The Good News of the Kingdom

The Good News · Article 6 of 10 · 2026-10-27 · Key passages: Mark 1:14–15; Luke 4:43; Acts 8:12. Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.

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Mark begins Jesus’ preaching in a few lines:

Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

— Mark 1:14–15

Some in Israel were already waiting. Luke says of Joseph of Arimathaea that he “was also waiting for God’s Kingdom.” (Luke 23:51). Simeon was “looking for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Some readers have heard the good news told without the word Kingdom in it at all. Yet Jesus said of this message, “For this reason I have been sent.” (Luke 4:43). Articles 4 and 5 took up his death and his rising. This article asks what Jesus meant by God’s Kingdom, and why he called it good news. It asks whose Kingdom it is, and whether it has come. It asks whether the same good news was preached after he rose. We ask you to read what the text says, and to check every word.

Read These First

• Mark 1:14–15: Jesus begins to preach.
• Luke 4:16–21, 43: Jesus reads Isaiah, and says why he was sent.
• Luke 1:30–33: the throne of his father David.
• Daniel 7:13–14: a kingdom given to one like a son of man.
• Acts 8:5–12: Philip in Samaria.
• Acts 28:23–31: Paul in Rome.

Jesus Was Sent to Preach the Good News of God’s Kingdom

What the text says. In Nazareth, Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read from Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

— Luke 4:18–19

He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21). When the crowds held on to him so that he would not go away, he said, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.” (Luke 4:43). Passages: Isaiah 61:1–2; Luke 4:16–21, 42–44.

The Gospels say this again and again. “Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.” (Matthew 4:23). “Soon afterwards, he went about through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of God’s Kingdom. With him were the twelve,” (Luke 8:1). He sent the twelve out the same way: “He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:2). He told the seventy to say, “God’s Kingdom has come near to you.” (Luke 10:9). Jesus also said, “The law and the prophets were until John. From that time the Good News of God’s Kingdom is preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” (Luke 16:16). Passages: Matthew 9:35; Luke 9:6, 11; 10:1.

The healing went with the preaching. When John the Baptizer sent to ask about him, Jesus answered, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Luke 7:22). Isaiah had written, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7). Paul quotes the beginning of that verse of those sent to preach: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Good News of peace,” (Romans 10:15), a canonical connection by quotation.

Matthew usually writes the Kingdom of Heaven where Mark and Luke write God’s Kingdom. Mark has “God’s Kingdom is at hand!” (Mark 1:15), and Matthew has “For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17). Matthew himself uses both names in two sentences of one saying:

Jesus said to his disciples, “Most certainly I say to you, a rich man will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with difficulty. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to enter into God’s Kingdom.”

— Matthew 19:23–24

The same parables are told under both names. Matthew has, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed” (Matthew 13:31). Mark has, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it? It’s like a grain of mustard seed,” (Mark 4:30–31). Matthew has “the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 13:11), where Luke has “the mysteries of God’s Kingdom” (Luke 8:10). Passages: Luke 13:18–19; Mark 4:11.

What we conclude. Jesus himself names the good news of God’s Kingdom as the reason he was sent (Luke 4:43). Our conclusion is that no account of the good news Jesus preached is complete if the Kingdom is left out. Scripture says plainly that he called his hearers to “Repent, and believe in the Good News.” (Mark 1:15). How a person responds is the subject of Article 7. Our conclusion is also that the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s Kingdom are two names for one Kingdom. Jesus uses both in one saying (Matthew 19:23–24), and the same parables are told under both names (Matthew 13:31; Mark 4:30–31).

Jesus explains the parable of the weeds himself: “the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.” (Matthew 13:38). “The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.” (Matthew 13:39). Then “they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity,” (Matthew 13:41). “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:43). Under the name God’s Kingdom, Jesus told the chief priests and Pharisees, who “perceived that he spoke about them” (Matthew 21:45), “God’s Kingdom will be taken away from you and will be given to a nation producing its fruit.” (Matthew 21:43). Our conclusion is that Jesus does not make the Kingdom of Heaven a kingdom that profession alone can enter (Matthew 7:21). Our conclusion is also that, under both names, some who are counted in the Kingdom are later removed, and that the weeds and the net show what will happen at the harvest, not a second kingdom. Our conclusion is that Matthew 21:43 does not mean God has replaced Israel (see God’s promises to Israel, and whether the church replaces Israel under Questions Answered). Our conclusion is that Matthew 19:23–24 points the same way, for in one saying, joined by “Again I tell you” (Matthew 19:24), Jesus speaks of a rich man entering under both names. Passages: Matthew 5:20; 21:43–45; 13:36–43, 47–50; Mark 10:23–25; Luke 18:24–25.

