The Good News - The Kingdom Of Heaven

2.28.16

In Matthew 4:17 we read "From that time on Jesus began to preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.'” Jesus had much to say about this kingdom. Below are six stories (parables) that he uses to explain the Kingdom.

1. The Kingdom Intersects with Sinners.

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. (Matthew 13:24-29)

2. The Kingdom Starts Small But Grows.

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (Matthew 13:31-33)

3. The Kingdom Has Immeasurable Worth.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." (Matthew 13;44-45)

4. The Kingdom Requires Forgiveness of Others.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:23-35)

5. The Kingdom Rewards Everyone Equally.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

“About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

“‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

“When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’

“The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

6. The Unexpected Will Be Invited Into The Kingdom

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

“Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

“Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. (Matthew 22:2-10)

Takeaway From These Teachings

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
(Luke 17:20-21)

Therefore, if the Kingdom Of Heaven dwells within us, or could be said to be us (as the Church), then the six characteristics of the Kingdom is true of us as well:

1. We should not isolate ourselves from the world, but interact with sinners.

2. We may start small in our faith and in our understanding of God, but we can grow when placed in the right soil. Like that small mustard seed, nothing happens until we are planted. For us this includes daily times in the Word of God and frequent interaction with other believers.

3. With Jesus in us and us in him, we have immeasurable value!

4. We are required to forgive others.

5. We should treat everyone equally without prejudice to their position in society or economic status.

6. We should invite everyone to join the Kingdom, even the unexpected.

The Good News - Disciples Assemble

2.7.16

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Matthew 10:2-4)

Jesus came as light into this world. His goal, among others, was to share this light with others so that they could in turn share with even more. In order to achieve this goal he assembled a team of followers we call Disciples. These twelve men had their own hang ups, habits, and limitations. They all shared one thing in common: a willingness to follow and learn. You can read more about the character of these twelve in a previous blog posting Following The Feet Of Jesus - Follow Me.

Three things we learn from the calling of the Disciples by Jesus:

1.) Jesus qualifies the called.
(Matthew 4:19)

2.) Jesus chooses people that others would not chose.
(Matthew 9:9-13)

3.) Jesus chooses to share his power and authority with his disciples.
(Mark 3:13-15)

The Good News - On Your Mark, Get Ready

1.31.16

Little is know about Jesus as a child. His formative years are not laid out in details as we would like for a modern biography. We do know this: "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." (Luke 2:52) This means he transversed the toddler, prepubescent, and teen years without sin - all the while growing in maturity and acceptance into the adult world. But before he begins his adult ministry Jesus undergoes some final preparations.

1. Preparation by baptism.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. (Matthew 3:13-15)

In Leviticus 8 God commands that Aaron and his sons are washed ceremonially (baptized) to symbolize their righteousness as priests. It may be this very passage that Jesus is referencing when he says "It is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

2. Preparation by Holy Spirit.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. (Matthew 3:16)

Prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is seen as an external force acting upon the physical world. Genesis 1 tells us that the Spirit moved upon the face of the earth and helped to give it shape. Numbers 11 tells the story of how the Spirit moved upon Moses and the seventy elders as they were commissioned to lead the people of Israel. And Judges 14 tells of the Spirit empowering Samson in his feats of strength. It is after the Day of Pentecost that we are empowered permanently with the Holy Spirit in us, not just acting upon us. Here though we have a picture of the Holy Spirit preparing Jesus in his earthly form.

3. Preparation by Divine Affirmation

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

This affirmation by his father serves to encourage his son and to confirm to us that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is ready to minister. We see the picture of Father, Son, and Spirit united to be effective in his ministry. The affirmation of the one who sent him is key because Jesus comes not on his own word, but with the confirming word of God.

4. Preparation by Testing. 

At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. (Mark 1:12-13)

I love football. The draft is an exciting time every year as new prospects are brought in and tested to see if they will make it as a professional player. Over the years there have been many who "look perfect on paper" but who fail to perform in the actual heat of the moment during a game. Before Jesus goes into full time ministry, after being hand picked by God to perform the task at hand, he is tested. Like Luke Skywalker facing Vader in the swamp on Dagobah, Jesus faces the worst the universe has to throw at him: Satan. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4 we read more details about the testing of Jesus by Satan. He endures them all with the same weapon available to you and I - The Word of God. Jesus uses scripture to defeat Satan, and so can we.

