“This is the time of fulfillment. The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the gospel.”
-Mark 1:15
I can find few passages in Mark’s gospel that could summarize Jesus’ message as completely as that one. It gives us the very essence of our religion and our very lives.
A closer look at the first sentence would show some very profound ideas. The meaning of it is based on three words. The first word is “this.” The pronoun gives the subject of the sentence. It gives us a sense of directness and to some extent, urgency. It points to us. “This” is our time. It’s not some other period with little effect on us. It tells us what specific time the statement is referring to. It’s not “that” time. It’s “this”
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