THE KINGDOM OF GOD: PART 1, THE LOST GOSPEL*

 I wonder how many church people know the first words out of Jesus’ mouth in the Gospel of Mark?  Those words are a summary of what Jesus travelled around preaching:

And after John had been handed over [into custody], Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel [great proclamation] of God, and saying, "The appointed time is fulfilled [by God is implied] and the kingdom of God has approached!  Repent and believe in the gospel!" (Mk. 1:14-15)

Also, most Christians pray every Sunday the one prayer that Jesus taught his disciples to pray.  Still, I wonder how many church people know for what are we praying?

“Our Father in heaven [that is, sovereign, above all]:
    Your name [divine character] be venerated!
    Your kingdom [sovereign rule] come!
    Your will, as it is in heaven, be done on earth!”… (Matt. 6:9-10)

Development:
So, what is the Kingdom of God?  The Kingdom of God is a Jewish (Old Testament) concept.  This Jewish belief which Jesus and the NT taught, is an acknowledgement that our present age/creation is corrupt, but that God will bring about a new, incorruptible age/creation.  (See Isaiah 65:17-25 and Revelation 21:1-4.)  God’s kingdom/rule will be perfected in this future creation.  However, and most importantly, Jesus modified this understanding through his preaching and by his deeds, that is through the totality of his incarnation, life, death and resurrection.  Jesus taught that although God’s perfect rule will come to completion in the future at Jesus’ Second Coming, God’s Kingdom had irrupted into the present age/creation with Jesus’ Presence in the world.  For this reason, those who entrust themselves to Jesus become participants in God’s Kingdom now and have eternal life now.  (See devotional post of Oct. 11, 2023, “The When of Eternal Life: It Matters”).  Those who die in Christ before his Second Coming “wait” for the resurrection of the dead and this new age/creation.
    Pop-cultural Christianity overlooks this biblical teaching when it talks about dying and then “going to heaven” to get eternal life.  (See post of Oct. 14, 2023, “Where is Paradise?  Does the Criminal on the Cross Go to Heaven?”)  Ironically, many Christians every week unknowingly affirm the correct biblical teaching when they recite the Nicene Creed where it states in reference to the new age/creation:

He [Jesus] will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end….
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

Application:
Absorbing this teaching of the Kingdom of God transforms the Christian’s life away from the pop-cultural expectations to real life in Christ.  My life now is not about someday going to heaven to get eternal life.  I have eternal life now.  My life now is that I am called as a disciple of Jesus to participate in Jesus’ Kingdom now.  (Using another biblical analogy, this is what it means to live as a member of the Body of Christ.)  My ultimate purpose in life is to be available to Jesus now.  I am to open my eyes to see how Jesus is at work around me and to raise my hand every morning and say, “Here am I, send me!”  (Isaiah 6:8).  I am to recognize the abilities and spiritual gifts God has given me and ask Jesus to use them in my daily life, whatever my circumstances and vocation might be.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD: PART 2, THE PRESENT STRUGGLE

Having stated the glorious truth above, I was thinking this morning how I get disappointed with unrighteousness in the world and with life’s daily struggles.  Just as those with poor theology cannot wait “to get to heaven,” I get discouraged about not seeing God’s Kingdom growing fruitfully in the present.  But, Jesus anticipated this kind of discouragement, and Matthew’s Gospel structures his message to highlight Jesus’ response of encouragement.

Development:
Jesus’ disciples would have expected that when God’s Messiah came, he would proclaim the entry of the new age/creation and change would immediately happen.  Instead, as mentioned above, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God coming now with his Presence, but not being fully consummated until his Second Coming.  In Matthew, Jesus “Parable of the Weeds” presents this teaching.  Even though a farmer has sowed good seeds, an enemy has sowed weed in the same field.  We must wait until the harvest (the Second Coming) to separate the two and put an end to evil.  (See the telling of the parable in Matt 13:24-30, and Jesus’ explanation of it to his disciples in Matt 13:36-43.)  When the disciples heard this parable, they must have been confused and discouraged.  Waiting is hard.  They (and I) would want all chaos and evil eliminated now.  However, Matthew’s Gospel has placed two other parables of Jesus between Jesus’ telling and explanation of the disappointing “Parable of the Weeds.”  These two short parables make all the difference, the “Parable of the Mustard Seed” and the “Parable of the Yeast” (Matt 13:31-33).  Both parables address the role of the Kingdom of God in the present age.  The Kingdom now is like a tiny seed that seems insignificant but will grow into a pleasant shade tree in one’s garden.  The Kingdom now is like yeast, which one cannot see, but which transforms a lump of dough into the bread of life.

Application:
I was reminded of two things that addressed my discouragement this morning.  First, I do not and never will see as God sees.  I cannot see that tiny mustard seed growing underground.  I cannot see yeast working its way through the dough.  I do not see what God is doing in people’s hearts.  Yet, Jesus is presently at work in this world and transformation is taking place in people’s lives.  Second, I recalled the grace of God that I have experienced in the past:

This I recall to my heart; upon this I rest:
The acts of loving faithfulness of the LORD -- that they are never finished, that His tender mercies never end!  New [they are] every morning!  Abundant is Your steadfastness!
(Lam 3:22-23.  Note: I love the poetic exuberance in the Hebrew.)

Lord, grant that I might live today and everyday as a faithful member of your Kingdom.  May your rule, as it is in heaven, be manifest in my life today to your glory.  May the “yeast” of your Holy Spirit be at work in and through me and your Body.  Amen.
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*I started a devotional thought on one aspect of the Kingdom of God, but had to supply so much background, I divided it into two parts.  Part 1 is foundational background.  Part 2 is about my current struggle and application.