Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.’
Jesus and John are inseparably related but also sharply distinguished. Jesus’ ministry properly begins after the arrest of John, which divides two spiritual eras: one of John the Baptist, and the next of Jesus of Nazareth. These eras are sequential – John is the forerunner of Jesus – and the final act of John’s ministry points to the suffering mission of Christ towards the cross. But only now, with John in prison and Jesus arriving in Galilee, is ‘the time fulfilled’. Now the new thing is really happening.
Jesus preaches ‘the Gospel of God’. Is he, then, no less but no more than a mouthpiece of God, proclaiming divine oracles like the prophets? Yes and no. He preaches the God of Israel, but the word ‘Gospel’ here refers us back to verse 1, where Mark writes that the Gospel is of Jesus Christ. The good news is Jesus himself! In preaching about God Jesus necessarily preaches himself. He is a kind of prophet, yes, but also the Son of God.
What does this good news entail? Repentance, and belief in Jesus. This is good news with a difference. Ordinarily, when we receive good news, we do so easily – there is no obligation apart from to enjoy it. With Jesus, however, there is a call to repentance, or conversion. The news is genuinely good, but if the life of Jesus is its model then receiving it will mean sacrifice.