Posted on 10/26/2009 9:22:24 PM PDT by DouglasKC
What is the message Jesus Christ brought and taught? It seems like a simple enough question, but most people don't give it much thought. They know Jesus preached a "gospel"— which comes from the Old English godspel, meaning "good news" or "good message"—but what is that message?
This is where things can get a little murky. Many think that the gospel of Christ is a gospel exclusively about Christ. In doing so they focus almost entirely on the messenger while neglecting the message He brought. Is the distinction that important? Absolutely. If we fail to understand His central message, we will fail to grasp the whole point of His teachings, the reason for His coming and why He promises to come again to earth.
We will also fail to comprehend dozens of vital prophecies throughout the Bible. Jesus'message ties all of these things together in a theme that is truly good news that has great implications not only for your future but for that of the entire earth.
So what was Jesus'message? Let's go through some of His statements to be sure we understand it.
We find Christ's message summarized in Mark 1:14-15: "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel'" (emphasis added throughout).
Jesus' teaching, we see, centered on the gospel—the good news—of the Kingdom of God. He also taught that people must believe that message and repent of their sins. Repentance is a prerequisite to entering the Kingdom of God.
Other verses confirm that the Kingdom of God was at the heart of Christ's message. Matthew 4:23 tells us that "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, [and] preaching the gospel of the kingdom . . ." Several chapters later Matthew adds, "Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, [and] preaching the gospel of the kingdom . . ." (Matthew 9:35).
After Jesus'crucifixion and resurrection, He appeared to His disciples, "being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). Luke 4:43 records Jesus saying, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."
It's clear from the Scriptures that Jesus' teaching focused on the Kingdom of God. As Luke recorded, Christ said God sent Him to proclaim this specific message.
There should be little doubt about what Jesus taught. Regrettably, that isn't the case. People have differing ideas of what the Kingdom of God is. Some believe it is all of Christianity. Some view it as the sum total of all that is good and right in the world. Others think that the church is the Kingdom of God.
Regarding the latter, notice how The Catholic Encyclopedia explains this common perception: ". . . The 'kingdom' means not so much a goal to be attained or a place . . . It is rather a tone of mind . . . At one time the 'kingdom'means the sway of grace in men's hearts . . . As men realized that this kingdom stood for a certain tone of mind, and saw that this peculiar spirit was enshrined in the Church, they began to speak of the Church as 'the kingdom of God' . . . The kingdom of God means, then, the ruling of God in our hearts; it means those principles which separate us off from the kingdom of the world and the devil; it means the benign sway of grace; it means the Church . . ." (1908 edition, "Kingdom of God").
Did Christ intend for us to be confused about the central theme of His teaching? Can it be whatever we want it to be? Can we find a clear biblical explanation?
Christ's teaching about the Kingdom of God becomes clear when we understand that Jesus was building on the message God had revealed centuries earlier through the prophets of Israel. God inspired these men to write of a coming world-ruling government—a physical, literal kingdom—in which the Messiah would administer God's laws and way of life to bring peace and prosperity to humanity.
The prophet Daniel, for example, saw a vision in which the Messiah receives this Kingdom: "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed" (Daniel 7:13-14; see also Daniel 2:44).
Isaiah also wrote of the coming Messiah and His Kingdom: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever . . ." (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Did Christ's followers understand that His teaching about God's Kingdom concerned a literal, world-ruling kingdom?
Indeed they did. Notice this promise He gave to His disciples: "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28; see also Luke 22:28-30).
After God resurrected Jesus from the dead, the disciples had a burning question for Him: "Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority'" (Acts 1:6-7).
They obviously understood that a part of Jesus'mission involved a restoration of a literal kingdom, with Christ as ruler and the disciples reigning under Him. Jesus told them, however, that the timing of the establishing of that kingdom is known only to God the Father (Matthew 24:36).
In Revelation 11:15 we read that this kingdom will be established at the seventh prophetic trumpet: "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'"
What does this kingdom have to do with you and me? It concerns us a great deal in every way.
