Although the Gospel of Mark began with John, his prophetic statement of One coming who was greater than he comes to fulfillment. John is arrested, and Jesus begins His ministry. The message Jesus spoke was very similar to the one of John, a message of repentance. Yet to that message of repentance, Jesus adds one very important thing that distinguishes His message from John’s: believe in the gospel (faith).
The first two chapters of Mark flow quickly. The narratives are brief, many of the sentences begin with “and” (in the original Greek and in some English versions such as the ESV), and there are quite a few uses of the word “immediately.” This shows the urgency in the task of Jesus.
We also see this urgency in the calling of the first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John. One of the first things that Jesus does when he begins His ministry is to bring others in to begin to train them, so they will be able to take over the lead when the time comes for His ministry to end. His ministry is not about one person’s desires, but it is God’s plan.