THE MAIN IDEA –
The good news is Jesus Christ.

Our passage shows us three things about the beginning of the gospel and discipleship.

THE GOSPEL BEGINS WITH GOD –
Mark begins by mentioning a couple of prophecies. And this is significant for a couple of reasons. First, these prophesies tell us that the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ was something that had been in God’s heart all along. The gospel was not an afterthought in response to the sin of the world. God foreknew everything, including every sin we commit. The good news of Jesus Christ was in the heart of God all along to deal with all our sins so that we might live and have hope in Him. Second, Mark is telling us that with the coming of John the Baptist, we can be sure that God’s great plan of salvation for the world in Jesus Christ had begun. And what is significant about all of this is that Elijah would come to prepare the way for the imminent coming of the long-awaited Messiah, who is God Himself. In other words, the coming of John marks the beginning of the end—the end of the reign of Satan, the end of the curse of sin and death, the end of the great divide between God and humanity. It is in that context that God calls all of us to be disciples of this eternal gospel.

THE GOSPEL BEGINS WITH REPENTANCE –
Repentance was a key part of both John’s preaching and Jesus’s preaching (verse 4, 15). The main difference between their ministries was that John baptized with water, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (verse 8). John’s baptism with water was a symbolic forgiveness of sins. Jesus’s baptism with the Holy Spirit provides an absolute, true forgiveness that comes directly from God. Repentance is about turning away from your sins and turning toward God for the forgiveness of your sins. There is only one place to turn to for the forgiveness of all our sins—Jesus Christ. The God of the universe came from heaven to earth to identify Himself with sinful humanity, whom He would save. Jesus came to identify Himself with sinful humanity so that we could approach His throne of grace with confidence. Discipleship too begins with repentance.

THE GOSPEL BEGINS WITH JESUS –
The Gospel makes it clear that Jesus is the very Son of God and Messiah. We have been given insider information of who Jesus is. But does knowing this help us at all? We tend to hear what we want to hear and to see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe. We have to have a right understanding of who Jesus is if we are going to be His disciples and make disciples. That Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, means that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Through faith in Jesus alone, we are reconciled to God. It also means that Jesus is our Lord and King. Wherever Jesus reigns as Lord and King, that’s where the kingdom of God is. To be a disciple of Jesus and to make disciples of Jesus is to care about the things that Jesus cares about, and to do the things that Jesus does, as revealed in the word of God. Two things stand out. We are to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). And we are to love one another (John 13:34-35). Being a disciple is not merely about receiving the forgiveness of sins so that we can go to heaven. Being a disciple and making disciples is about propagating that blessing to the ends of the earth for the glory of God. And the fuel of discipleship is love. There is nothing in this world that cannot be resolved by the love of God (1 John 4:12). And Jesus demonstrated this truth by going to the cross because of love (John 3:16).

DISCUSSION QUESTION -
What things can you do to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others?