Three things we learn from the preparation of Jesus.

1. Jesus grew into his role. (Luke 2:52)

2. Look to others to affirm your calling and purpose. (Matthew 3:17)

3. Do not be surprised by testing or opposition (Matthew 4 and Luke 4)

The Good News - The Voice - Part Two

1/24/16

The Voice - A Voice of Truth

In Matthew 3:7-9 we read the veracity and resolution to the truth which John preached:

"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."

He identified the spiritual leaders of his time as "vipers", a clear message that they are snakes - a biblical symbol of evil and sin. He is challenging them on their presence here in his wilderness temple. He is performing the holy act of baptism and teaching on the forgiveness of sin, as well as a commitment to a changed life. He calls them out on their hypocrisy that they act righteous but produce no fruit in keeping with repentance.

He also brings their faith in their heritage in question. "Oh, your grand daddy was Abraham, huh?", you can hear him taunting.  That is no big deal, God could use the stones of the Jordan river to raise up a nation. An odd thing to say for sure, but not in the context of Joshua 3 and 4. In this story, which the Jewish spiritual leaders surly knew, Joshua leads the Jews across dry land while God holds back the Jordan River. To mark this occasion, God commands Joshua and the people to find twelve stones from the middle of the river bed and make a pillar to commemorate the event. It is very possible that John is recalling the fact that God can do anything with anyone he wants, inheritance is no excuse for noncompliance with God's love and law. Jesus echos a similar thought when these same leaders asked him to quiet the crowds upon his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus reply? He tells them "if they were quiet, the very stones would cry out." Just a reminder - man was made from clay (dirt) so stones are not too far from our origins.

The Voice - The Takeaway

Four things we can take away from John the Baptist's life:

1. God has a purpose for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).

2. Our purpose will require preparation (Luke 1:80).

3. Sometime serving God may make us stand out (Matthew 3:4).

4. Speak the truth with confidence (Matthew 3:7).

The Good News - The Voice - Part One

1.24.16

The Voice - Is Prophesied 

In Isaiah 40:3 we read about the messenger for the coming King - “A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” In the United States we hold our elected officials to high places of respect. Much like a king, the arrival of a dignitary or President marks a special occasion. In the House of Representatives and the Senate, there a person appointed as the Sargent at Arms. This person has many duties, one of which is the announcing of the arrival of special visitors to the House or Senate floor. Much like these Sargent at Arms today, John was sent ahead of Jesus, the Messiah, to make it known that he had arrived!

The Voice  - Takes The Stage

Luke 1:80

“And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.”

Matthew 3:1-2

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying,‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’”

John was the son of a Priest and was the descendant of a line of priests on both his father's and mother's side of the family. He had all the pedigree needed to join the others who served in the Temple in Jerusalem, but he chose instead to live in the wilderness and rather than ask the people of the Israel to go to the Temple to seek forgiveness he went to where they were and delivered his message. He was a man who had a right to privilege and followed a different path - one prescribed to him by God. 

The Voice - A Man Of The Wild

Matthew 3:4-6

John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

There is a difference between being a wild man and a man of the wild. John was not a man without purpose of reason. He was not out of control, in fact he was specifically the opposite. He acted with purpose and his actions were orchestrated to achieve his goal: preparing the way for the coming Messiah. This included his choice in clothing. The bible records volumes of information concerning the clothing of priests in the Law, but camel hair and leather belts were not the biblical design. So why does John where this and why do the Gospel writers record this detail?

To answer this, we turn to 2 King 1:8. In this verse we read a description of the great Old Testament prophet Elijah. The very prophet that is predicted to appear before the coming Messiah according to Malachi 4:5. In fact Jewish tradition holds this belief and incorporates it into their Passover Seder. It is common for many families to have an open chair set to invite Elijah to join them and usher in the appearance of the Messiah. At one point in the Seder, a cup is filled and it is described that their salvation from Egypt is to be repeated in the future by the salvation of the coming Messiah. (You can read more about expecting Elijah HERE.)

For most Americans, if I describe a tall man with a beard, no mustache and wearing a a black stovepipe hat they will know I am describing our 16th president. To a well versed first century Jew, the picture of a man speaking for God in the wilderness wearing camel hair with a leather belt bound around his waist was a clear picture of the predicted prophet in the wild preparing the way for the coming Messiah. John's dress, behavior, and message were all fulfillment of depictions of his life given hundreds of years before he was born.