Ep. 251. Mark 1 | Immediately

EPISODE 251

IMMEDIATELY: MARK 1

I am not sure what Mark's love for the word "Immediately" is all about, but I'll tell you one thing for sure: It captures my attention every time. It gives Jesus's work a sense of urgency. Immediately, the heavens were opened up. Immediately, the Spirit drove Jesus to the wilderness. Immediately, Peter and Andrew followed Jesus when beckoned. Immediately, Jesus called James and John to join the band of merry men. Immediately, Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. Immediately, there was a man with a demon. Immediately, Jesus went to Simon Peter's house. Immediately, the people told Peter's mother-in-law about Jesus. Immediately, the leprosy left the unclean man.

Doesn't this convey the beauty and power of God? Doesn't this make you feel like everything Jesus did was with intention? I read "immediately," and I am left in awe of the deliberate nature of Christ's ministry, his every step, and every word shaped by the purpose for which God sent him.

I sometimes wonder, when we read verses like 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has passed away, and all things have become new," why we skip over that and shrug our shoulders, saying, "I just hope I can be a little more like Jesus tomorrow." Why don't we reckon that God has done his work in us? We, upon our faith, were IMMEDIATELY brought from death to life; IMMEDIATELY given the Spirit of God; IMMEDIATELY ushered into the Kingdom of Heaven; IMMEDIATELY made new; IMMEDIATELY made righteous; IMMEDIATELY forgiven; and IMMEDIATELY given everything we need for life and godliness.

Do we really think Christ's urgency and power are somehow diminished in the twenty-first century? Maybe the problem is that we have preached a weak or flawed gospel too many times from the pulpit, and our people have gone away unchanged because they haven't actually met the risen Savior.

ADDITIONAL READING: Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1