Time to Move On: Mark 1:14-38

“He said to them, ‘Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for’” (Mark 1:38, NASB).

We cannot accomplish all that God wants us to if we do not know when to move on. It’s easy to get stuck in a good situation that keeps us from moving on. We must know what our purpose is in God’s plan for our lives. Attention and popularity can cause up to stay in a place doing good things that grabs our attention, make us feel good about ourselves and the work that we are doing. That’s not a bad thing but we must never forget what God called us to do. When we are doing good things we must maintain our focus on the thing that God called us to do. We must know when it is time to move on. In Mark 1 we find that Jesus did not allow good things to keep Him from moving on so that He could carry out the mission that the Father had sent Him to do.

Before we get into our text let us take note of one of the characteristics of Mark’s writings. Mark does not spend much time on the details of the things that Jesus did. Mark has a destination that he is headed to. Mark wants to tell the story of Jesus as the Son of God. He died on the cross to save people from their sin. Ultimately, Mark wants to tell his audience that above everything else the preaching of the gospel is the most important message that the Christian community gives to the world. “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned’” (Mk. 16:15-16, NASB). Let us look at our text. We will learn that Jesus shows us that there is a time to move on.

Mark begins his gospel with these words: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mk 1:1, NASB). This is Mark’s introduction sentence. It tells the reader that this writing is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Marks moves quickly from one event to another. Like Paul Revere who rode at midnight to warn the colonies that the British army was coming Mark is in a hurry to get to the point that in His ministry Jesus shows Himself to be the Christ; the Son of God but most people do not recognize Him as the Messiah that saves people from their sins.

In chapter 1 Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist. “A voice came out of heaven: ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased’” (1:11). The Spirit impels Jesus to go into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Unlike the other two synoptic writers Matthew and Luke, Mark gives us no details of Jesus’ temptation. He moves on. Jesus hears that John had been taken into custody (arrested). Jesus spends no time worry about His cousin John. Instead, “He 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’” (1:14-15). Later Jesus chooses Simon and his brother Andrew along with James and his brother John. He wants them to follow Him because He wants them to join with Him in preaching the gospel of God. They will become fishers of men.

After Jesus chooses His first four disciples Jesus moves on to continue the work that the Father sends Him to do. “They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered into the synagogue and began to teach (v. 21). A man with an unclean spirit recognizes that Jesus of Nazareth is the Holy One of God. The man with the unclean spirit is aware that Jesus is come to destroy the ones that do not believe in Him. Jesus rebukes the unclean spirit. The people are amazed that the unclean spirit obeyed Jesus. Jesus instantly becomes a popular personality because of His power to heal and to drive out unclean spirits (vv. 30-34). At this point it seems that the people are not interested in hearing the gospel. They are attracted to Jesus because He is able to heal them from their diseases. They are now able to live a more comfortable life. Jesus does not rebuke the people directly. Jesus knows what Abraham Maslow would discover centuries later. Comfort and security are more important to people than the thought of a future life in the kingdom of God. On the other hand Jesus knows that even though the people are healed from their physical diseases, ultimately they will have to deal with their life after death. Jesus preaches the gospel because it is through the preaching of the gospel that people believe and are saved.

After Jesus heals the people He gets up the next day and finds a place to pray (v. 35). Simon and his companions searched and found Jesus. They told Him that the people were looking for Him. However, Jesus knows that while healing someone is a good thing to do, healing was not the focal point of His ministry. Jesus tells Simon and his companions the focus of His ministry. “He said to them, ‘let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for’’ (v. 38). Jesus knows that it is time for Him to move own. Let us look at some reasons that Jesus moves on, and in doing so we will learn that there are times that we too must move on.

First, Jesus knows that preaching the gospel of God is His purpose. The people are glad to hear Him preach, but they are distracted from His preaching when they learn that Jesus is able to give them creature comforts. In healing the people of their diseases and challenging the demonic spirits, Jesus was showing the power and compassion of God. We are saved from sin by the power of God and the shed blood of Jesus. We are saved from sin because God loves us and according to His compassion for us He saves us by His grace through faith (See Rom. 5:8; Eph. 2:8-9).

Secondly, Jesus did not come into the world to be a celebrity with a large fan club. It is easy to be distracted by the accolades and the hype. Human beings naturally want to be accepted and have a sense of accomplishment. Simon and his companions look for Jesus because they see that He is a popular figure among the people. Jesus has talents and he has something that the people want. I believe that there are people that are called to meet the needs of people, but Jesus knows that this is not His purpose. He must do what the Father sent Him to do. He must move on to other towns because in the other towns he will be able to preach the gospel of God.

Jesus never allows distractions to prevent Him from His purpose. He comes into the world to tell people about the love of God. God cannot abide sins; therefore, people must be forgiven of their sins if they are to be reconciled to God. He must move on to other towns so that He can continue the mission that the Father sends Him on. Jesus knows that at the appropriate time the world will know who He is as well as the purpose that He came into the world.

You and I can learn from Jesus. Sometimes we simply must move on. This means that we might need to move on from some things that gives us notoriety and success. We may have to move on from a job, a ministry and relationships. We may need to move from the home that we live in so that we can go to the place that God is calling us to. In our new home we will learn that we are now better able to do the work that God calls us to do. Are you failing to do what you know deep in your heart what God has called you to do? Have you become comfortable with the success that you now enjoy? If you know that you are where God wants you to be and doing what God has called you to do, stay put. On the other hand if you know that you are not where God wants you to be and doing what God called you to do, it is time to move on.