Jesus Christ explained that He will return at a pivotal time in history—when humanity staggers on the brink of annihilation. In His remarkable prophecy in Matthew 24, He tells us He will intervene in a period of world crisis, "a time of great distress, such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again." Conditions will be so grave that "if that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive . . ." (verses 21-22, Revised English Bible).
Reading the rest of His prophecy (and parallel accounts in Luke 21 and Mark 13) is remarkably like reading today's headlines. Yet most people are unaware of the seriousness of the times in which they live.
The time of His return, Jesus said, "will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth" (Luke 21:35). He makes it clear that this will be the most horrifying and deadly epoch in mankind's history, one that few would live through. Only after human beings have learned painful lessons will they be humbled enough to willingly submit to Jesus'reign as the Messiah.
Jesus had much more to say about the Kingdom of God. In the first passage we read, Mark 1:14-15, a vital part of Christ's message was an exhortation to "repent, and believe in the gospel."
Two millennia later those words are just as important and meaningful as ever. Although the good news of Christ's coming world-ruling kingdom is truly good— in that humanity will at last see a world of peace, happiness and purpose and an end to war and other violence, starvation, disease and every other form of suffering— there's more to the story. (To learn more of how the world will be transformed by the Kingdom of God, be sure to read "Coming: An End to Suffering" "The Coming Age of Grace" and "The Feast of Prosperity" in this issue.)
The ultimate purpose of this literal, world-ruling government of which Christ spoke—and the ultimate purpose of our learning and surrendering to God's laws and ways in this life—is to enable us to enter God's eternal spiritual Kingdom as His children, resurrected to eternal life in His family. God says, through the apostle Paul, "I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:18).
To enter that Kingdom, God must transform us from physical and mortal to spiritual and immortal. As Paul explains: ". . . Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:50-53). Jesus says of those who are transformed in this way: "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43). Jesus the Savior, glorified and immortal, now shines as the sun at full strength (Revelation 1:16). If we are willing to repent and believe, as He commands, He extends to us the opportunity to be glorified as He is (1 John 3:2).
Those to whom God gives eternal life will live and reign with Christ in that Kingdom (Revelation 20:4, 6). They will be "kings and priests to our God . . . reign[ing] on the earth" to teach and bring others into this eternal Kingdom (Revelation 5:10). Jesus promises us, "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 3:21).
As the prophet Daniel had written centuries earlier: "Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him" (Daniel 7:27).
This is an overview of the wonderful news of a future of awesome power and purpose revealed in the gospel of the Kingdom of God Jesus Christ taught. Would you like to share in that future? The choice is up to you! GN
‘No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.’
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
While that is certainly a teaching of Christ and a truth it's still certain from scripture that the gospel, the good news, that Christ taught was the good news of the kingdom of God.
Thank you for pinging others to this article about how Christ preached the good news about the kingdom of God.
John 10:9
John 3:16 is the real message.
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
THAT is the Gospel that Jesus preached.
Discipleship is a whole new ballgame. The basic reason God sent Jesus to the world was because God loved us and wanted to bring us back into fellowship with Him.
Learning God’s laws and how to be obdient to His Word is a life-long commitment. We change day by day by the “washing of the water of the Word”.
Let us pray for the coming of the kingdom as Jesus taught us.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Thanks again for the scripture. It's certainly true. But the good news that Christ brought was the gospel of the kingdom.
Mat 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Mat 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come
Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Certainly that is good news. But Christ preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Reference: New Testament
Excellent!
The Gospel? “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so......”
But .. if you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you have eternal life - YOU HAVE THE KINGDOM OF GOD!!
Why is that so difficult for you to understand ..??
The “Gospel” is accepting Jesus as your Savior, receiving eternal life, and spending eternity with God in his Kingdom.
Without Jesus - THERE IS NO GOSPEL!
Did you read the article?
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
I don’t understand your point.
AMEN!
About what?
It depends on your definition of "reign" and the context. According to scripture it's "on the earth".
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
In this verse the word translated "reign" is (transliterated) "basileuō". According to Strongs, this word means
" to be king, to exercise kingly power, to reign
a) of the governor of a province
b) of the rule of the Messiah
c) of the reign of Christians in the millennium
Christians are to participate in administering the kingdom of God in the millennium.
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