September 21 – Feasting on the Red Letters

… 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." Mark 1:14-15 NASB

In many Bibles the words of Jesus are written in red. So if we are to feast on a banquet of Jesus’ teachings, we’ll be studying those red letter words. What do you think He meant when He said “the time is fulfilled?” God the Father had a plan—that His Son would be born of a woman and live a human life. Jesus was that only begotten Son and so that special time that God had planned was happening—fulfilled. He was the “kingdom”—as promised in the Old Testament. He was the Messiah who was sent by God. Jesus was calling people to repent and believe that He was the Messiah.

Imagine the Sea of Galilee, the water glistening in the sunlight. Jesus is walking along the shore—just enjoying the sunshine, fresh air and watching the people there along the water. Others may have been just out enjoying the seaside—and they heard Jesus preaching, so they gathered around Him—feasting on those red letter words. KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND. REPENT. BELIEVE. Is this the man who had been baptized by that fellow John a few weeks ago in the Jordan River? Now He is living in Capernaum. Where is He from? From Nazareth, you say. What does He do? He’s a carpenter. He doesn’t sound like any carpenter that I’ve ever known. Repent? Believe? What Kingdom—the Romans rule here. Now if we could have a new ruler that would be good—let’s listen to what He’s saying.

The red letters words help us to focus on just what was spoken by Jesus. Those could likely be the most important words that we’ll ever read in our lifetime. Repent means to change one’s mind, to turn back. According to the Blue Letter Bible, repentance (metanoia, 'change of mind') involves a turning with contrition from sin to God. Believe means to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in. To “believe” in Jesus means to assuredly know that He is the Son of God. Did the people at the Sea of Galilee repent and believe? We don’t know, but we do know that He met some fishermen and changed their lives. We’ll look at those red letter words tomorrow. For now, search your own hearts and see how Jesus’ words “repent” and “believe” challenge you.

Dear Jesus—let me hear your words deep in my soul, not just in my ears—and help me respond to them and share them with others. You are my Messiah. 

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for metanoeō (Strong's 3340)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 21 Sep 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm? strongs=G3340 >

Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for pisteuō (Strong's 4100)". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2012. 21 Sep 2012. < http:// www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm? Strongs=G4100&t=KJV

© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.