Mark 1:38,39 - I came to preach

1:38

This verse states so clearly what Jesus came to do, He came to preach the good news. This doesn’t mean He didn’t do anything else, we know full well that He did, and have just read of some of the healings and casting out of demons, but preaching the good news was His primary task (prior to the cross of course!). The primary task of the church is also to preach the good news. As with Jesus, this most definitely does not mean that we do not do anything else, but we all too easily make the other things (feeding the hungry, helping the poor, healing) the main focus. When we do that we have lost our focus.

1:39

So Jesus went throughout all Galilee. He preached in the synagogues and cast out demons. So we see again the wonderful balance in Jesus’ life and ministry, and the wonderful nature of it. We should also view out ministry, as individuals and as churches, in the light of this. Is preaching the word of God our prime purpose or are we subverting it to other things? And when did we last cast demons out? Now I know that there are numerous examples of churches making a mess of this, but we need to ask God to shows us how to do it properly, in a Biblical manner. But back to preaching. The truth is that it is easier to feed the poor and help the sick than it is to faithfully preach the word of God. We can do the former in our own strength and see some immediate results. It will also result in society speaking well of us, we will have their approval. Preaching the word of God faithfully will put us at odds with society, and we are dependent upon God for results.