. It is not a suggestion or an option. It is the only appropriate response to the announcement that God's kingly rule has arrived. Note the order: the announcement of what God has done comes first ('the time is fulfilled, the kingdom is at hand'), and the human response follows ('repent and believe'). Grace precedes demand. The gift of the kingdom creates the obedience of the kingdom. We do not repent and believe in order to make the kingdom come; we repent and believe because the kingdom has come. The demand is based on the divine act. This is the pattern of the gospel throughout the New Testament. God's indicative (what he has done) always precedes and grounds the imperative (what we must do).

Read the Gospel of Mark in 40 days — 16 chapters, firsthand, no filter

Pastor Sam Sutter
Sam@bbcconline.com
3/8/26

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