Study Guide: The Good News of the Kingdom
Quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB); please check each one in your own Bible.
The Big Idea
The big idea: Jesus was sent to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom and to call people to repent and believe; God gives the Kingdom to Jesus, and after he rose, God’s Kingdom was preached together with the name of Jesus Christ (Luke 4:43; Mark 1:15; Luke 1:32–33; 22:29; Acts 8:12; 28:31).
Read Aloud
Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and God’s Kingdom is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”
— Mark 1:14–15
When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them. But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.”
— Luke 4:42–43
The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
— Luke 1:30–33
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed.
— Daniel 7:13–14
But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
— Acts 8:12
Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house and received all who were coming to him, preaching God’s Kingdom and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, without hindrance.
— Acts 28:30–31
Where We Stand
Scripture says
- Jesus came “preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom,” (Mark 1:14) and said, “Repent, and believe in the Good News.” (Mark 1:15).
- Jesus said of the good news of God’s Kingdom, “For this reason I have been sent.” (Luke 4:43).
- In one saying Jesus spoke of a rich man entering “the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 19:23), and then of a rich man entering “God’s Kingdom” (Matthew 19:24).
- God will give Jesus the throne of his father David, and there will be no end to his Kingdom (Luke 1:32–33).
- Jesus said that his Father conferred a kingdom on him, and he told Pilate, “You say that I am a king.” (Luke 22:29; John 18:37).
- Jesus told the Pharisees, “if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28). He taught his disciples to pray, “Let your Kingdom come.” (Matthew 6:10).
- Jesus told the parable of the nobleman because his hearers “supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately.” (Luke 19:11).
- The Samaritans believed Philip “preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12), and Paul preached God’s Kingdom and the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ in Rome (Acts 28:31).
- Paul spoke to the same elders of “the Good News of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) and of “preaching God’s Kingdom” (Acts 20:25).
We conclude
- Our conclusion: no account of the good news Jesus preached is complete if the Kingdom is left out (Luke 4:43; Mark 1:14–15).
- Our conclusion: the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s Kingdom are two names for one Kingdom (Matthew 19:23–24; 13:31; Mark 4:30–31).
- Our conclusion: Jesus does not make the Kingdom of Heaven a kingdom that profession alone can enter, and the weeds and the net show what will happen at the harvest, not a second kingdom (Matthew 7:21; 13:38–43).
- Our conclusion: the good news of God’s Kingdom is good news about a King, Jesus, whom God anointed and to whom God gives the Kingdom (Luke 1:32–33; 22:29; Acts 4:26–27).
- Our conclusion: Jesus points to Daniel’s vision of a kingdom given to one like a son of man as speaking of himself (Mark 14:62; Daniel 7:13–14).
- Our conclusion: when the crowd wanted to make him king “by force” (John 6:15), Jesus refused their way, not the Kingdom (John 18:36–37).
- Our conclusion: a reader must keep both the verses that say the Kingdom has come and the verses that say it is still to come, and neither cancels the other (Matthew 12:28; 6:10).
- Our conclusion: Jesus did not teach that the Kingdom would be revealed at once (Luke 19:11–15).
- Our conclusion: the good news of the Kingdom was not set aside after the cross, but was preached with what the cross and the empty tomb had shown (Acts 8:12; 28:23, 31).
- Our conclusion: the Good News of the grace of God and preaching God’s Kingdom are two names for the one good news Paul preached (Acts 20:24–25).
- Our conclusion: Galatians 2:7 names the people to whom each apostle was sent, not two different messages (Galatians 2:8–9; 1 Corinthians 15:11).
The Hard Questions
- Is the Kingdom of Heaven a different kingdom from God’s Kingdom (Matthew 13:24–30, 47–48; John 3:3)? See The strongest objection under Jesus Was Sent to Preach the Good News of God’s Kingdom.
- Is Christ’s Kingdom only spiritual, with Christ already on David’s throne (Acts 2:30–33; John 18:36; Luke 17:20–21; Romans 14:17)? See The strongest objection under God Gives the Kingdom to Jesus, His King.
- Was Jesus mistaken about when the Kingdom would come (Luke 21:31–32; Mark 9:1; Matthew 10:23; 16:28)? See The strongest objection under The Kingdom Has Come Near, and It Is Still to Come.
- Did Jesus and the twelve preach one good news and Paul another (Galatians 1:12; 2:7; Ephesians 3:2–5)? See The strongest objection under After He Rose, God’s Kingdom Was Preached with the Name of Jesus Christ.
- What is the Kingdom now, and how does that fit with its coming? See What the Kingdom is now under Questions Answered.
- When does Jesus take David’s throne? See When Jesus takes David’s throne under Questions Answered.
- How are God’s promises to Israel fulfilled? See God’s promises to Israel, and whether the church replaces Israel under Questions Answered.
- What do Jesus’ sayings about the time refer to? See This generation and Jesus’ time sayings under Questions Answered.
Discussion Questions
- What did Jesus preach when he came into Galilee, and what did he call his hearers to do? (See the opening.)
- Why did Jesus say he had been sent, in Luke 4:43? (See Jesus Was Sent to Preach the Good News of God’s Kingdom.)
- What did Gabriel tell Mary about Jesus’ throne and Kingdom, and what does Jesus say about his Kingdom in John 18:36? (See God Gives the Kingdom to Jesus, His King.)
- Why did Jesus tell the parable of the nobleman in Luke 19, and how does it bear on the claim that he was mistaken? (See The Kingdom Has Come Near, and It Is Still to Come.)
- What did Paul say his ministry was, in Acts 20:24, and what did he say he had been preaching in the next verse? (See After He Rose, God’s Kingdom Was Preached with the Name of Jesus Christ.)
- What would it mean for you to seek first God’s Kingdom this week? (See Living It Out.)
Hope
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise; he “is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). And the King himself will tell those on his right hand, “Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;” (Matthew 25:34).
For the Leader
Allow about 45 minutes for one session. Read Mark 1:14–15 first, then Luke 4:42–43, Luke 1:30–33, Daniel 7:13–14, Acts 8:12 and Acts 28:30–31. Invite everyone to open and check each verse in their own Bible.
© 2026 Elvis Lucas, Open the Text. Original: https://openthetext.com/series/the-good-news/06-the-good-news-of-the-kingdom-study-guide/
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