Don’t you love to hear a friend cheerfully say to you, “I have some good news to tell you.” It catches your attention. Your curiosity ignites immediately. There are times when it may be obvious to you why there is excitement or happiness in your friend’s voice. On other occasions you might need to hear more of their story or an explanation because it is not clear to you what makes this information such “good news”. In either case, it is probably a conversation worth pursuing.
When Jesus began to preach and to teach about the “Good News of the Kingdom of God”, his audiences were puzzled and confused. In fact, when He began to make claims right in the synagogue that He was the one who was sent to fulfill many of the prophecies in the Old Testament, the religious leaders and Pharisees became very hostile. However, as the crowds witnessed his miracles and listened to his descriptions of “the kingdom of heaven”, many people began to trust him and to follow him. They began to grasp that He really was The One that Isaiah and Jeremiah had described as the “Son of David” and “the Lamb of God”. They began to understand that when He talked about the “kingdom”, He was picturing for them not only what his future and perfect kingdom would be like, but the nature of the life they could begin to experience immediately. They began to understand that The King, their Messiah, had come and that what He had to say was not only “good news”, it was the gospel that would forever change their hearts and lives.
From the beginning, it has been God’s heart to reach out to mankind with this “Good News of His Kingdom”. He sent His Son, Jesus, to demonstrate His love and compassion for those who were alienated from Him by sin and selfishness. He gave us His Word, the Bible, so that for all generations to come, people could understand that His plan has always been to redeem and to save all those who, by faith, receive Him. He gave the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to all those who belong to Him so that they could live out “kingdom life” until there is a “new heaven and a new earth” where Jesus will reign forever. Is there any better news than this?
