Mark 1:38 – And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come” (ESV, biblegateway.com).
In this passage of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples His purpose for taking on flesh. His statement comes early in His ministry; the crowds were becoming aware of who He was due to His miracles of healing sickness and casting out demons (v34). Evidence of His growing popularity is found in verse 37, where His disciples told Him that “everyone was looking” for Him.
While Jesus had compassion for the people He interacted with (Mk 1:41; 6:34) and performed more miracles than what was captured in the Bible (Jn 20:30), He assumed the form of man to preach. The question is, what did Jesus preach?
Mark 1:14-15 tells us that Jesus proclaimed the gospel of God, saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
A takeaway from Mark 1:38 is the Kingdom of God is right now. This world will produce suffering, but we don’t have to wait for our time in Heaven to experience God’s blessings. Experiencing His blessings begins with knowing how to receive them, then making it a daily habit of receiving what our King offers.