While the Old Testament promised that God would one day dwell again with his people, ruling them perfectly, justly, and eternally, Mark announces that that time has come. John the Baptist knew Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of this anticipation (1:7–8). His identity was affirmed by God at his baptism (1:11), confirmed by Satan in his temptations (1:13), and recognized by demons in his ministry (1:24; 3:11). Throughout this gospel account, Jesus’s royal authority is displayed in sickness healing, law interpreting, creation controlling, spirit exercising, disciple calling, and sin forgiving. And Christ himself wasn’t subtle, saying that, “The kingdom of God is at hand” (1:15) and revealing “mysteries of the kingdom of God” (4:11, 26, 30).

God’s people had been waiting centuries for a divine monarch, one who would deliver them, unite them, redeem them, and save them. And the first ten chapters of Mark declare with a choir of voices and a crescendo of clarity: “Jesus is that king!” But how will this Ruler be received?