What Kind Of Kingdom? - The One Year Heaven on Earth Devotional

Read: Luke 4:42-44

[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.” Luke 4:43, NIV

IN WORD

This is why Jesus was sent—to proclaim the Kingdom of God. That certainly isn’t the only reason; He did a lot more than proclaim. But in a moment when He revealed why He kept moving around, this was His reason. And His words were deeply tied to what had just happened.

How did Jesus proclaim the Kingdom of God? He had just healed the mother-in-law of one of His disciples from her high fever, healed numerous people of a variety of other illnesses, and cast out demons and forbade them from speaking. His words about the Kingdom did not mark a shift in His activities; they indicated a continuation of the same thing. Jesus’ mission involved getting people well and free from evil. He offered life and wholeness in real situations and in real places.

Somehow we have come up with the idea that the Good News of the Kingdom is nothing more than a message about how to be saved and go to heaven one day. But Jesus’ ministry and message were much more comprehensive than that. They were a declaration of the rule and reign of His goodness in every area of life—of the shalom that everyone longs for. The government of God was being enforced in a spiritually and materially contrary world. The Kingdom is more than a spiritual ticket to salvation. It’s a here-and-now way of life.

IN DEED

Most biblical commentators make a distinction between the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the Kingdom. Salvation is included in the Kingdom, but the Kingdom message is bigger. Jesus didn’t just come to get us saved. He came to offer us the fullness of life with God now and forever. Salvation is the entrance. But the Kingdom is the prize. When we realize the difference, our faith grows dramatically. We realize God’s kindness toward us. And our expectations of His goodness soar.

ADDITIONAL READING: Luke 4:18-19

Cry the gospel with your whole life.

CHARLES DE FOUCAULD