The Four Calls on Every Christian’s LifeSample

Jesus Calls Us to Believe in Him

The gospel of Mark describes the beginning of Jesus’ ministry similarly to Matthew, but with additional detail and an added command.

Mark 1:14–15 tells us,

“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’”

Whether phrased as “believe” or “have faith,” Jesus’ second command is a recurring theme throughout the Gospels. Rather than presenting it as a new command, however, Jesus expects His followers to have faith in Him and is saddened when they don’t.

For example, Jesus expected Peter to have enough faith to walk on water. Matthew 14:31 tells us,

“Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’”

After Jesus calmed the storm for His terrified disciples, He said to them,

“Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:40).

Not only did Jesus expect His followers to have faith in Him, but many of Jesus’ miracles depended on it. The Bible tells us Jesus healed a servant (Matthew 8:5­13), a bleeding woman (Matthew 9:20–22), and a Gentile girl (Matthew 15:22–28) in direct response to someone’s faith, but “he did not do many miracles [in his hometown] because of their lack of faith” (Matthew 13:58).

It’s important to note that in this context, belief doesn’t merely mean believing that Jesus existed. It means to believe that Jesus is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do.

When God asks you to do something, do you tend to procrastinate or come up with excuses why you can’t fully obey? Do you only partially obey until God proves Himself to you?

I am not advocating blind faith. I believe God gave us brains because He expects us to use them to make wise decisions. There comes a point, however, when our human reasoning isn’t enough. When we have to decide, Do I truly believe Jesus is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do? What does my life say about what I truly believe?

Read Hebrews 11. How does the Bible define faith? How did each of these men and women demonstrate faith?