At the time of Jesus, the country where He lived was ruled by the Romans. Before them, it had been ruled by the Greeks and, before them, the Persians. It had been almost a thousand years since the Jews had ruled themselves. But many Jewish people believed that the time would come when God would send them a king of their own. This king would set up 'The Kingdom of God', which would spread over the whole world. The capital of the Kingdom would be Jerusalem.

What Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God was different from what everyone was expecting. Firstly, He taught that the Kingdom of God wasn't a place on Earth. Secondly, He taught that you didn't need to wait for the Kingdom, you could be in the Kingdom now, by trying to follow God's rules. Thirdly, He taught that the Kingdom was open to everyone, of every age and of every race.

Jesus told many stories to help people understand what the Kingdom of God is like. One of his most famous stories about the Kingdom is called the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

Jesus sometimes called The Kingdom of God by another name. He called it the Kingdom of Heaven because Heaven is the place where everyone does what God wants.