God Gives the Kingdom to Jesus, His King

What the text says. Scripture speaks of God’s Kingdom long before Jesus. “Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19). Yet the prophets also spoke of a kingdom God would set up. God promised David a son: “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:13). Isaiah wrote of a child to be born, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom,” (Isaiah 9:7). Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar:

“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

— Daniel 2:44

Daniel later saw a kingdom given to one like a son of man:

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed.

— Daniel 7:13–14

In the same vision Daniel is told, “But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.” (Daniel 7:18). Passages: 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Psalm 145:11–13; Isaiah 9:6–7; Daniel 7:27.

Before Jesus was born, the angel Gabriel told Mary:

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

— Luke 1:32–33

At his trial the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mark 14:61). Jesus said, “I am. You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky.” (Mark 14:62). The words with the clouds of the sky and son of man come from Daniel 7:13, a canonical connection by shared wording. Pilate asked him, “Are you a king then?” (John 18:37). Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I have been born, and for this reason I have come into the world, that I should testify to the truth.” (John 18:37). At the Last Supper Jesus said to the apostles, “I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me,” (Luke 22:29).

The second psalm speaks of “his Anointed” (Psalm 2:2), and God says, “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.” (Psalm 2:6). After Peter and John were let go, they and their companions prayed that psalm and named the one it speaks of. They quoted, “The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers plot together, against the Lord, and against his Christ.” (Acts 4:26). Then they said, “For truly, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed,” (Acts 4:27). Andrew told his brother, “We have found the Messiah!” (John 1:41). John adds that Messiah is, “being interpreted, Christ” (John 1:41). Nathanael said to Jesus, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are King of Israel!” (John 1:49). Passages: Psalm 2:1–8; Acts 4:24–28.

The apostles speak of the Kingdom as God’s and as Christ’s together. God “translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love,” (Colossians 1:13). Paul writes of “the Kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:5). In John’s vision, voices in heaven say, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15). Paul also writes that at the end the Son “will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father” (1 Corinthians 15:24). Paul does not say there that the Kingdom ends, and of the city John writes, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,” (Revelation 22:3). Passages: 1 Corinthians 15:24–28; 2 Peter 1:11.

What we conclude. Scripture says plainly that God will give Jesus the throne of his father David, that there will be no end to his Kingdom, and that the Father conferred a kingdom on him (Luke 1:32–33; 22:29). It says plainly that Jesus is the Christ, the one God anointed (Acts 4:26–27), and he spoke to Pilate of “My Kingdom” (John 18:36). Our conclusion is that the good news of God’s Kingdom is good news about a King, Jesus, whom God anointed and to whom God gives the Kingdom. Our conclusion is also that Jesus points to Daniel’s vision, of a kingdom given to one like a son of man, as speaking of himself (Mark 14:62; Daniel 7:13–14). Our conclusion is that he takes the throne of David at his return; see Questions Answered.

The Kingdom Has Come Near, and It Is Still to Come

What the text says. Jesus spoke of the Kingdom as already near, and even as already come. “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand!” (Mark 1:15). He said, “But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28). He said, “the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.” (Matthew 21:31). Paul writes that God “delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love,” (Colossians 1:13). John writes that Jesus “made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father” (Revelation 1:6). Passages: Luke 10:9; 11:20; 16:16; 17:20–21.

Jesus also spoke of the Kingdom as still to come. He taught his disciples to pray, “Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). At the last Passover he said, “I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until God’s Kingdom comes.” (Luke 22:18). He said, “many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,” (Matthew 8:11). When the Son of Man comes in his glory, “the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;” (Matthew 25:34). Passages: Luke 13:28–29; 22:16; Matthew 25:31.

