Going Anyway
The Way to Begin Again | Scene 3, Day 6
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
- Mark 1:14
Have you ever watched a favorite television show where the bad times just seems to never end? As soon as the poor main character resolves one problem, another one pops up like a comically tragic game of whack-a-mole.
My wife and I recently finished a television show about two brothers who seem to be endlessly caught up in a government conspiracy. No sooner had they broken out of prison or exonerated themselves from one false claim, than another one appears. Television show writers keep the suspense high, but it is almost laughable at times.
On the other hand, maybe life is a little like that too.
As long as you’re living, you never reach the full end of the story. One conflict seems to roll right into another, and the chapters pile up.
It can be exhausting, but also deeply true.
One of my favorite things about Mark’s Gospel is how quickly it dispels the myth that following Jesus is easy.
There is no glittering introduction or long backstory. We get a voice from heaven… and then a descent into wilderness. Before Jesus even utters His first sermon, He is already dealing with grief, loss, and setback.
John the Baptist—His cousin, His forerunner, perhaps even His best friend—is arrested. The one who baptized Him, who shouted His arrival, is now silenced. It is a gut punch.
And yet: “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.”
Jesus doesn’t wait for things to get better. He doesn’t gather a support group or ask for clarity. He simply goes. He steps forward, into His calling, in the face of pain.
And in doing so, He shows us something remarkable: the good news of God isn’t for perfect days. It is not a message preserved in religious glass. It is meant for moments like this, for times when hope seems foolish and courage seems costly.
Jesus knows what John’s arrest signals. He knows what kind of world He is stepping into. A world of power plays and fragile egos. A world where prophets get locked up and messengers get silenced. A world where pain comes fast and fairness feels optional. We learn more about this world as our story progresses, later.
Yet, Jesus goes anyway. Why?
Because the good news isn’t disconnected from the pain of the world. He confronts it. He is not naïve, but resilient. He doesn’t ignore grief but enters it. And through it, He brings hope.
My son has a poster in his room quoting Rocky Balboa’s speech to his son: “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
Pastor and author Timothy Keller points out that it is distinctly Christian to walk through suffering. “Walking” is a beautiful metaphor for responding to hard times. Rather than just stand there, or run the other way to avoid it, over and over in the biblical story, we see people walking through it. As Keller says, “we are to meet and move through suffering without shock or surprise, without denial of our sorrow or weakness, without resentment or paralyzing fear, yet also without acquiescence or capitulation, without surrender or despair.”1
That’s what Jesus does. Before he even starts, he suffers in the wilderness and learns his cousin John goes down.
Yet, he keeps moving forward.
Jesus took a major hit before He even began His ministry, but He kept going anyway. Following God’s will does not mean life is all sunshine and roses.
Jesus’ good news isn’t preserved in religious glass but forged in real loss and proclaimed in real pain. Jesus doesn’t wait for better circumstances. He steps into His calling in the face of grief, showing that good doesn’t occur despite the bad news of the world—it’s proven by it.
Pray
Lord, when the hits of the world threaten to knock me over, when I feel the loss of loved ones, and when the path ahead feels uncertain or painful, give me the courage to go anyway. Remind me that Your good news is stronger than the bad news of the world. Teach me to be a carrier of Your message—not from a place of ease, but from a place of faith. Amen.
Live It
Bad news: Name a moment in your life when bad news followed good news.
More forward: Where in your life is God asking you to move forward, even though the circumstances aren’t ideal?
Go anyway: What would it look like to “go anyway”?
Where We Are: Season 1 | Scene 3 of 6 | Day 6 of 6
Next: Scene Four posts Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Timothy Keller, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering (New York: Penguin, 2013), 226.
"If you're going through hell, keep going".
- Winston Churchill