“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
My Notes
What Does Mark 1:15 Mean?
Jesus' opening sermon in Mark is compressed into four statements: the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe the gospel. Four phrases that summarize His entire mission. The time (kairos, the appointed moment, not chronos, clock time) has arrived. The kingdom has drawn near. The appropriate response is twofold: turn (repent) and trust (believe).
The phrase "the time is fulfilled" (peplērōtai ho kairos) means the divinely appointed moment has reached completion. History has been moving toward this point. The prophets anticipated it. The ages prepared for it. And now it's here. The calendar of God's purposes has reached the day that was marked before the foundation of the world.
The two commands—repent and believe—are distinct but inseparable. Repentance (metanoeō, to change your mind, to turn around) addresses the past: stop going the direction you've been going. Belief (pisteuō, to trust, to commit to) addresses the future: start entrusting yourself to the good news. You can't believe without turning, and turning without believing leaves you directionless. Both together form the complete response to the arrived kingdom.
Reflection Questions
- 1.If Jesus' entire message is compressed into 'repent and believe,' what have you been adding to it that doesn't belong?
- 2.What does it mean to you that 'the time is fulfilled'—that you're living in the moment history was pointing toward?
- 3.Which do you find harder—repenting (turning from the old direction) or believing (trusting the new one)?
- 4.If the kingdom of God is 'at hand,' how should that proximity change the urgency of your response?
Devotional
Four statements. The most compressed sermon in the Gospels. The time is here. The kingdom has arrived. Turn around. Trust the good news. That's the whole message. Everything else Jesus says and does for the next three years is an expansion of these four sentences.
The "fulfilled time" changes everything about the moment you're in. You're not living in ordinary time. You're living in the time that every previous age was pointing toward. The prophets looked forward to this. The patriarchs anticipated it. And now it's here—not approaching, not someday, but at hand. The kingdom of God is as close as the next breath.
The two commands cover your entire spiritual life in two words: repent (deal with where you've been) and believe (commit to where you're going). Repentance without belief leaves you turned around with nowhere to go. Belief without repentance leaves you trying to trust God while still walking the wrong direction. You need both. Turn and trust. Stop and start. Leave the old and embrace the new.
If you've been overcomplicating your spiritual life—adding requirements, stacking conditions, multiplying steps—Jesus' opening sermon simplifies everything. The time is now. The kingdom is here. Turn around. Trust the good news. That's the entry point. Not a twelve-step program. Not a theological exam. Just: turn and trust. Start there. Everything else grows from those two movements.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And saying, the time is fulfilled,.... Either that which was fixed for the end of the law and prophets, the legal and…
The time is fulfilled - That is, the time for the appearance of the Messiah, the time so long foretold, has come. “The…
The time is fulfilled - That is, the time appointed for sending the Messiah; and particularly the time specified by…
Here is, I. A general account of Christ's preaching in Galilee. John gives an account of his preaching in Judea, before…
The time, i. e. the great fore-ordained and predicted time of the Messiah.
the kingdom of God or as it is called in St…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture