Mark 1:14-28
From the time that the Lord Jesus appeared, the ministry of John the Baptist came to an end.
The kingdom of God is at hand; the King is amongst His people in person. And He makes a proclamation which is summed up in two commandments which are still valid today, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel". The Lord reads in the heart of each one the answer given to this pressing invitation. Then to those who have listened to Him and received Him, He addresses another personal call, a call to serve and follow Him. "Come ye after me", He says to four disciples whose innermost thoughts He knew. "And straightway they . . . followed him". So that they could do this, let us emphasize this, this call was essential. Man cannot say, of his own accord, to God, "I give myself to you"; it is the Lord who, knowing everything, decides, "I will take you into my service".
At Capernaum, the Lord Jesus cures a man possessed by an unclean spirit who was even in the synagogue, distinct proof of the terrible state of ruin into which Israel had then fallen. From the commencement of the Lord’s ministry His power is in conflict with the power of Satan – which we may not readily recognise – but which has its effect on our bodies as well as our souls.