Matthew 4:23 says, “And he [Jesus] went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” The Greek word used here for gospel is “euaggelion” and simply means “good news”. The terms “gospel” and “good news” are used interchangeably in relation to the kingdom of which Jesus spoke.
But what exactly is the gospel of the kingdom? What is the good news that Jesus was preaching?
In short, the gospel of the kingdom is all the good things that would come as a result of the kingdom being established. This included salvation through faith alone, the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation to God, justice being established, and so on.
In this article we’ll discuss 6 Biblical truths of the kingdom that made its arrival good news indeed.
1. One Sacrifice For All Sins
In the Old Testament we read of the animal sacrifices that had to be made in order to atone for one’s sins: a bull for this, a lamb for that, and so on.
According to Hebrews 10:4, however, it was “impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” That’s because the law and its sacrificial system was only a shadow of what was to come (Hebrews 10:1), that is, the Kingdom of Heaven and with it the One and Only Sacrifice for our sins, who is Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:12 tells us that Christ offered “for all time a single sacrifice for sins.” Meaning that the various types of sin sacrifices that had to be made according to the Mosaic Law are now a thing of the past. To the Jewish audience to whom Christ spoke, this was good news indeed. Now instead of having to offer up a lamb or a goat, we offer up our prayers to Christ who is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14), and in return we receive forgiveness, if we’re sincere of course.
2. Salvation by Grace Through Faith
Another aspect of the good news of the kingdom is that salvation comes not from a legalistic adherence to the Mosaic Law, but from faith in Jesus Christ. Meaning that no longer are we bound to perform all the ceremonial and sacrificial ordinances put forth in the Old Testament in order to be justified in God’s eyes. We simply have to have faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Even if someone could execute the Law perfectly, it still wouldn’t result in salvation. That’s because salvation cannot be obtained by one’s own good works or adherence to the Law (Galatians 3:11-12). There’s nothing we can do to “earn” salvation because it is God’s gift. And although we can’t earn it, we do have to have faith in order to receive it, and luckily that’s all we have to have.
It should be noted, however, that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). This statement does not indicate that salvation can be achieved through works, as such an interpretation would contradict Paul’s statement in Ephesians 2. What it does mean is that true faith will always prompt the one who has it to action. A genuine faith in Christ will lead one to do the works that Jesus did.
That being said, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9)
3. We’ll Live Forever
Part of the gospel of the kingdom is the promise of eternal life. I think this is something that all of us find reassuring, especially when we consider the limited amount of time we have on earth, and the unlimited amount of ways our lives could be taken. Our bodies are susceptible to illness and disease, unforeseen accidents, deterioration due to old age, and so on.
That being said, believers can rest assured that regardless of what happens to them in this life, they’ll live forever in the next. No verse of Scripture summarizes this truth more clearly than John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
4. We Can Be Reconciled to God
According to Isaiah 59:2 “your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” In other words, our sins separate us from God and in our separated state, God doesn’t hear our prayers (John 9:31). And according to James 4:4, if we’re living in the world we’ve made ourselves the enemies of God. That’s because the ways of the world stand in direct opposition to the will of God.
Fortunately, however, God has made a way for us to be reconciled to Himself. The word “reconcile” means to restore friendly relations between. This means that God has made a way for us to no longer be considered His enemies, but His own people, His children even. Of course, this is contingent upon coming to faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul tells us in Romans 5:10 that God has reconciled us to himself through the death of His Son. Furthermore, he did this while we were still his enemies, thus displaying the great love that He has for us! The path of reconciliation with God has been paved and is available to all. We can have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
5. The Record of Our Sin Has Been Cancelled
The Bible is clear that no one is good and that all have sinned against God (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23). That being said, the record of sinful debt that mankind has accumulated throughout its history is immeasurable. But in order for God to be just, which He is, all sin has to receive a just punishment, that punishment being death (Romans 6:23).
According to Romans 5:6, however, Jesus died in our stead – the godly for the ungodly, the righteous for the unrighteous. He bore the punishment that we deserved for our sins. In so doing, He has made us who “were dead in our trespasses…alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14).
That being said, we who belong to Christ are free from the penalty of death which we so rightly deserved. All of our sinful past has been washed away and God no longer holds it against us.
6. All The Nations Will come to God
One of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah and the Kingdom itself is Daniel 7:13-14. Here Daniel says that “to him [Jesus] was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.” This prophecy indicates that the kingdom of heaven was not to be inherited by the Jews only, but by people from every nation on earth.
Jesus himself told his disciples to “make disciples of ALL nations…teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). He tells them to take the Gospel outside of Judea, where it had previously been confined, to the whole world.
Evidence that this has taken place is the fact that churches today are filled with people from different backgrounds, nationalities, languages, and so on. Eventually, however, entire nations will come to Christ, and not just individuals from every nation. The promise was made to Jesus that “the nations [will be] your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:7-8), and we know that Christ is currently seated at the right hand of God where “he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet (1 Corinthians 15:25).
These “enemies” are all those (nations) who oppose Christ and His rule over them. In due time they will either submit to His rule or perish (Psalm 2:10-12). This will happen as the result of the kingdom of heaven spreading and influencing the hearts and lives of individuals all across the earth (Matthew 13:31-33), until eventually the day will come when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
In Isaiah 9, when speaking of the coming Messiah, Isaiah said: “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this” (Isaiah 9:7).
Meaning that from the time the kingdom was established (when Jesus ascended to the Father and all authority in heaven and on earth was given to him) up to this very day it has continued to grow and advance, and it will continue to do so until the rule of God has influenced every sphere of life and all peoples, nations, and languages bow in submission to His rule. The rule of Christ will provide peace, justice, and righteousness throughout the world. We can rest assured that this will be accomplished because the zeal of God himself will cause it to take place.
