Learning From Jesus

The term kingdom, in Jesus' day, did not primarily mean a realm. That's what we understand when we think of this term. We think of England or Denmark or Thailand. But Jesus would have thought of the right or authority to rule, not the realm over which one rules. So, for example, when the Bible speaks of the kingdom of Darius (Daniel 5:31) it does not mean Persia, but the time period during which King Darius exercised his rule over an extensive portion of the Middle East which included Persia.

I have heard it explained like this. Take the sentence: during the kingdom of George III, the American colonies rebelled against the kingdom of England. It is the first usage of the word that Jesus has in mind. The kingdom of God means the rule of God or the reign of God. This is not the kingdom of Julius Caesar or Augustus Caesar. This is not the kingdom of David or Solomon or any of their descendants. This is the kingdom of God.

It is not a spacial idea. You cannot mark off the boundaries of this kingdom. It is a temporal idea. The time has come, Jesus said. In my ministry, the time of God's rule has come! Hear the good news! The reign of Almighty God is here.

The kingdom of God represents the presence of the past. What God has done in the past is now consummated. It has come together in this point. In the now, the past has coalesced. All of the power of God that generations of God's people had witnessed and longed for is made manifest in the kingdom of God.

And all that was promised is realized. That's why Jesus told his cousin John the Baptist to baptize him in order to fulfill all righteousness. That's why Jesus said he came to fulfill the law. That's why Jesus said, right before he died, it is finished. The past has come into the present and has been completed.

If you read the Old Testament and New Testament casually you might get the impression that the God of the Old T is very different from the God of the New T. Some have said that the God of the OT is an angry, vengeful God - like the crazy old man that you don't understand and you're afraid of - while the God of the NT is a loving kind God - like your favorite uncle. But Jesus is not something new and different from the OT. He is the completion of it. The Bible says God is the same yesterday, today and forever. In proclaiming the KOG, Jesus was announcing the presence of the past.

He is also proclaiming the presence of the future. In the life of Jesus, eternity, the time when God will rule with all sovereignty, has exploded into the now. It was the belief of God's people that when God came to rule a great reversal would happen. The ones on the top would be toppled. The ones on the bottom would be raised up. The blind would see, the lame would walk. Sorrow and death would be overcome. In the New Testament, Revelation is the book that tells us the most about the future. Of the future it says, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

This is what Jesus is announcing when he says the Kingdom of God is near. And this is what we see hints of in Jesus' ministry. Blind people received their sight. Dead people were raised from the dead. Sufferers were comforted. Poor people were empowered. Rich people were convicted. A new order is established. The future broke in on the present.

The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. The future is now. Have you ever seen that TV show about the guy who gets tomorrow's newspaper every morning? So he knows what's going to happen. He knows who is going to die, who is going to be in trouble. I always wonder why he doesn't find out who is going to win the Super Bowl and place an enormous bet on the eventual winner - Anyway, that's what we have in Jesus. Because the kingdom has come, we know the future. We've seen it.

The kingdom of God represents the reign of God, the hope of the past consummated in the present, the promise of the future has broken into the present. A whole new order has come. God has come to rule. The old has been accomplished; a new day has dawned. God has established his sovereignty. Sort of ?

In 1 John 3:2, John says, "Dear friends, now we already are children of God, but what we will be has not yet been made known." In the same way, according to Jesus, the kingdom of God is already and not yet.

There are a carload of sayings and teaching points where Jesus makes it clear that for him the kingdom is future. In Matthew 8:11, for example, Jesus is using the image of the great banquet that God offers his people. "I say to you," he explains, "that many will come from the east and west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." This manifestation of the kingdom is clearly in the future for Jesus. Or when Jesus participates in the last meal with his disciples on what he knew to be the last night of his life. He says, "I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." The Lord's prayer suggests the same thing. "Our Father, who is in heaven, holy is your name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He prays for the kingdom as a future reality.

Along with this, there are several sayings in which Jesus pictures a future coming of the Son of Man. The Son of Man is a code word for God's chosen man who will usher in the end of this age and the beginning of the next. Jesus says, "At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." (Mark 13:26) If a new age has dawned, then why is the coming of the Son of Man in the future? As a complement to this Jesus has a whole bunch of teachings on being watchful as we wait for the coming of the Son of Man. "You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him," he warns.

Clearly for Jesus the coming of the kingdom is a future event. But wait. We've already seen how he saw the kingdom come in his ministry. The summary of his whole teaching ministry is "The time has come! The kingdom of God is near!"

Luke 17:20-21 gives us a clear example of Jesus' thinking on this. "Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, 'The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, Here it is, or there it is, because the kingdom of God is within your midst.'" Or among you. In other words, the kingdom is happening right now, right here in front of you. You are looking for some great sign. You are missing the forest for the trees.

Another example is found in Matthew 11:12. Jesus said, "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful people lay hold of it." The kingdom is already on the move and its moving in forcefully. You can't lay back. You can't watch from a distance. You have to jump in, you have to grab on. The kingdom is here! The future is now!

We see this especially in the poor having the gospel preached to them and in the fact that the spiritually needy are the ones who get the Kingdom according to Jesus. Not the rich, not the religious, but the needy and the broken get invited into the kingdom. Over and over again in his stories and in the people he hung out with Jesus demonstrated this. He lifted up whores and set them free and he humbled wealthy self-sufficient businessmen.

Matthew 11:2-6 records this incident:

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" 4 Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 6 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

In Jesus our enemies are overthrown. Blind people see; lame people walk; deafness is no barrier. Deaf people hear. Death is no threat. Dead people are raised.

Almost everywhere he went demons materialized. Jesus overwhelmed them. At one point in his ministry Jesus is questioned about this activity. It is interesting that the questioners do not doubt that something dramatic happened. But they claim that Jesus accomplished what he did by the power of Satan. Listen to his response. "If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." (Matthew 12:28)

Now somebody is thinking, "you don't really believe that stuff happened do you? Isn't this just old folk tales and myths from a superstitious age?" And I want you to know my honest answer is "yes, I absolutely believe stuff like that happened." I believe it still happens today. I have seen it. My question is not does it happen, but why doesn't it always happen Jesus? Why are there sick people in this congregation, in my family whom I cannot heal when I pray? Why do the unrighteous prosper? Why are people still mistreated? Why does death still punctuate our lives?

In the understanding of Jesus' teaching God has given me an answer that does not always satisfy me, but it does allow me to live with the tension between all the wonders that I see and experience in God on the one hand, and all that I don't see and experience, on the other.

In Jesus, the kingdom has come already, but not yet fully. The reign of God has been inaugurated, but it has not been completed. The power of God is entirely and fully available, but not fully realized. The rule of God is here, but not complete. The best illustration of this I've ever heard was offered by a German Bible scholar named Oscar Cullman. According to Cullman, WWII was won by the Allies on June 6, 1944 on D Day. When the American troops established a beachhead on the coast of Normandy Germany's fate was sealed. The war was won ? but it wasn't over. It would take 11 more months of what Cullman called mop up exercises before we arrived at V Day, May 7, 1945. But already on June 6, 1944 victory was sure. It was secured.

And on the cross, Jesus secured the victory of God's kingdom over the kingdom of darkness. The great reign of God was inaugurated. And at that point the hope of God's people became fixed on a certain eventuality. We do not hope like those who are wishfully thinking or fancifully daydreaming. We have this hope, as the writer of Hebrews says, "as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

By the way, Cullman's illustration is enlightening in another way. There was still tremendous sacrifice called for in the 11 months between D Day and V Day. Many young men gave their lives to complete the victory that had already been secured. And that is exactly the tension in which you and I live our lives. We live out the mop up operation. That's why there's suffering in our lives, because the kingdom is not yet. But this is also why we live victoriously. Because the kingdom is already. We know the end. And no matter what happens the believer wins.

So how do our lives fit in this period of tension? How do we respond to Jesus' announcement of the kingdom? Jesus tells us plainly. "Repent and believe the good news!"

Repentance means much more than a deep sense of sorrow over our condition. That could describe depression which is certainly not the same as repentance. The core of repentance is renunciation. To repent, we must renounce, let go of, abandon, and forsake. We must renounce our old habits. That's why Jesus told the tax collector in Luke 19:8 to stop cheating. That's why he told the conceited in Matthew 6:1-18 to turn from their pride. He told the man who was healed to go and sin no more. Renounce old habits. Renounce our old ways of thinking and reacting. Our old ways of relating.

But more than that, repentance means to renounce self. Jesus told his listeners that it was the poor in spirit, those who recognized their own poverty before God who would receive the kingdom of God. That's why he told his followers in Matthew 18:3 to come as a little child if you want to enter the kingdom of God. You must leave behind all sense of self-sufficiency. God is all sufficient, we are all needy. That's why he tells his followers in Mark 8:34 and following that they must deny themselves if they want to follow him. This is not simply self-denial, this is denial of self. This is abandoning self-rule, this is renouncing self aggrandizement and self-sufficiency. That's why Jesus says it's impossible for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. (And everyone in this room is rich.) It is impossible because the rich are what they are because they have sought to provide for themselves, successfully. The rich are in the business of accumulation, not renunciation. They have tried to secure their own lives. But only God can secure a life. So it's impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. Now God can do it, but it takes a miracle. It's like a camel fitting through the eye of a needle. It's something only God can do.

Our response to God begins with renunciation.

So why is the proclamation of the kingdom good news? How is it good news to let go of my old habits? Because those old habits can never really satisfy. They are a dead end. They do not free us. They enslave us. How is it good news to renounce self? Because self-service, self-sufficiency, self-aggrandizement are heavy burdens. We are constantly having to prop up our fragile egos either through self promotion or putting others down. But God wants to exalt his people. He wants to lift them up. He wants to promote them.

The second part of our response is to simply receive what God has to give. That's what Jesus means when he says believe this teaching of mine. Believe this good news. Simply put: here's the kingdom, receive it. In Luke 12:32 Jesus says, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." It is a gift. Receive it.

You did not earn it. You did nothing to bring the kingdom in. It is forcefully advancing and there's nothing you can do about that. But now you must respond. Today, will you align yourself with what God is doing? If your heart belongs to him, or perhaps if he is moving in your heart for the first time today you know already that it is no burden to renounce what has become a burden to you. Let it go and receive what God has instead.