Disciples Global Network

The promised Kingdom of God arrived in the ministry of Jesus the Messiah, commencing with his baptism – Mark 1:1-3. The  Gospel of Mark opens with a declaration combining passages from the Hebrew Bible, thereby providing the scriptural basis for the ministry of John the Baptist and setting the stage for Christ’s mission. Mark begins on a note of fulfillment . The Man from Nazareth was the Messiah of Israel, the “ Good News which God promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ” - (Romans 1:1).

To be the disciple of Jesus one must take up the cross and follow in his footsteps, even if it results in rejection, impoverishment, or death . Jesus sent his twelve disciples to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom throughout the region. In the Gospel of Mark , this incident is followed by the execution of John the Baptist. His death serves as a warning to the would-be disciple that rejection will inevitably follow his decision to follow Jesus no matter where he leads. To walk in his footsteps, one must first COUNT THE COST to have any hope of seeing the journey through to the end.

Jesus began to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God in Galilee following the arrest of John the Baptist, an incident that foreshadowed the opposition he would face throughout his mission. In the end, resistance to his efforts culminated in his own arrest, trial, and execution in Jerusalem. His message brought fulfillment but also adversity. Unlike the prophets of old, his work did  NOT  begin or center in Jerusalem, though it certainly ended there - (Matthew 4:13).

Jesus first appears in the  Gospel of Mark  when John baptizes him in the Jordan River. The account identifies him with his hometown, Nazareth, a village of no consequence, though its insignificance plays a role in the story. He is the “ Servant of the LORD ” anointed by the Spirit who does not conform to popular expectations about the Messiah.

John proclaimed a baptism in water “ for the remission of sins ,” and he announced the arrival of the “ Coming One .” He was sent as the Forerunner of the Messiah as promised in the  Book of Isaiah  - “ Behold, I send my messenger before your face… The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord .” Moreover, he was the promised King of Israel who would baptize his people “ in Spirit and Fire .”

All four gospel accounts apply the same passage from the  Book of Isaiah  to John the Baptist, the messenger who summoned men to repent “ for the remission of sins ” in preparation for the Messiah. The passage identifies John as the forerunner who was expected before the “ Day of the LORD ” - “ The voice of one crying, in the wilderness, prepare the way of the LORD ” - (Isaiah 40:3-5).

Jesus declared that “ violent men are seizing the Kingdom of God .” Was he referring to malevolent men from the outside who attempt to take control of the Kingdom through force? Are his disciples called to “forcefully seize” the promises of and from God, or was he saying that the Kingdom must advance through forceful action? Jesus was discussing the ministry of John the Baptist, and how John was received by the Jewish people.