In Luke 17:20 – 21 Jesus told those who inquired when the Kingdom of God was going to come that it was already in their midst.  In a previous post we saw that Jesus brought the Kingdom by modeling it.  How else did He bring it into the midst of His generation?

We find our answer in Matthew 4:23.

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. ESV

Proclamation

Jesus not only modeled the Kingdom, He proclaimed it everywhere He went.  He joyfully declared that God’s rule was at hand because it was good news.  The hopes and dreams of God’s people were being fulfilled and they needed to know it.  His message also opened the door so anyone could enter and experience life under God’s dominion.  That is why Jesus called for people to respond to His message with repentance and faith (Mark 1:14 – 15).

Demonstration

Notice also in Matthew 4:23 that Jesus not only proclaimed God’s rule, He also demonstrated it.  The proclamation that God’s dominion has come into the present cannot simply be left hanging.  This particular message demands evidence.  That is what the healing of the sick and deliverance from demonic oppression provided.  These works of power openly proved that what Jesus was saying was true.  God was indeed ruling in the midst of His people, and it was seen by people being relieved of their suffering.

Jesus brought the Kingdom of God into the midst of God’s people through  proclaiming the good news and demonstrating it’s reality.  In our next post on the subject, we will look at what this means to us today.

M