THE EMERGENCE OF GOD'S KINGDOM

There is no contention about the possibility of Christ’s coming to set up a Kingdom on earth. The following verses are not parabolic terminologies, but simple and direct to the point. The essence is for the present day church to carry it on!

The forerunner of the Master, John the Baptist had this to say at the time of his manifestation to Israel, “…Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2) KJV

The Master Jesus Himself confirmed this at the inception of His ministry, by declaring, “Repent ye for the kingdom is at hand” (Matthew 4:17) KJV

And when He sent His disciples to go and preach, He told them what to say, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand:" (Matthew 10:7; Luke 9:2) KJV

In Luke 10:9, He told them what to do and say, “And heal the sick…and say unto them, ‘The kingdom of God is come nigh you” KJV. And they should make the same declaration to those who rejected their message (Luke 10:11).

There is something quite strange about the attitude of our Lord concerning the imprisonment of His forerunner John the Baptist in Mark 1:14,15; instead of Him to go and see John in His prison custody, Jesus went to Galilee,

"...preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: Repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Jesus considered His assignment to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to be the most crucial than attending to what some will consider as of great concern today. Setting our priorities right is actually doing the will of God, it is an expression of faith which pleases God than doing that which will only attract the commendation of men.

Another lesson about the ministry of our Lord here is that of remaining resolutely focused in our calling.  Because the Gospel of the Kingdom formed the integral aspect of His assignment, He chose to let go a lot of things that were of ordinary importance.

Why the repeated mention of the Kingdom by our Lord Jesus? The emphasis cannot just be ordinary or accidental. Let us now consider where it is coming from and how relevant it is for this study.