Waters of Life

Biblical Studies in Multiple Languages

Search in "English":
Home -- English -- Revelation -- 109 (The Mystery of God in the Words of Jesus)
This page in: -- Arabic -- Armenian -- Bulgarian -- ENGLISH -- French? -- German -- Indonesian? -- Polish? -- Portuguese -- Russian -- Yiddish

Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson

REVELATION - Behold, I am Coming Soon
Studies in the Book of Revelation
BOOK 4 - THY KINGDOM COME (REVELATION 10:1 - 12:17) – The two witnesses of the last days and the expulsion of Satan from heaven
PART 4.3 - SUPPLEMENT: THE MYSTERY OF GOD IN ITS COMPLETION THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST

2. The Unfolding of the Mystery of God in the Words of Jesus Concerning the Kingdom of His Father


The Coming of the Kingdom of Heaven to Mankind: One of the mysteries of the kingdom of God consists in the facts it does not flee away from obstinate mankind. No – the kingdom of God comes unceasingly towards us! Day and night the merciful God approaches man.

In paradise God came to Adam, who had hidden himself (Genesis 3:8-9). The Almighty warned a depraved mankind through Noah of His coming judgment, and established with him a covenant (Genesis 9:9,13,17 etc.). The Lord called Abraham to leave his kindred behind (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1; 17:1 etc.). He spoke with Isaac (Genesis 26:24) and wrestled with Jacob (Genesis 28:13; 32:29). He appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:4-15) and encouraged Joshua (Joshua 1:1-9). He met Gideon in the winepress (Judges 6:11-12) and called the young boy Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-21). The Lord appointed David to be king (1 Samuel 16:1-13) and strengthened Elijah (1 Kings 17:2-3, 8-9). The Lord revealed to Isaiah His holiness (Isaiah 6:1-5), appointed Jeremiah to be His messenger (Jeremiah 1:4-10) and showed Ezekiel His glory (Ezekiel 1:4-28).

The continuous movement of God towards mankind intensified itself since the time David wrote, 1000 years before Christ's birth, these words of God about His Messiah-King: “You are My Son, today I have begotten you” (Psalm 2:7).

Isaiah heard that this chosen Son would come as a strong God, in whom the eternal Father would be present (Isaiah 9:5-6). In the midst of the deportation of the Jewish people God lifted the veil over His mystery and commanded His prophets to preach: “Prepare the way of the Lord; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed” (Isaiah 40:2-5).

The dejected half-slaves were aroused through the divine command: Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Six hundred years after these promises John the Baptist prepared his people for the arrival of the God-King. At the Jordan in the wilderness he called everyone to repentance: “Prepare the way of the Lord!” (Matthew 3:3) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2)

The immediate and imminent breaking through of the kingdom of God drove sinners at their baptism in the Jordan to confess their sins and abandon their godless ways.

When Jesus, against the will of the Baptist, was baptized, the heaven was opened, and God spoke the one, all-decisive sentence: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!” (Matthew 3:13-17)

This sensational revelation of God gave a Messianic assurance to those waiting: The God-King is here! His first official duty consisted of taking the sin of the world upon Himself and being baptized in our stead (John1:29-36). The King had come, and began immediately to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).

Jesus repeated the call of John: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17; 10:7; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 10:9-11.)

B.C. had now become A.D. A highly charged, near expectation of the kingdom of God had begun. Many thought the kingdom of God would now break through with power (Luke 19:11; 24:21; John 6:1). But only a few recognized the God-King in their midst. Even Joseph of Arimathea, who took the body of Jesus down from the cross, although “waiting for the kingdom of God”, did not comprehend that he already held the dead King in his arms (Mark 15:43-45; Luke 23:51).