The apostles say the same. Paul and Barnabas told the disciples “that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.” (Acts 14:22). Paul writes, “flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom” (1 Corinthians 15:50). He charges Timothy before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, “who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:” (2 Timothy 4:1). He writes, “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom.” (2 Timothy 4:18). Peter writes of “the entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:11). Passages: 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5.

What we conclude. Scripture says plainly that the Kingdom had come near (Mark 1:15). To the Pharisees who said he cast out demons by Beelzebul (Matthew 12:24), Jesus said, “if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28). It says plainly that believers are translated into the Kingdom of the Son (Colossians 1:13). It says just as plainly that the Kingdom is still to come, to be prayed for, entered and inherited (Matthew 6:10; 25:34; Acts 14:22). Our conclusion is that a reader must keep both sets of verses, and that neither cancels the other. Our conclusion is that the Kingdom is present now in its King and his power, and comes in full on earth when Jesus returns (see What the Kingdom is now under Questions Answered).

Mark’s next words are, “After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and brought them up onto a high mountain privately by themselves, and he was changed into another form in front of them.” (Mark 9:2). Matthew and Luke tell the same event next (Matthew 17:1–2; Luke 9:28–29). Peter later wrote, “we didn’t follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16). He names the place: “when we were with him on the holy mountain.” (2 Peter 1:18).

Peter also wrote of a like objection. He wrote that mockers would come, saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Peter 3:4). He answered, “But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8). “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). Our conclusion is that Jesus did not teach that the Kingdom would be revealed at once, for he told the parable of the nobleman to correct that very thought (Luke 19:11–15). Jesus also told the Pharisees that if he cast out demons by the Spirit of God, God’s Kingdom had come upon them (Matthew 12:28), and he taught his disciples to pray, “Let your Kingdom come.” (Matthew 6:10). Our conclusion is that this generation in Luke 21:32 and Matthew 24:34 means Jesus’ hearers, and that his return is still future. Mark 9:1, Matthew 16:28, Matthew 10:23 and Mark 14:62 are answered in the same place (see This generation and Jesus’ time sayings under Questions Answered). We invite readers to read Mark 8:38–9:8, Luke 19:11–27 and Luke 21:5–36 whole, and to weigh them for themselves.

After He Rose, God’s Kingdom Was Preached with the Name of Jesus Christ

What the text says. After he rose, Jesus was with the apostles “over a period of forty days and speaking about God’s Kingdom.” (Acts 1:3). He told them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46–47). He had said before, “This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14).

In Samaria, Philip “proclaimed to them the Christ.” (Acts 8:5). Luke says what the Samaritans believed:

But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

— Acts 8:12

Our conclusion is that this Philip was not one of the twelve. The believers “were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.” (Acts 8:1). Luke goes on, “Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word.” (Acts 8:4), and Philip went down to Samaria (Acts 8:5). Philip later came to Caesarea (Acts 8:40), and at Caesarea Luke names “Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven” (Acts 21:8). When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, “they sent Peter and John to them,” (Acts 8:14).

Paul, too, preached God’s Kingdom. In Ephesus he spoke boldly in the synagogue for three months, “reasoning and persuading about the things concerning God’s Kingdom.” (Acts 19:8). To the elders of Ephesus he said:

But these things don’t count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God. “Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God’s Kingdom, will see my face no more.

— Acts 20:24–25

In Rome, at the end of Acts, Paul “explained to them, testifying about God’s Kingdom, and persuading them concerning Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning until evening.” (Acts 28:23). Luke ends his book with Paul “preaching God’s Kingdom and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, without hindrance.” (Acts 28:31). Paul also told the Corinthians what he had delivered “first of all” (1 Corinthians 15:3): “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). Passages: Acts 8:4–14; 14:21–22; 28:23–31; 1 Corinthians 15:1–4.

