Writings: The Message of Jesus

By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal

Mark’s Gospel tends to be more interested in what Jesus did rather than in what he taught. Of the four Gospels found in the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – Mark is the shortest, mostly because it contains the least amount of Jesus’ teachings. Mark describes how Jesus practiced his ministry, where he went, how he healed the sick and delivered people from demonic oppression, how he calmed the stormy sea and walked on water, how he fed the 5000 and raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead. Mark details Jesus’ Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem and how he drove the money changers from the Temple; it describes how Jesus kept the Passover with his Disciples, reinterpreting its meaning as the Christian sacrament of his transforming presence. Mark tells of Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, his trials before the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate, and of his crucifixion, death, burial, and his empty tomb. Mark describes what Jesus did, how he did it, how people responded to him, and what happened to him as a result. Jesus healing of Simon Peter’s Mother-in-law, the healing and exorcisms of others in Capernaum, Jesus’ early-morning retreat for prayer, and his Disciples search for him, are all examples of this emphasis in Mark. The focus is often on what Jesus does, not on what he taught. It is true, some of Jesus’ teachings are found in Mark, but the author’s main focus was on the “acts of Jesus.” This being said, it is amazing to note how Jesus responds to his Disciples when they find and interrupt his morning prayers:

“Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” (Mark 1:38)

Here, Mark tells us that Jesus viewed preaching “the message” as being central to his ministry. Healing, delivering people from demonic evil, and the other miracles were important, but proclaiming the message was “what I came out to do.”

And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. (Mark 1:39)

What was the message that Jesus was proclaiming? In New Testament Studies the message that Jesus preached and the Message about Jesus is called the Kerygma, a term which is based upon the Greek word for “proclamation.” Jesus uses this word is its verb form in our reading today when he talks about preaching the message. So, what did Jesus preach? What was his message? While we usually turn to the other Gospels for the details, Mark clearly tells us that Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God was coming, that in him it had already arrived, and that in his eventual death and resurrection God’s Kingdom would be brought to fruition. He also outlined what the Kingdom of God looks like, and how we can live in it.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength ... and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31)

Jesus further outlined his kerygma in what we often call the “Sermon on the Mount.” In this body of teachings, beginning in Matthew 5 with parallels in Luke 6, Jesus gives us a summary of what living in the Kingdom of God is like:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

A little while later, after Jesus acknowledges our very real need for food, clothing, and shelter — all the things that we need to live in this life — he then punctuates the importance of living in the Kingdom of God by saying:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)

Jesus’ message was, first and foremost, about establishing the Kingdom of God in our lives, today. For Jesus, everything else, including salvation and eternal life, begins here. Therefore, the question now becomes: what does it mean for us to live in the Kingdom of God?

Fundamentally, it means that God is in charge.

We often forget that. We tend to think of ourselves as being in control of our lives, of being our own masters, our own bosses, our own rulers; we like to believe that we’re autonomous beings, fully self-sufficient in all things; but in truth, we’re not. We never have been, and never will be. There is always something or someone else ruling us. In spiritual matters, its usually sin: our desire to do things our own way rather than God’s way; in other words, the inevitability of our “missing the mark,” or “falling short,” of God’s will for us.

We’re good at sinning. Well, at least, I’m good at sinning. When we think we’re in charge, that’s what we’re doing: we’re sinning. We’re also not loving God; to truly love God, we must be willing to place God first, above all other things ... including ourselves and our desires and objectives. That’s why Jesus’ identification of the first and greatest command is so important: living in the Kingdom of God begins when we truly love God. The second command which Jesus identified tells us that we’re also sinning when we think that we don’t need other people. We are called to not only love God, but also love our neighbor as ourselves. Living in the Kingdom of God requires both polarities of love and is typified and empowered by God’s grace and peace, God’s will, and God’s righteousness.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and God's righteousness,
and all these things will be added unto you.
Allelu Alleluia”

I’ve always loved that song. When I first heard it as a child, not long after Karen Lafferty wrote it in 1971, it stuck with me ... and it has remained with me throughout my ministry. Seeking the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness: that’s the Kerygma of Jesus. That’s what Jesus was teaching the people, and how he taught it startled them because he taught it as one who had authority. Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of God as one who lived within it, and which he further embodied for us all.

We must be open to living in the Kingdom of God, first, not our own kingdoms, not the kingdoms of this world, of authority, power, and privilege, but the Kingdom of God. And in God’s Kingdom we love God and we love our neighbor. In God's Kingdom we live according to the beatitudes: we give a cup of water in Jesus’ name, we reach out to the lost, the hungry, the naked, the widows and the orphans, those who have been excluded, to all those who are sick, to those who are oppressed by demonic disease or mentalities. We seek to cooperate in establishing God’s Kingdom, here on Earth, for others. We are called to offer the true, inclusive, life-transforming love of God with all. As we have been loved by God, we are called to love others.

That is what it means to follow the message of Jesus. Like Mark, we are accustomed to talking about Jesus, and what he did for us in his suffering, death, and resurrection – and we must talk about those things – but we must also talk about what Jesus taught us with his words as well as his deeds. In a world that is spiraling out of control, lost in a tailspin and careening toward the ground, we need the message of Jesus more than ever. We need the Kerygma of Christ to recover us, redirect us, and fly us in and through the Kingdom of God.

© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved