Acts 8:12

8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God ¹  and the name of Jesus Christ, ²  they began to be baptized, ³  both men and women.

Acts 28:31

28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ ⁴  with complete boldness ⁵  and without restriction. ⁶ 

Matthew 4:17

4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach this message: ⁷  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Matthew 4:23

Jesus’ Healing Ministry

4:23 Jesus ⁸  went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, ⁹  preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people.

Matthew 10:7

10:7 As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’

Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ¹⁰  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ¹¹  this is the seed sown along the path.

Matthew 13:52

13:52 Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law ¹²  who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”

Luke 9:60

9:60 But Jesus ¹³  said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, ¹⁴  but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ¹⁵ 

Luke 16:16

16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force ¹⁶  until John; ¹⁷  since then, ¹⁸  the good news of the kingdom of God ¹⁹  has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it. ²⁰ 

¹ sn The kingdom of God is also what Jesus preached: Acts 1:3. The term reappears in 14:22; 19:8; 28:23, 31.

² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

³ tn The imperfect verb ἐβαπτίζοντο (ebaptizonto) has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

⁴ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

⁵ tn Or “openness.”

⁶ sn Proclaiming…with complete boldness and without restriction. Once again Paul’s imprisonment is on benevolent terms. The word of God is proclaimed triumphantly and boldly in Rome. Acts ends with this note: Despite all the attempts to stop it, the message goes forth.

⁷ tn Grk “and to say.”

⁸ tn Grk “And he.”

⁹ sn Synagogues were places for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).

¹⁰ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

¹¹ sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

¹² tn Or “every scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4. It is possible that the term translated “expert in the law” (traditionally, “scribe”) here is a self-description used by the author, Matthew, to represent his role in conveying the traditions about Jesus to his intended audience. See David E. Orton, The Understanding Scribe [JSNTSup].

¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ sn There are several options for the meaning of Jesus’ reply Leave the dead to bury their own dead: (1) Recent research suggests that burial customs in the vicinity of Jerusalem from about 20 b.c. to a.d. 70 involved a reinterment of the bones a year after the initial burial, once the flesh had rotted away. At that point the son would have placed his father’s bones in a special box known as an ossuary to be set into the wall of the tomb. Thus Jesus could well be rebuking the man for wanting to wait around for as much as a year before making a commitment to follow him. In 1st century Jewish culture, to have followed Jesus rather than burying one’s father would have seriously dishonored one’s father (cf. Tobit 4:3-4). (2) The remark is an idiom (possibly a proverbial saying) that means, “The matter in question is not the real issue,” in which case Jesus was making a wordplay on the wording of the man’s (literal) request (see L&N 33.137). (3) This remark could be a figurative reference to various kinds of people, meaning, “Let the spiritually dead bury the dead.” (4) It could also be literal and designed to shock the hearer by the surprise of the contrast. Whichever option is preferred, it is clear that the most important priority is to preach the gospel (proclaim the kingdom of God).

¹⁵ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

¹⁶ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; one must be supplied. Some translations (NASB, NIV) supply “proclaimed” based on the parallelism with the proclamation of the kingdom. The transitional nature of this verse, however, seems to call for something more like “in effect” (NRSV) or, as used here, “in force.” Further, Greek generally can omit one of two kinds of verbs – either the equative verb or one that is already mentioned in the preceding context (ExSyn 39).

¹⁷ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

¹⁸ sn Until John; since then. This verse indicates a shift in era, from law to kingdom.

¹⁹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

²⁰ tn Many translations have “entereth violently into it” (ASV) or “is forcing his way into it” (NASB, NIV). This is not true of everyone. It is better to read the verb here as passive rather than middle, and in a softened sense of “be urged.” See Gen 33:11; Judg 13:15-16; 19:7; 2 Sam 3:25, 27 in the LXX. This fits the context well because it agrees with Jesus’ attempt to persuade his opponents to respond morally. For further discussion and details, see D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1352-53.