In our first study we saw who the Lord Jesus Christ is, our Saviour, our deliverer and the Son of God. Mark now comes straight to the ministry of Christ, and we notice two things here:-

• the ministry of Jesus begins with preaching – verse 14.
• the ministry of Jesus begins with a call – verses 15-20.

We are told that after John was put into prison, Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God. It's the same word in the Greek, 'kerusso', which is translated 'preaching' in verse 4. It means 'to announce', 'to herald', 'to make known'. The great desire of our Lord was to declare the good news. Notice the emphasis in verses 38-39; Jesus wanted to go somewhere else so that He could preach. And as He travelled through Galilee He was preaching in their synagogues. Someone once said that we're not here to discuss the gospel, but to declare it! That's the urgent and important task for preachers and for churches today. But Mark tells us that Jesus came preaching "the good news of God". His message was not one of condemnation, accusation or judgment. See John 3:17. Rather, He came to preach the good news of forgiveness and eternal life. He declared hope in a hopeless world, and that message is still relevant and necessary in the 21st Century.

There are three aspects of Christ's call in verses 15-20, summed up in the words 'repent', 'believe' and 'follow'.

1. A Call to Repent – verse 15.

This was the message of John the Baptist (verse 4), and now it's the call of Christ. There are two words in the Greek translated 'repent', and together they mean a change of direction, of heart and of mind.

• A change of direction. One of the finest translations of the Greek is 'to turn around'. Our word 'conversion' means just that, a 'right-about-turn', to head in the other direction. The good news is proclaimed, the conscience is pricked, the message is believed, the hearer repents and changes direction. It happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-19). His eyes were opened spiritually by the living Christ whom he had been persecuting. From a campaign to destroy the church (Acts 8:3), and of breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples (Acts 9:1), Paul now faced the other way as a follower of Christ, and set about preaching that Jesus is the Christ (Acts 9:20). The change in his life was distinctive and marked. Some today claim to have been converted, but they continue life as it was before! This will not do. There needs to be that credible evidence that a great change has taken place. The fruit of repentance needs to be seen (Matthew 3:8) – compare Acts 26:20.
• A change of heart. Implicit in the word is that feeling of regret and of remorse. We do not look for emotion for emotion's sake, but tears of repentance are a sure sign of a change of heart. Simply put, it is sorrow for sin. When we realise the immense power of sin, the eternal punishment for sin and the death of Christ to deal with our sin, we can be moved. That note of sorrow was evident in the example of the tax collector (Luke 18:13). Compare 2 Corinthians 7:8-10.
• A change of mind. The word 'repent' can mean 'to think differently'. Verse 15 could be paraphrased, "Think again and believe…". Look up Matthew 21:29. The tragedy today is that people are not thinking of the consequences of their sin. Their minds are filled with a host of other things. Have you stopped to think, to consider? These are important issues.

2. A Call to Believe – verse 15.

The ministry of Jesus begins not only with the call to repent, but also the call to believe the good news. By repenting we turn from our sins; by believing we receive forgiveness for them. The cry of the Philippian jailer, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30), brought the reply, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). We are called to believe in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who He is and what He has done for us as sinners. The Bible teaches us:

• All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Compare with Romans 3:10-18.
• The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
• God so loved the world that he gave us His son (John 3:16).
• Christ died for us upon the Cross (Romans 5:6,8; Hebrews 9:22).
• There is no condemnation, no judgment for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).

Belief in Christ is to know the forgiveness of all our sins (Acts 10:43; Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14); cleansing from a guilty conscience (Hebrews 9:14; 10:22); and the promise of everlasting life (John 3:16; 6:47; 1 Timothy 1:16). Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?

3. A Call to Follow – verses 16 to 20.

There beside the Sea of Galilee Jesus called His first disciples, Simon, Andrew, James and John. Notice the words in verse 17: "Come follow me." And at once they left their nets and followed Him (verse 18). He called James and John and they followed Him too (verse 20). To be a Christian is to repent, believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. To follow Christ is to repent, to turn from our sin and turn to Him. To follow Christ is to believe into Him, that He is the only one who has paid the price for our sins. To follow Christ is to be committed to Him as our Lord and Saviour. We're living today in critical times. Many voices clamour for our attention. The ideologies and philosophies of the world claim numerous ardent supporters. But our only hope is in the gospel, the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. To follow Him is the only way to God the Father (John 14:6); He is the only path of eternal life and destiny, and the only one who can give us meaning and fulfilment in our lives now.