A while ago I was discussing the Gospel of Mark with a friend. I commented that the Gospel of Mark seemed limited as if that was all you had you would know almost nothing about justification by faith. I was frustrated as I had spent time reading the Gospel of Mark and it seemed to be missing all the key details. What if Mark was all you had to read back then and you hadn’t encountered Paul’s letters? Surely there was a risk you could miss out if all you had was the Gospel of Mark.

It was then later that evening that I read the start of Mark again with fresh eyes and the words jumped out and took on a new meaning:

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV)

What was Jesus actually proclaiming? It was the “gospel of God” (the good news of God) that the Kingdom was at hand.

So the good news Jesus was proclaiming seemed to be about the Kingdom. So maybe Mark wasn’t missing anything?

The fact that the Kingdom is central to the teachings of Jesus is also confirmed at the start of Acts:

He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3 ESV)

So Jesus had 40 days with his disciples after having died and spent this incredibly valuable time teaching about the Kingdom. This was the big opportunity to add anything that might have been missed when he was alive. But to spend the 40 days speaking to them about the Kingdom of God suggests this really was his key focus.

So maybe the good news Jesus was proclaiming was about the Kingdom and Mark wasn’t missing anything. If so, it changed everything as we need to find out more.