Mark 6:12

‘And they went out and preached that men should repent.'

As Jesus had commanded, the twelve Apostles went out, calling on men to ‘repent'. This meant to ‘have a change of heart and mind', and to ‘turn from sin' (see on Mark 1:4) and to recognise that the Kingly Rule of God was drawing near (Matthew 10:7), indeed was there to be accepted or refused. The ‘primitive' nature of the message (no mention of believing in Jesus or of the coming Judgment) demonstrates the authenticity of the passage. It was the initial message of Jesus, the foundation which had to be laid in preparation for what was to follow.