The Kingdom of God

"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people" (Matthew 4:23).

During the early days of His public ministry in Judea, and later in Galilee, Jesus went everywhere, "preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness." He was a powerful "kingdom" preacher. Much of His time was spent explaining to the people the nature of the kingdom that He had come to establish. Early in His ministry He journeyed to Nazareth, the scene of His boyhood and youth, and there in the synagogue one Sabbath day He stood up and read to the people from the prophets. If you had been in the congregation that day, you would have heard His melodious voice repeating Isaiah's kingdom prophecy:

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners" (Isaiah 61:1).

Then as Jesus finished reading this passage from the prophet, you would have heard Him say with deep feeling and with obvious reference to His own work, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21; see also verses 16-30). But the response from the worshippers was unfavorable. The people were maddened by Christ's application of this prophecy to Himself. They seized Him and would have taken His life by throwing Him over the brow of a nearby hill had not God miraculously intervened to save His Son. "No prophet is accepted in his hometown" (Luke 4:24).

But even outside Nazareth, Jesus found that His announcement of the kingdom stirred up controversy and opposition. Why? Because, like John, He called the people to repentance and a new life. "Repent and believe the good news!" He said (Mark 1:15). But they did not want to repent or change their ways.

As we turn to other incidents in Christ's life, we will see how, in one crisis after another, He stirred up the spiritual sensibilities of the people and tried to lead them away from their false ideas to accept the principles and teachings of His kingdom.