Click here to download PDF version of this article.
What did Jesus preach?
Jesus came to earth, first and foremost, to establish the Kingdom of God on earth – to take it back from Satan.
First John announced the coming of the Kingdom of God, then Jesus (the King himself) continued to proclaim the Kingdom message – only adding to John the Baptist’s call for repentance the call “to believe (have faith)”.
To repent doesn’t just mean to confess (and ask forgiveness for) our sins; it means we must change our normal way of thinking, which is hostile to God. The Bible reveals that “the carnal [natural, human] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).
Thus we need an inward change that will lead to turning away from sin and keeping God’s commandments. Jesus said, “If you want to enter into life [in the Kingdom], keep my commandments” (Matt. 19:17).
When the multitude attempted to detain Jesus, Luke reports that Jesus said, “I must preach the good news (the gospel) of the Kingdom of God to other cities also; for therefore am I sent” (Luke 4:43) and then Luke (in 8:1) further records that Jesus went throughout every city and village preaching along with the 12 disciples showing the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus preached the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God (or Heaven)”, not just the “Gospel of Salvation” [justification, atonement]. Jesus said, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33) and everything else important will be added – including salvation and holiness (sanctification).
Notice that Jesus didn’t say to “seek first salvation”! So why did Jesus think that it was so much more important to “seek the Kingdom of God” than to seek personal salvation?
This is because the Kingdom of God includes everything that we need to successfully be subjects of God.
Thousands of years of history show that we human beings cannot effectively rule ourselves; and, in the end, all human governments (apart from God) will fail. But, in a God’s perfectly benevolent Kingdom, there will be perfect obedience (which can only be enabled by the Holy Spirit) and then everything that its subjects need will be provided. The citizens (or subjects) have great confidence in the king and every need is provided. I guess you could say that a kingdom is a form of socialism – but what makes it different from worldly socialism is that our King is God and our God is completely just.
The heart of Jesus' teachings (including most of the parables) center around the theme of the Kingdom of God. This term is found 61 separate times in the synoptic Gospels. The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are used in the same sayings of Jesus. Matthew uses "Kingdom of Heaven"; Mark and Luke use "Kingdom of God." And, in fact, Matthew himself uses these two expressions interchangeably in Matt. 19:23-24, "It is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven … for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
Why did Matthew use the term “Kingdom of Heaven”? It was because Jews would not speak God’s name (Yahweh, or Jehovah), and would often substitute heaven when referring to Him. There is no significant difference between “the kingdom of God” and the “kingdom of heaven”. One phrase emphasizes the sovereign Ruler of the Kingdom and the other emphasizes the Kingdom itself, but they are the same kingdom.
In this study, I will use the term “Kingdom of God.”
Now, let’s explore the concept of the Kingdom of God.
What is a kingdom? A kingdom is a realm that is ruled by a king. Most of us are unfamiliar with kingdoms, because we have physically never lived in one. However, in Jesus’ world, kingdoms were a living and present reality. Most people who lived at that time had experienced kingdoms personally and Israel had largely been ruled by a succession of kings, both good and bad.
Where is the Kingdom of God? It’s not yet in Heaven, at least not so far as its subjects are concerned. The King has ascended to Heaven, but his Kingdom is not a geographical one; it is a spiritual Kingdom. Using today’s language, you could say that it is a “virtual kingdom”!
Where are the subjects of the Kingdom of God? Because the Kingdom of God is no geographical territory, it is comprised of people – those who are willing to submit to and live under Jesus’ rule (kingship), wherever they happen to be physically. Jesus taught Nicodemus that he had to be “born of the spirit” before he could enter the Kingdom of God. People must have their spiritual eyes opened before they can see and be part of the Kingdom of God. While spiritual rebirth (what we typically refer to as “salvation” – but is really “justification”) is a prerequisite for entering the Kingdom of God, it was not the focus of what Jesus was preaching. Unfortunately, it has become the focus of all-too-much of Christian doctrine and we have lost the big picture of what Jesus was saying.
When the Kingdom of God (or Heaven) was originally announced, it was announced first to the Jewish people, and all Jewish people were invited to enter and be part of it.
This was the kingdom that the Jewish people have looked forward to throughout the ages (remember that they asked for a king!), but they didn’t recognize the ultimate King (their Messiah) or his Kingdom. The Messiah has always been an integral part of Judaism and there are well over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament that reveal his identity.