Jesus commanded His disciples to continuously pray for the coming of the kingdom of God, and to believe that He would answer their prayer. The request in the Lord's Prayer “Thy kingdom come” touches and moves the power of God (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2)! Jesus impressed the importance of this goal upon His disciples: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Through this establishing of the priorities, Jesus wanted to free His followers from trust in money and gold, release them from all unnecessary worry, and in its place, awaken in them a childlike trust in their heavenly Father (Mt.6:19,34). Jesus compared the waiting for the glorious kingdom of the Lord to the excited anticipation of ten virgins awaiting a delayed bridegroom (Matthew 25:1). Thus, He would say and impress upon us: Always be ready!

Following the many promises of His coming kingdom God expects, as a clear answer from the hearers, a deliberate change of mind, as well as an internal orientation to the coming God-King.

The criminal to the right of Jesus on the cross recognized the King of God in the crucified Son of Man and bid him: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

This believer, from the dregs of humanity, became the prototype of all justified citizens in the kingdom of God! He had no good works to show. He recognized only the love of Jesus. This love awoke in him trust in his king. His faith saved him, and made him worthy of paradise.

The Love and Humility of the God-King in the Proclamation of His Kingdom: The kingdom of God did not come with the beating of drums and the sounding of trumpets. Nor did it come with war or economic wonders. It came through the words of Jesus, the acts of His love, and His unceasing prayers. The crowds swarmed around Him to hear about the holiness and love of God (Matthew 7:28-29). They had waited a long time for one to expose their sins and show them the way of salvation from the wrath of God. The kingdom of God began as a repentance movement, with a turning back to God, with a change of mind and morals (Matthew 4:17). Jesus proclaimed the seriousness of the law and the mercy of the gospel, healed all the sick that came to Him, drove the demons out of those possessed, and raised the dead (Matthew 4:23-25). Now and then He forbids those healed to tell who had healed them, because He wanted to avoid a rush of those seeking sensation and miracles (Matthew 7:4; 8:4; 9:30; Mark 5:43; 7:36). Jesus called sinners to repentance, and not the righteous (Matthew 9:13).

Jesus’ penetrating words, His loving acts, He Himself in His humble sovereignty, the throng of His hungry-to-learn disciples: all of this was the dawning of the kingdom of God on the earth. The crowds swarmed around Jesus, because they sensed the authority and power of the God-King in their midst. In Jesus the kingdom of heaven had come to man (Matthew 4:25; Mark 7:31). His calls to repentance were accompanied by miracles of healing, not with miracles of judgment, which will occur with the two witnesses of the end time (Revelation 11:1-13).

Jesus had no car, no bicycle, no horse, not even a donkey. He went by foot into all the villages and cities of Galilee! The Lord had no steady income. He healed the sick free of charge. He paid His followers no wages, and promised them no grants. Jesus lived entirely from the care of His heavenly Father, accepted the invitations of those interested, and permitted the practical service of believing women (Luke 8:1-3). Whoever followed Jesus had no expectation of material gain, but was ready to sacrifice and to serve.

The King taught in houses of prayer, proclaimed the kingdom of God in various places, evangelized entire groups, and spoke also with individuals. He was the Word of God in Person (John 1:14). He lived what He said. In Him was no sin. His words contained great creative power and might, deep sympathy, and eternal healing. His Person was the beginning of the kingdom of God. His people developed both in Him and from Him (Matthew 4:23-25; Luke 8:1; 9:1; John 12:24).

Hardly a theologian or teacher of the law followed Jesus. Few of the pious legalists or priests of the temple gathered around Him. Experienced fishermen, despised tax collectors, and former political zealots stayed with Him. They all had confessed their sins to John the Baptist at their baptism in the Jordan (Acts 1:21-22). Jesus called broken sinners and no self-righteous. He accepted the penitent into His following, but no hypocrites. From them He formed the germ cell of His kingdom. Jesus rebuked His disciples when they wanted to keep back bothersome children from Him, for only those who trustfully receive the kingdom of heaven like a child will be able to enter in (Matthew 19:14). As a result of these words of Jesus for the children, a God- favored evangelistic work among children on all continents came into being.

