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What is the kingdom of God that Jesus preached?

JesusIn theological review

The short answer

The kingdom of God is God's reign breaking into the world in Jesus. It arrived with his preaching, healings and forgiveness, grows quietly through his word, demands repentance and faith now, and will be completed when he returns. It is not mainly a place, but a rule that creates a people.

The fuller answer

The kingdom of God was not a topic within Jesus' message; it was the message. Mark summarises his entire preaching in one sentence: the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe the good news. Everything else Jesus says and does, the healings, the parables, the forgiveness of sins, is presented as evidence of what happens when God's reign arrives among people.

“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”

Mark 1:15 (BSB)

The hope behind the phrase was old. Daniel had seen a kingdom given to one like a son of man, a dominion that would never pass away while every human empire fell in turn. Generations of Jews prayed for God to rule openly as he ruled in heaven. Jesus' announcement was electric because he claimed that long prayed for reign was now arriving, and arriving in and through himself.

And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Daniel 7:14 (BSB)

Yet it did not arrive as expected. When the Pharisees demand a date, Jesus says the kingdom does not come with observable signs, because it is already in their midst, standing in front of them in his person. It grows like seed in soil and mustard in a garden, quietly and unevenly, and it cannot be seized by armies or timetables. Its first territory is the human heart it converts.

When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Luke 17:20-21 (BSB)

Paul can therefore describe the kingdom in present ethical terms, as righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, while the church still prays for it to come. Both are true at once. The kingdom is already here wherever Jesus rules, and not yet complete until he returns and every rival rule ends. Christians live between those two sentences, as citizens of a reign that has begun.

Sources

  • Berean Standard Bible (BSB)

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Dig deeper

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What does 'Son of Man' mean?Son of Man was Jesus' favourite title for himself. It sounds humble, meaning a human being, but it comes from Daniel 7, where one like a son of man receives an everlasting kingdom from God. Jesus used it for his suffering, his authority and his coming glory all at once.Will Jesus come back?Yes. Jesus promised to come again, the angels at his ascension confirmed it, and the New Testament ends with his promise and the church's prayer for it. His return will be personal, visible and glorious, bringing resurrection, judgement and the renewal of all things, though its date is not given.What is the gospel?The gospel is the good news of what God has done in Jesus Christ: he died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. It is news before it is advice: a death that pays for sin, a resurrection that proves it, and a living Lord who is to be confessed, believed, and followed.Bible Character: JesusThe Son of God, born of Mary in Bethlehem, who preached the kingdom of God, was crucified for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was raised on the third day.Bible Character: DanielThe young exile who would not defile himself with the king's food, interpreted dreams for the kings of Babylon, read the writing on the wall, and came unharmed out of the lions' den.Lesson: The big story of the BibleThe Bible is one story, not sixty-six separate ones. Walk the whole arc once, from creation to new creation, and every book you open will have a place to sit.