Why do you think that Jews are so blinded to what to us is obvious truth?
First of all, the difficulty that Nicodemus had in understanding spiritual rebirth is indicative of how difficult it is for Jewish people to accept spiritual realities.
Jesus’ claim to be Messiah was not what offended them; it was that the image of their King didn’t fit their preconceptions, and his vision of the Kingdom radically contradicted theirs.
The Jewish people at that time were looking for a conquering king who would overcome all his enemies and establish an eternal kingdom ruling from the throne of David, as described in the Davidic Covenant (2Sam.7:11-16; 1Chron. 17:10-14) and take physical control of a land area, the promised dimensions of Israel, as described in the Palestinian (or Land) Covenant (Deut. 29:1-30:20).
David and his successors ruled Israel for 450 years until the Jews were carried off into captivity. But the scriptures do not describe a wholly temporal and Middle Eastern kingdom, instead one that will be universal and ruled by the Messiah in righteousness and peace for all eternity. Luke 1:32-33 says, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” This truth is also proclaimed in the Old Testament in the prophesies of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
If they were only willing to accept the good news, this would be really good news for the Jewish people! Fortunately for Gentiles, this news was not just reserved for the natural branches (ancestors) of the house of Jacob (Israel), but also extended to the grafted-in branches.
In addition, Judaism never understood the Servant as a messianic figure and Jewish leaders resisted prophetic allusions to the two comings of the Messiah (either ignoring the Suffering Servant passages of the Old Testament or teaching that they referred to Israel). These factors and the anti-Semitism of the Christian Church through the ages is why Jews to this day are so resistant to accepting Jesus (Yeshua) as their Messiah. It is that Jesus doesn’t have a very good reputation among Jewish people!
Meanwhile, Jews are still waiting for their Messiah to ride in on a white horse, re-conquer the entire Promised Land for them, and put them back in charge of the entire Middle East!
Of course this will happen only when Jesus comes again at the end of the Tribulation then ushers in the Millennial Kingdom (“Your Kingdom come…on earth as it is in Heaven”).
In the meantime, most Jews are lost because of their spiritual blindness. Unfortunately Jews throughout the ages have been persecuted for this blindness and dealt with very harshly, which has led to further resistance to prophesies that they associate with Christianity and see as anti-Jewish. They don’t realize that these prophesies and their past, present, and future fulfillment are actually the product and culmination of true Judaism.
When it was announced that the Kingdom of God was “at hand” or “amongst you” (Luke 17:20-21), that the Kingdom of God does not, at least at that time, “come through observation”, the message was that this was a spiritual Kingdom, one that includes all believers who have put their faith in the King (Jesus) and is open to all those who are willing to enter and subject themselves to the will of the King.
But this version of the Kingdom of God could not be ushered in until the Holy Spirit was given, because the Jews at Pentecost and beyond were not prepared to accept a spiritual kingdom and only the Spirit of God could move the hearts of men to desire this spiritual Kingdom with its spiritual blessings.
Jesus’ Jewish kingship was symbolized when his cross became his throne (with his title displayed as “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”). It was a throne fit for the one who was “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knew should bow” (Phil. 2:6-10).
This was certainly not what the Jewish people expected to happen to their Messiah/King! And no traditional Jew would have imagined that such an enormous Kingdom would spring from such humble origins.
The establishment of God’s Kingdom has come in phases:
The prophesied kingdom, such as that foretold by the Old Testament prophets.
The “present kingdom”. It is the kingdom that both John and Jesus spoke of as being at hand.
An “interim kingdom,” resulting from Israel’s rejection of her King. Christ is Lord of the earth in the sense of His being its Creator and its ultimate Ruler; but He does not presently exercise His full divine will over the earth. He is “in a voluntary exile” in Heaven until it is time for Him to return again. He reigns only in the hearts of those who know Him as Savior and Lord. For those “the kingdom of God is…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). Had God’s people Israel accepted their King when He first came to them, there would be no “interim kingdom”. The “kingdom at hand” would have become the kingdom of a thousand years, which, in turn, would have ushered in the eternal kingdom. But because both the forerunner of the King and then the King himself were killed, the Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal Kingdom were postponed.
