Is Preaching the Kingdom and the Gospel the Same Thing?

Question: What is the Kingdom of God mentioned in Luke 9? It says, “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (9:1,2). Is it as simple as the Gospel? The disciples would not know the gospel as Christ had not been Crucified yet. I know the Kingdom of God is mentioned many times and I don’t really know exactly what it is.

Answer: It is not completely as simple as the gospel, but close. The “gospel” means the good news and Jesus was preaching the good news of the kingdom, that is, that the kingdom was near and that you could enter it by being born again. It was an invitation at once to submit to God and at the same time to find His forgiveness as you quit working to become more submissive and trust Him to work in your life. With the preaching of the kingdom by the King, Jesus, came numerous foretastes of the kingdom in the form of miracles. In the kingdom all our sickness and sin will be done away with. As Jesus introduced the kingdom, he gave people a taste of what it would be like by healing their diseases, casting out demons and setting them free with forgiveness. Another part of the kingdom promise (Jer 31) is a new heart to enable us to keep God’s laws.