"Good News" 1-4-26
Overview
Good News
Mark opens his Gospel with a bold proclamation: "The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" Mark 1:1. The word gospel simply means good news. Yet we are so conditioned to expect the other shoe to drop that even a phrase like "the kingdom of God has come near" can sound less like comfort and more like warning. Our news feeds, social media scrolling, and even our gossip reveal an appetite for bad news. So when Jesus speaks his first recorded words in Mark—"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news" Mark 1:15—we need ears tuned to hear it as the gift it truly is.
The "time" Jesus refers to is the long-promised fullness Paul describes: "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" Galatians 4:4-5. Strikingly, this announcement comes immediately after John the Baptist's arrest—a piece of bad news that frames the good. God breaks into a creation cursed by sin, fulfilling every promise spoken through the prophets.
Honest preaching does name the bad news first: since Eden, all creation has lived under the curse of sin, and "the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23. None of us is righteous on our own, none can climb out by effort or goodness, and our adversary the devil "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" 1 Peter 5:8. But the good news is greater still: Jesus stood perfect against temptation in the wilderness, lived the life we could not live, and on the cross exchanged his righteousness for our sin, taking our punishment upon himself. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8. In baptism we are washed, sealed with his Spirit, and given a new heart—"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" Psalm 51:10.
The pastoral application is simple and steadying: in Christ, the other shoe never drops. Repent—throw yourself on the mercy of God—and believe. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" Psalm 23:1. In him you have life, forgiveness, and a love nothing can sever. He will never leave you nor forsake you. As Luther often closed his explanations of the creed: this is most certainly true.
Transcript
If you would please open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark the first chapter, if you're 3s
using a Pue edition of the Bible which can be found in the Pue and front of you or if 10s
you're in the front seat, it is underneath the seat. 14s
This is on page 30 of the New Testament. 18s
We're in Mark the first chapter. 21s
How many of us have had a conversation that begins, I've got good news and I've got bad news. 25s
And we're given this option of what we want to hear first, the good news or the bad news. 35s
And quite frankly, it depends on the circumstances, it depends on who's sharing the good and or bad news with us. 43s
If it's a colleague, if it's a parent, if it's a spouse and it really depends on our mood at the moment. 54s
Do we want to hear the good news or the bad news first? 62s
Before we turn to our text for today, let's look at the beginning of the Gospel of Mark the first verse. 69s
Where Mark begins his Gospel saying, the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God. 78s
The Gospel of Mark begins with this proclamation that what is too unfold throughout the Gospel is good news. 88s
It's the good news of Jesus Christ. 99s
In fact, the word good news and Gospel, those are interchangeable. It means the same thing. 103s
So the Gospel of Mark is the good news of Mark and it is the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God. 110s
But every time we're presented with good news, there's something that stirs in us that we just expect the shoot a drop. 120s
We just expect it's counterpart, bad news, for example. 133s
Good news, your stock went up, bad news, your taxes went up. 139s
Good news, the surgery went well. Bad news, you have a long road of recovery. 145s
And we always expect this sort of bad news to be linked and joined with whatever good news that we are receiving. 155s
In our scripture text for today, we know that we are going to hear good news, but in knowing that we will hear good news, there's that little part of us that expects the other shoot a drop and drop. 168s
It does indeed. 189s
Look with me, please, at the beginning of verse 14. 191s
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee. 195s
After John was arrested, John, this is John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, the one who was sent to prepare the way. 200s
He is the one that was in the wilderness, calling for repentance for the forgiveness of sin. 208s
And here it is referred to of his arrest, but not only was he arrested by Herod, but really the imminent death of John is portrayed here. 214s
We know that John was not only arrested, but that he will be put to death by King Herod. 226s
And so, so we know that there is bad news that we're starting with right here. 235s
But in the beginning of the gospel, it says the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God. 243s