The Millennial Kingdom, in which Christ will rule (physically, directly, and fully) on earth for a thousand years.
The Eternal Kingdom of the New Heaven and the New Earth, of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when God “will make everything new” (Rev. 21:5).
Isaiah 9:6: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” The government of God is a monarchy, a perfect, benevolent Kingdom – not a dictatorship, republic, democracy, or some other form of government.
The characteristics of the kingdom of God are to be righteousness and peace. It is to be heavenly in origin and authority and will spread over all the earth.
The Kingdom has as its short-term objective the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God throughout the whole world and its longer-term objective is for God’s people to living perfectly in the presence of our perfect King.
The Jewish conception of the Kingdom of God was a physical and religious one – under the “constitution” of the Old Covenant and its punitive legal system.
In Judaism at the time of Jesus, righteousness had become just another name for religious formality.
From Mount Sinai to the first coming of Jesus, the Law was a temporary part of God’s governance that was required for the building and sustaining of Israel, as it grew into “a great nation.” The Law served to unify Judaism and preserve the Jewish nation from extinction. But the Law eventually became obsolete and had to “pass away” – because it led to religious dysfunction and was too weak in that it did nothing to change the human heart.
Theologian John Bright said, “Judaism became a law community….The law took over the function of prophesy….The law too became the pathology of Judaism.” The law became supreme in Judaism and grew massively; there were 613 commandments and ordinances and even more Talmudic edicts based on those 613. It was so burdensome that it was impossible for a person to follow it. Keeping the law was such a preoccupation that the ancient rabbis believed that if Israel could keep it perfectly – even for one Sabbath – the Messiah would come!
Time and time again, Israel and Judah failed to follow the commandments of God and were eventually evicted from the Land. But God, in His mercy, established a New Covenant in which God took the responsibility upon Himself to bring righteousness to the earth. In the New Covenant, God says ‘I will’ and “you will.’ It contrasts with the Old Covenant which said, ‘If you.’ The fulfillment of the New Covenant depends upon God’s ability, not upon man’s ability.
The New Covenant was the “constitution” of the Kingdom of God and was built on the foundation of the Old Covenant.
Jeremiah 31:31-33: 31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Although the New Covenant was intended for the Jewish people, because of the Lord’s grace, all believers were permitted a foretaste (a preview) of the blessing of the New Covenant that would come to Israel “after that time.”
However, despite much Christian teaching, the Law was never abolished; it was internalized as part of the New Covenant.
God tells us that He altered the original covenant and made "a better covenant, which was established on better promises" (Heb. 8:6), but it was not established on different laws.
The law stayed the same. In fact, in Rev. 11:19, we learn that John saw in Heaven the Ark of the Covenant containing the Torah (including the 10 Commandments), and if they are in Heaven, they cannot have been abolished or changed here on earth. What has happened is that the ritual laws (including animal sacrifice) were “set aside” (Heb. 7:18), not because they were bad, but because they were “only a shadow of the good things to come” (Heb. 10:1). Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and His blood sacrifice nullified the need for any other sacrifice. Jesus said (Matt. 5:17), "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but fulfill".
Primarily, He came to fulfill His mission of establishing the Kingdom of God under the New Covenant. And, under the New Covenant, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Law is written on the hearts of believers. The external Law, and the curses that go along with it, were no longer necessary.
In the Kingdom of God, under the New Covenant, God’s commandments cease to be onerous Laws and become the joyful expression of the life we live in Christ.
As you can see, the Kingdom of God is what Jesus came to usher in. We must preach salvation. But we must not reduce the gospel to a benefit – get saved and go to Heaven.
The real gospel is "of the Kingdom of God" and all that it entails. The gospel must lead us to an extraordinary personal relationship with the King (Jesus) and a deep understanding of our role and responsibilities as citizens and subjects in God’s Kingdom.
We are no longer citizens of the Kingdom of this World (even though we live there), but are citizens of the Kingdom of God. Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
So, let’s summarize what we have learned today:
What was Jesus’ primary mission?
What is the Kingdom of God?
Why is it so difficult to people today to appreciate?
Why was it established?
Who is a citizen of the Kingdom?
What is the constitution of the Kingdom?
Why was the Old Covenant superseded by the New Covenant?
What are the implications of this teaching for our lives?