Mark 1:15

Context

The Gospel of Mark briefly recounts the ministry of John the Baptist, the baptism of Jesus, and his temptation in the wilderness. It then records that after John was imprisoned, Jesus came into Galilee preaching "the gospel of God" (Mark 1:14). Verse 15 gives the content of that proclamation. Immediately afterward, Jesus calls Simon and Andrew, and James and John, by the Sea of Galilee. These are the first words of Jesus' public ministry in Mark's Gospel.

Interpretation

• "The time is fulfilled": The word "time" (kairos) refers not to chronological time but to an appointed, decisive season. The phrase is understood as a declaration that the promised time for which the Old Testament had waited has arrived with Jesus (Galatians 4:4).
• The meaning of "is at hand": The Greek engiken can be read both as "has drawn near" and as "has already arrived." Three views are commonly cited in twentieth-century New Testament scholarship. Albert Schweitzer advanced "consistent eschatology," holding that Jesus expected an imminent end of the age; C. H. Dodd argued for "realized eschatology," holding that the kingdom of God had already been realized in Jesus. Today evangelical scholarship and many commentators accept the "already and not yet" view, according to which the kingdom of God has already been inaugurated with Jesus but has not yet been consummated.
• A twofold response: Repentance (metanoia, a change in the direction of one's thinking and life) and belief in the gospel are required together as the response to the kingdom of God.

Debates

The emphasis differs depending on whether the kingdom of God is understood as heaven after death or as God's reign being realized in the present world. Both those who give priority to personal repentance and salvation and those who emphasize establishing the justice and peace of God's kingdom in society appeal to this verse. Many denominations hold that the two aspects must be kept together.

In the Korean Church

Since the Great Pyongyang Revival, this verse has frequently been proclaimed at revival meetings and in repentance movements of the Korean church. Today it also serves as a central text for evangelical social engagement movements that emphasize the theology of the kingdom of God.

Related Passages

• Matthew 4:17
• Galatians 4:4
• Luke 17:20-21
• Acts 3:19