And yet in our text, in our text, we begin with the arrest and the imminent death of John, the Baptist, the one who was sent to prepare the way for the Lord. 253s
We are in the middle of a sermon series, the red letter words, and in this sermon series that stretches from September all the way through May, we're looking at the recorded words of Jesus Christ in Scripture. 272s
And in this chapter, the fourth chapter within the sermon series, we're looking at the first words that is we're examining the first words that were recorded of Jesus in each of the gospel texts. 288s
This week, we're studying out of the gospel of Mark. What were the first words that were recorded when Christ spoke in the gospel of Mark? 305s
Well, let's go ahead and look here. Look with me at our verses beginning with 14. 316s
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God in saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe in the good news. 321s
The first words that Jesus says recorded in the gospel of Mark, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. 337s
Well, what time is he speaking of? What time is being fulfilled? 351s
In Galilee, the fourth chapter, the Apostle Paul captures what the fullness or what the time is that is being fulfilled under the inspiration he writes. 357s
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 369s
So when Jesus says the time is fulfilled, he's speaking of that promise. That promise that God had made that the Messiah would be sent, that he would break into creation and that he would fulfill all that he had promised through his prophets before. 384s
So Jesus says, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near. 409s
In verse 14, we're told that this is a proclamation of good news. 421s
The proclamation of good news that Jesus says the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. 429s
The kingdom of God has come near. Do we hear that necessarily always as good news? 438s
Or does it strike a little bit of fear in the heart? 449s
The kingdom of God is near. Do we hear that as good news or do we hear that as perhaps? The other shoe dropping. 454s
Bad news. Bad news are lives are filled with bad news. We have access 247 every single day of the year to news. There are news channels. 471s
There are websites. There are streaming services that are dedicated to delivering news and only news. 490s
Are they delivering good news? 501s
No. No. So often what they are presenting to us is bad news. It's just bad news. 506s
And yet, day after day, time after time, we turn it on. 517s
And we seek out the news of the world and we seek out the bad news. 525s
Or consider social media access on our phones 247 every single day of the year. 534s
And there's something called doom scrolling. 544s
Where it's this addiction where you have to check your social media and you scroll through the feed to see the bad news to see the bad news. 547s
Gosh, that how many of us have been engaged in gossipy conversations and gossip is never good things about someone. 569s
It's always the the city story. 581s
It's the bad news of someone else's life and we revel in it. 585s
And we delight to hear the bad news. Why? Why is that that we come again and again and again to the well of bad news? 591s
We're addicted to seeking it out. Is it because we want to compare our lives? Is it because we want to say, look at this bad news in this person's life or in this part of the world? 611s
I don't seem so bad. 627s
Is it because we like to commissarate with someone who is suffering as we are? 631s
Do we want to understand the human condition that we are all a part of that we all experience? 637s
So we know we're not alone. 647s
Why do we seek out and find our lives entrenched in bad news? 653s
Day after day, moment after moment. 664s
Do we want to explain the bad? Do we want to commissarate with the bad? 671s
Or do we want to judge the bad news that we see and we hear? 680s
The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. 689s
This is good news? 699s
My brothers and sisters. 705s
Today I come to you. I've got good news and I've got bad news. 708s
The bad news. The bad news is that since the moment sin entered into creation, all of mankind, all of creation has been under the curse of sin. 715s
And we know in the book of Romans it says that the wages of sin is death. 732s
I've got bad news. There is not a single one of us, man, woman or child that escapes the corrupt ability of the sinful heart of the original sin that entered into creation ever since Adam and Eve took an eight of the forbidden fruit. 738s
I've got bad news. 762s
Not one of us. Not one of us is righteous or without sin. 767s
Not one of us is able to do or say anything that will make up for the sin that we have in thought word and deed. 775s
I've got bad news. My brothers and sisters, you are sinners. 790s
I've got bad news for myself too because I'm a sinner. 803s
And the bad news is that we can't climb our way out of it. We can't be good enough to run away from it. 811s
We can't do anything to manage our sin and our sinful nature. 824s
And I've got even more bad news. 833s