What we conclude. Scripture says plainly that after the resurrection Philip preached “good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12). It says plainly that Paul was “preaching God’s Kingdom and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31). Our conclusion is that the good news of the Kingdom was not set aside after the cross, but was preached with what the cross and the empty tomb had shown. Paul says his ministry was “to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24). In the next sentence he speaks to the same people of “preaching God’s Kingdom” (Acts 20:25). Our conclusion is that these are two names for the one good news he preached.

On Galatians 2:7, the next two verses explain it. Paul writes, “for he who worked through Peter in the apostleship with the circumcised also worked through me with the Gentiles—” (Galatians 2:8). The leaders agreed “that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision.” (Galatians 2:9). Paul says they “imparted nothing to me” (Galatians 2:6), and gave him “the right hand of fellowship” (Galatians 2:9). Of his good news and theirs he writes, “Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:11). Paul says the mystery “has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,” (Ephesians 3:5), not to him alone. The mystery is, in his own words, “that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,” (Ephesians 3:6). Our conclusion is that Galatians 2:7 names the people to whom each was sent, not two different messages. Paul says he received his good news by revelation (Galatians 1:12). His good news names Jesus as David’s offspring: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the offspring of David, according to my Good News,” (2 Timothy 2:8). Our conclusion is also that it was the same good news the other apostles preached (1 Corinthians 15:11; Galatians 2:9). We invite readers to read Galatians 1:6–2:10 and Acts 28:17–31 whole.

Questions Answered

These questions touch this article. Each is answered from Scripture and labeled. The Statement of Faith, section 15, gives the same answers.

What the Kingdom is now. Our conclusion: God’s Kingdom is present now in its King and his power, and believers are brought into it. It comes in full on earth when Jesus returns.

Jesus said: “But if I by God’s finger cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come to you.” (Luke 11:20).

Read the other way: Luke 17:21; 1 Corinthians 15:50. Confidence: Solid. Both halves are stated in plain words; joining them is our step.

When Jesus takes David’s throne. Our conclusion: Jesus takes David’s throne at his return. Now he sits with his Father on the Father’s throne, at God’s right hand.

Jesus said: “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.” (Matthew 25:31).

Read the other way: Acts 2:30; 15:16. Confidence: Solid. Matthew 25:31 and Revelation 3:21 are plain; Acts 2:30 is answered by its own context. Peter “spoke about the resurrection of the Christ,” (Acts 2:31).

The thousand years. Our conclusion: after his return, Christ reigns with his raised people for the thousand years Revelation states. We take the number as given and count no dates from it.

John saw: “I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:4).

Read the other way: Revelation 20:4. Confidence: Solid for the order: return, then reign. Narrow for whether the number is exact, which Scripture does not settle.

God’s promises to Israel, and whether the church replaces Israel. Our conclusion: God has not replaced Israel. Gentile believers share Israel’s hope, and Israel as a people will turn to Jesus in faith, at a time the Father has set.

Paul wrote: “For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in,” (Romans 11:25) “and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Romans 11:26).

Read the other way: Romans 9:6; Galatians 6:16; Matthew 21:43. Confidence: Solid. Romans 11:25–29 speaks directly; how and when is left with the Father.

Daniel’s fourth kingdom. Our conclusion: Daniel does not name the fourth kingdom. Rome fits best, because God set up his kingdom in the days of those kings, when Jesus came. No part of our teaching rests on the name.

Daniel said: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.” (Daniel 2:44).

Read the other way: Daniel 8:20–21, read as making Greece the fourth kingdom. Confidence: Narrow. The text leaves the kingdom unnamed; Rome is the best fit, not a stated fact.

The seventy weeks of Daniel 9. Our conclusion: the seventy weeks run to the Anointed One, who is cut off, and to the city’s destruction. Jesus placed that destruction in his hearers’ generation, and we find no verse that teaches a seven-year tribulation.

Gabriel said: “After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:26).

Read the other way: Daniel 9:27. Confidence: Solid against any seven-year scheme. Narrow on who makes the covenant, which the text does not settle.

This generation and Jesus’ time sayings. Our conclusion: This generation means Jesus’ hearers, and Jerusalem fell in AD 70, as he said. His return, the resurrection and the judgment are still future, after the times of the Gentiles.

Jesus said: “Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are accomplished.” (Matthew 24:34).

