Mark 1:4,5 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
v.9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan .
v.14,15 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."
Just a couple of things I need to point out:
1. If we desire to enter into the kingdom we must do it the same way everyone has from the time of John’s proclamation of the coming kingdom to the time Jesus said it was here; repentance.
This isn’t just me saying, “oh God I’m sorry I was wrong please forgive me. ” It is a complete renunciation of my old way of life and submission to the reign of the King. John makes this very clear when he tells the Pharisees “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.” (Matt 3:8,9)
If we do not produce this “fruit” we have good reason to doubt the validity of our religious experience. Even Jesus came into the kingdom through this “baptism.” If even Jesus had to enter in this way what makes us think we can do it any other way?
After Jesus' baptism He Began to preach; not about salvation as we so often do today but about the arrival of the kingdom. This was the good news or “gospel” which Jesus taught! This was the message of Jesus and the early church. I'm sure a greater knowledge of revival history would show that it was also the message which was brought to truly change the lives and impact the world around the saints.
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