In first Peter, Peter tells us that like a roaring lion, you're adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour. 838s
The devil will not leave you alone. The devil will continue to prowl and tempt you and accuse you and lure you to further and further sin. 851s
I've got bad news. 871s
But I also have good news. I have good news. Look with me again at verse 15 in the Gospel of Mark the first chapter, where Jesus proclaiming the good news of God says the time is fulfilled. 876s
And the kingdom of God has come near. The time has fulfilled. Has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near. This is good news because it means that God is breaking into creation that is under the curse of sin. 892s
That God is fulfilling the promise that He had made from the moment that sin entered into creation. God promised that He would redeem creation. 913s
And Jesus said that time is now. 927s
The kingdom of God is near. This is good news. And the good news begins even before that. Look with me please at verse 13, where Jesus had been driven into the wilderness. 932s
And he was in the wilderness 40 days tempted by Satan and he was with the wild beasts and the angels waited on him. This is good news because as Jesus was tempted by Satan as Satan prowled around him like a roaring lion, waiting to devour him. Jesus stood perfect against the temptation of the devil. 950s
Jesus lived the perfect life that you and I cannot live and this is good news. This is good news. 979s
Jesus in verse 15, He says repent and believe in the good news. It is good news that Jesus calls us to repent because in repentance we are confessing our sin. We're throwing ourselves upon the mercy of God. 994s
And through repentance we receive forgiveness. This is good news because we know that we are sinners, but we also know who has lived perfectly and who has entered into creation and who has died for our sin and who has redeemed us. 1020s
From our sin. I've got good news. Good news for you. 1050s
That in his mercy and grace Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity entered into creation, breaking into sinful creation. 1061s
And he made an exchange as he hung upon the cross. He exchanged the full righteousness of the life that he had lived and he took our sin and the fullness of your sin, the fullness of my sin, the fullness of the sin of the world that ever was is or will be and he took it upon him. 1074s
And he took the punishment for our sin upon himself. 1102s
And he exchanged his righteousness for our sin. 1111s
And I've got good news that you are not earning his righteousness. You are not earning your salvation, but you are saved by God's own grace, love and mercy. 1120s
In Ephesians chapter 2 it says, we are not saved by grace through faith, not our own works. It is a gift from God. There is nothing you can say, do to earn your way to righteousness and redemption. 1136s
But it is given to you out of the grace of God earned for you by Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity. 1158s
I have good news for you that in your baptism as we watch Josiah be baptized this morning, we watched the good news in action. 1174s
In our baptism we are washed of our sin. We are cleansed from our sin. 1186s
And Jesus imparts to us the full righteousness of his life. 1193s
And he seals us in his holy spirit so that we no longer walk in our own, but it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. 1201s
And it is his own spirit that he has placed within us that transforms us and creates us and makes us and empowers us to be the men and women who he has created us to be. 1215s
Good news found in Psalm 51 verse 10, creating me a clean heart of God and renew a right spirit within me. 1233s
It is God who does the work. It is God who acts on us who got it is God who acts in us and it is God who acts through us. 1243s
I have got good news. We hear the good news and we wait wait for that bad news. 1258s
The counter part to the good news but in Christ the other shoe never drops. 1271s
In Christ it is always good news because in Christ we always have redemption. We always have love and mercy and forgiveness. 1280s
In Christ we have the good news. 1301s
Psalm 23 verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. 1311s
My brothers and sisters this is good news for you. The Lord is your shepherd. 1318s
You shall not want in Christ you have everything you need. 1323s
You have life, you have salvation, you have forgiveness of your sins and you have God's eternal love. 1330s
The nothing can separate you from. 1343s
Your shepherd Jesus Christ your Savior your Redeemer Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity will never leave you. 1351s
He will never forsake you. 1362s
This is good news. 1367s
In the words of Martin Luther as he ends each portion of the apostles creed he says this is most certainly true. 1374s
It is a new year but it is one year in all of eternity. 1392s
I've got good news for you this new year. 1403s
In Christ you are redeemed. In Christ you are saved. 1407s
In Christ you will never be let go. This is good news. 1412s