Read the other way: Matthew 16:28; 10:23. Confidence: Solid. Luke 21:20–24 shows both the near event and the long interval.

The day of the return, and an unseen presence. Jesus will come again, once, publicly and visibly, and every eye will see him. No one knows the day or hour, so we set no date and teach no hidden coming.

Jesus said: “But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36).

Read the other way: 1 Thessalonians 4:17. Confidence: Strong. Jesus said in plain words that the Father alone knows the day. That is the definite answer.

What Scripture does not say. Scripture does not give the day of his return, so we set no date. Scripture does not say who makes the covenant of Daniel 9:27. It does not say whether the thousand years are an exact count.

“The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Where We Stand

Scripture says

• Jesus came “preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom,” (Mark 1:14) and said, “Repent, and believe in the Good News.” (Mark 1:15).
• Jesus said of the good news of God’s Kingdom, “For this reason I have been sent.” (Luke 4:43).
• In one saying Jesus spoke of a rich man entering “the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23), and then of a rich man entering “God’s Kingdom” (Matthew 19:24).
• God will give Jesus the throne of his father David, and there will be no end to his Kingdom (Luke 1:32–33).
• Jesus said that his Father conferred a kingdom on him, and he told Pilate, “You say that I am a king.” (Luke 22:29; John 18:37).
• Jesus told the Pharisees, “if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28). He taught his disciples to pray, “Let your Kingdom come.” (Matthew 6:10).
• Jesus told the parable of the nobleman because his hearers “supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately.” (Luke 19:11).
• The Samaritans believed Philip “preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12), and Paul preached God’s Kingdom and the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ in Rome (Acts 28:31).
• Paul spoke to the same elders of “the Good News of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) and of “preaching God’s Kingdom” (Acts 20:25).

We conclude

• Our conclusion: no account of the good news Jesus preached is complete if the Kingdom is left out (Luke 4:43; Mark 1:14–15).
• Our conclusion: the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s Kingdom are two names for one Kingdom (Matthew 19:23–24; 13:31; Mark 4:30–31).
• Our conclusion: Jesus does not make the Kingdom of Heaven a kingdom that profession alone can enter, and the weeds and the net show what will happen at the harvest, not a second kingdom (Matthew 7:21; 13:38–43).
• Our conclusion: the good news of God’s Kingdom is good news about a King, Jesus, whom God anointed and to whom God gives the Kingdom (Luke 1:32–33; 22:29; Acts 4:26–27).
• Our conclusion: Jesus points to Daniel’s vision of a kingdom given to one like a son of man as speaking of himself (Mark 14:62; Daniel 7:13–14).
• Our conclusion: when the crowd wanted to make him king “by force” (John 6:15), Jesus refused their way, not the Kingdom (John 18:36–37).
• Our conclusion: a reader must keep both the verses that say the Kingdom has come and the verses that say it is still to come, and neither cancels the other (Matthew 12:28; 6:10).
• Our conclusion: Jesus did not teach that the Kingdom would be revealed at once (Luke 19:11–15).
• Our conclusion: the good news of the Kingdom was not set aside after the cross, but was preached with what the cross and the empty tomb had shown (Acts 8:12; 28:23, 31).
• Our conclusion: the Good News of the grace of God and preaching God’s Kingdom are two names for the one good news Paul preached (Acts 20:24–25).
• Our conclusion: Galatians 2:7 names the people to whom each apostle was sent, not two different messages (Galatians 2:8–9; 1 Corinthians 15:11).

Hope

Jesus said, “Blessed are you who are poor, for God’s Kingdom is yours.” (Luke 6:20). James asks:

Listen, my beloved brothers. Didn’t God choose those who are poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which he promised to those who love him?

— James 2:5

Jesus said, “They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom.” (Luke 13:29). Paul writes of God, “who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory.” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Hebrews says, “Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken, let’s have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe,” (Hebrews 12:28).

The Lord is not slow concerning his promise; he “is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). And the King himself will tell those on his right hand, “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;” (Matthew 25:34).

Living It Out

These are applications, offered as invitations.

• Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Let your Kingdom come.” (Matthew 6:10). You might pray those words slowly this week, and think about what you are asking for.
• Jesus said, “But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33). Consider one worry you could set down in light of that promise.
• Try reading Luke 4:14–44 and Acts 28:17–31 in one sitting, to hear how the Kingdom was preached at the start and at the end.
• Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field; the man who found it “sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44). You might ask what you treasure, and why.
• When you tell someone the good news, you might tell it as Philip did, the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:12).

Questions for Reflection

1. What did Jesus preach when he came into Galilee, and what did he call his hearers to do? (See the opening.)
2. Why did Jesus say he had been sent, in Luke 4:43? (See Jesus Was Sent to Preach the Good News of God’s Kingdom.)
3. What did Gabriel tell Mary about Jesus’ throne and Kingdom, and what does Jesus say about his Kingdom in John 18:36? (See God Gives the Kingdom to Jesus, His King.)
4. Why did Jesus tell the parable of the nobleman in Luke 19, and how does it bear on the claim that he was mistaken? (See The Kingdom Has Come Near, and It Is Still to Come.)
5. What did Paul say his ministry was, in Acts 20:24, and what did he say he had been preaching in the next verse? (See After He Rose, God’s Kingdom Was Preached with the Name of Jesus Christ.)
6. What would it mean for you to seek first God’s Kingdom this week? (See Living It Out.)

Check It Yourself

• Opening: Mark 1:14–15; Luke 2:25; 23:50–51; Luke 4:43.
• Sent to preach the Kingdom: Luke 4:16–21, 42–44; Isaiah 61:1–2; Matthew 4:17, 23; 9:35; Luke 7:22; 8:1; 9:2, 6, 11; 10:1, 9; 16:16; Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15; Matthew 19:23–24; Mark 10:23–25; Luke 18:24–25; Matthew 13:11, 24–31, 36–43, 47–50; Mark 4:11, 30–31; Luke 8:10; 13:18–19; John 3:3; Matthew 5:20; 7:21; 8:11–12; 18:3; 21:43–45; Luke 13:28.
• His King: Psalm 103:19; 145:11–13; 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Isaiah 9:6–7; Daniel 2:44; 7:13–14, 18, 27; Luke 1:30–33; Mark 14:61–62; John 18:33–37; Luke 22:29–30; Psalm 2:1–8; Acts 4:24–28; John 1:41, 49; Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 11:15; 1 Corinthians 15:24–28; 2 Peter 1:11; Revelation 22:3; Acts 2:29–36; Luke 17:20–21; Romans 14:15–17; John 6:15.
• Come near, still to come: Mark 1:15; Matthew 12:22–28; Luke 11:20; Matthew 21:31; Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:6; Matthew 6:9–10; Luke 22:16–18; Matthew 8:11; Luke 13:28–29; Matthew 25:5, 31–34; Acts 14:22; 1 Corinthians 15:50; 2 Timothy 4:1, 18; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; Luke 21:31–32; Matthew 24:34; Mark 8:38–9:2; Matthew 10:23; 16:27–17:2; Luke 9:26–29; 2 Peter 1:16–18; Luke 19:11–27; Acts 1:6–7; 2 Peter 3:3–9.
• After he rose: Acts 1:3, 13; Luke 24:44–47; Matthew 24:14; Acts 6:5; 8:1, 4–14, 40; 21:8; 19:8; 20:24–25; 28:17–31; 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, 11; Luke 9:2, 6; Matthew 10:5–7; 16:21–22; Luke 18:31–34; Galatians 1:11–12; 2:2, 6–9; Ephesians 3:1–9; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:8.
• Answered: Statement of Faith, section 15; Luke 11:20; Matthew 25:31; Revelation 20:4; Romans 11:25; 11:26; Daniel 2:44; 9:26; Matthew 24:34; 24:36; Deuteronomy 29:29.
• Hope: Luke 6:20; James 2:5; Luke 13:29; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; Hebrews 12:28; 2 Peter 3:9; Matthew 25:34.

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Next in The Good News: How to Respond: Repent, Believe, Be Baptized. What does Scripture tell a person to do who has heard the good news?

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© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/the-good-news/06-the-good-news-of-the-kingdom/
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