The Gospel of the Kingdom - 9 October 2011 Mark 1:1-43 1:1 - The beginning of the good news (the

gospel, the evangel) about Jesus the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God. Question: What is the good news, the gospel, the evangel? 1:14-15 - After John was put into prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. The time has come, he said, The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. Important statement: The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. Mark is quite brief compared to the other writers. For more details on this account, see Matthew chs.3-4 & Luke chs.3-4 Matt 3:2 - John the Baptist says, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Matt 4:17 - Jesus proclaims, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Matt 4:23 - Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. Luke 4:16-19 - Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth quotes Isaiah 61 - The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lords favour. Luke 4:43 - Jesus said, I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent. Gods Spirit-anointed Messiah proclaiming the good news that Gods kingdom has come near. From reading the Gospels, we see this is Jesus raison detre! People ask: Is the gospel found in the Gospels? Many answer: No. What has happened? - We have possibly formed a particular version of the gospel today and we dont see that particular perspective in Jesus words in the Gospels. But what was Jesus, Gods Messiah, proclaiming? - The good news that Gods kingdom has come near. The good news was being proclaimed. BIG QUESTION: What is the kingdom of God from a biblical perspective? Its NOT first and foremost a place. Its NOT first and foremost about up there. It IS first and foremost about Gods rule and reign - Making known that God, specifically the Hebrew God at that time, was the Lord-Master-King over His people and even the whole world. Question: We said the kingdom of God is not ultimately about a place, but why does Matthew regularly refer to this as the kingdom of heaven? Is heaven not a place? Answer: Matthew is writing to Jews; Mark & Luke are not. Jewish guard and fear- They especially didnt want to say Gods name (Yahweh) in case they broke the commandment of using Gods name wrongly. So they used the word Lord (Adonai). With the kingdom - They would utilise the more general statement kingdom of heaven (known as the divine passive) instead of kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are exactly the same! (one was more acceptable language amongst Jews) Again, they both refer to the rule or reign of God (His authority) - God showing that He is King of His people, and ultimately the world. Matt 6:10 - Lords prayer - Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. What is true within the kingdom of heaven, let it become reality NOW on earth, in our world. When the kingdom rule of God is made known, Gods will is done. When the will of God is done, the kingdom rule of God is made known. For Jesus - The gospel was NOT ultimately about getting to the clouds, it was not about going to a place after one died, it was not about a get-out-the-burning-flames-for-free pass. For Jesus - The gospel WAS ultimately about Gods rule coming on earth as it was in heaven, the reality that God was King and He was going to prove that He was King. This is why Jesus would quote Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news [of the kingdom of God] to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lords favour. Though the Jews had returned to the land from Babylon, they still believed they were in exile. They believed they needed releasing, they needed restoring, they needed deliverance. Was God going to show He was their King and King of the world?! When the kingdom rule of God was made known, became real -- the poor were rescued, the prisoners were liberated, the blind would be healed, the oppressed set free, Gods favour would be known amongst His people. This good news started first with Gods people, and then was to move out to affect the world. We see the practical importance for us today: How many of us realise that Jesus is the resurrected King and has all authority in heaven and on earth? How many of us realise that the poor can be rescued, prisoners liberated, blind healed, oppressed set free, and that we can enter into the celebration that Gods favour is here! We cannot proclaim good news to the rest of the world if we do not first know the good news of Gods kingdom rule amongst us. Mark 1:1 - The beginning of the good news (the gospel, the evangel) about Jesus the Messiah (Christ), the Son of God. Mark 1:14-15 - After John was put into prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. The time has come, he said, The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. The good news is that the kingdom rule and reign of our God has come in Gods Son, Jesus the Messiah!!