The ministry of Jesus as an itinerant preacher began after John the Baptist had been cast into prison. The Son of Mary took over the witness of the Baptist and said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15) The strict Law of Moses and the prophets had reigned until the days of John the Baptist. After him the good news of the kingdom of God was preached, and many through their faith pressed into it (Matthew 11:12-14; Luke 16:16).

Jesus testified that an inner compulsion drove Him to proclaim the kingdom of God in all places of Galilee and Judea, because for that purpose He had been sent (Luke 4:43). He did not remain long in a single city or village for the purpose of establishing a church. He wanted to call the entire nation into His kingdom (Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:38; Luke 4:42-43). He proclaimed the dawning of the spiritual kingdom of God, which entered in His own Person to us.

To hearers far-removed, ignorant and hardened, Jesus preached in parables, so that the mystery of the kingdom of God might be brought near to them in a language they could understand. His striking examples arose out of the daily life of His hearers. Anyone could comprehend His words, if he wanted to. Jesus compared, for instance, the offering of the kingdom of God to all people, both to the receptive and to the obstinate, to a sower who went out to sow his seed on both a plowed and an unplowed field ( Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23). He pointed, as well, to the weeds that grew up between the stalks of wheat (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). The fishermen amidst His listeners were reminded of the sorting out of the good fish from the bad following the catch (Matthew 13:47-50). He compared the invitation of God to a king who prepared a wedding for his son, yet most of the honored guests paid no heed to his invitation (Matthew 22:1-14). Jesus compared the expanding power of the kingdom of heaven to a fast growing seed of mustard. He reminded the women on the sour dough that so silently was able to leaven the entire dough (Matthew 13:31-33). He compared His immeasurably glorious kingdom to a man who found hidden treasure in a field, and who then went and sold all that he had to buy the field, including treasure. In like fashion did the merchant of pearls, after finding a pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-46). All of the parables of Jesus placed before His hearers the call to immediately enter into the kingdom of heaven. At the end of His teaching Jesus prophesied: And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).

For the most part Jesus did not work alone, but served together with His students. He gave authority to His twelve chosen followers and commanded them: “And as you go, preach, saying, `The kingdom of heaven is at hand.` Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:7-8; Mark 6:7-13; Luke 9:1-6).

Later the God-king appointed 70 disciples and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself wanted to go (Luke 10:1-24). The movement of the kingdom of God was gaining ground, for Jesus had entrusted to His envoys the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19; 18:18; John 20:21-23). His power was manifested in effectual working, despite the weaknesses of His followers (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

The shocking death of Jesus on the cross could not stop the movement of the kingdom of God. Following the resurrection from the dead of the crucified Christ, He spoke with His distraught followers for 40 days about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). After His ascension to heaven, He poured out onto His loved ones the power of the Holy Spirit, through which the kingdom of God expanded into all directions under heaven. Peter assured the churches of Asia Minor that they, too, as priests and kings among the chosen people of God, should take responsibility over their areas. Paul spoke often with Jews, Greeks and Romans. He discussed with them the kingdom of God, and persuaded them through the prophecies of the Old Testament (Acts 19:8; 20:25; Colossians 4:11 etc.). In Rome, too, under the eyes of the soldiers on guard, he did not cease proclaiming the kingdom of God, and from openly teaching about it (Acts 28:23,31). To the present day, in spite of pressure and persecution, the kingdom of God is invariably advancing (Romans 1:16-17). The eternal power of the God-King presses forward.

PRAYER: Our King, who has ascended to heaven, You confessed Your spiritual majesty before Pilate, the Roman ruler, and You warned the self-righteous representatives of Your people. You did not come to satisfy Yourself, but to save the lost and to confirm those who hear Your calling. Help us to hear Your sayings clearly and open the ears of our friends that they may respond to Your recreating call.

QUESTION:

  1. How did Christ offer His kingdom to the sinners?

www.Waters-of-Life.net

Page last modified on April 10, 2013, at 11:28 AM | powered by PmWiki (pmwiki-2.3.3)