Mark 1:14-15-- Jesus' Call To Believe

Now after John had been taken into custody, 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 began his ministry in Galilee, the northern region mostly inhabited by Jews, which used to be the kingdom of Israel. Jesus’ first ministry was to go to synagogues and preach. Mark just gives us a summary, but his teaching could be explained this way: “It is time for God’s promises to his people to be fulfilled. It is time for God’s kingdom to come. But God’s people are not ready. If you want to be a part of God’s people, you need to change your life, repent of your sins and have faith that the promises of God are really going to come to pass. This is the good news, but if you do not accept it and act on it then it will be bad news to you.”

The kingdom of God is the nation that God promised to begin a long time ago, where he would establish a king (called “Messiah”) who would rule God’s people and it would be a hub of an empire that would influence the world. God’s people would have everything they need and be secure. But those who have rebelled against God—evildoers and oppressors of God’s people—would be cast out and have no part of the kingdom.

The "hope" that Jesus calls us to is a hope for God's future, not just any hope at all. The faith he calls us to is a faith in a promise for utopia. Only in the context of judgment, resurrection and a perfect society does Jesus' call, teaching, ministry and death make any sense at all. We must hold onto this future-- not created by democracy or revolution or the latest well-meaning talking head or politician. Rather, this future will only come from God. If we do not trust in this future, that is the basis of Jesus' call, then we should also reject Christianity as a whole, for if we reject what we should believe in, then we reject the whole system.