The Prudent Departure

# 230 Today’s Living Word comes from Mark 1:14 "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,”

Mark leaves about a year and a half gap in the ministry of Jesus and zooms ahead to our Lord’s activity after the imprisonment of John. (Most of the details of that gap by the way, are found in the Gospel of John.)

Jesus takes the message of the kingdom, the same message of repentance that John the Baptist preached and goes north to Galilee. It was not out of fear that He left the area around Jerusalem, it was more out of prudence. The Pharisees were already “onto” Him and His ministry.

In John 4:1 and 3 we read the reason for His departure to Galilee. “Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John...He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.”

The time was right for the gospel to be declared in word and deed, it just wasn’t the right time for the Son of Man to be delivered up to the cross. Jesus would return soon enough to Jerusalem for His passionate work of salvation for the world! Soon enough He would set His face toward Jerusalem to die for you and for me!

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.