The Kingdom of God
Notes
Transcript
What was Jesus’ Message
What was Jesus’ Message
Jesus talked about love
Jesus talked about peace
Jesus talked about charity
All these things are important
But His message had a larger impact
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus introduced the Kingdom of God
Prophecy was fulfilled
The Kingdom is present
The mark of citizenship was established
This kingdom was something different than earthly realms
no distinct border
no war machine
no political agenda
The kingdom expanded by word of mouth and acceptance of the King
But what is this kingdom?
Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of God in parables
The Parable of the Weeds
The Parable of the Weeds
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.
Jesus explains this parable for us
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
Jesus gives us the meaning of each participant and object
The wheat and the weeds are similar in appearance
Darnel is a weed similar to wheat
Can be hard to distinguish before the crop is ripe
You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
If Darnel is used as wheat, it could be poisonous
The scientific name comes from the latin word for drunk
Keeping them together is hazardous, but separating them could be a disaster
And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’
They seem quick to blame the master
“Good seed in your field”
“Why does it have so many weeds?”
Why does God allow bad people to do bad things, especially to good people?
He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The weeds have to be uprooted during the harvest to avoid damaging the wheat
This means that we have to tolerate the weeds sometimes
God’s timing allows for the least amount of damage to the crop
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Ultimately God cannot remove the evil of sin until His perfect timing is fulfilled
But there is a principle here for us as well
Never rush into discipline
Always wait on the Lord’s timing
The Kingdom will always have wheat and weeds until the return of Christ.
This is a part of spreading the Kingdom
The Parables of the Mustard Seed & Leaven
The Parables of the Mustard Seed & Leaven
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
The Kingdom will permeate its environment no matter how small the start
The mustard seed grows into a tree
The leaven grows into a large family meal
The point is a small start can lead to production
The parables are about encouragement as much as truth
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
God’s salvation is revealed through Jesus
The Kingdom is the secret of God’s plan
Not just Israel
Not just the Jew
Not the Law
But the inclusion of all people, anywhere, from any culture
The Parables of Treasure & Pearl
The Parables of Treasure & Pearl
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Before the Kingdom of Heaven is viewed from a perspective of its capability
Now the Kingdom is viewed from the perspective of the participant
The focus is now on our response
What makes us wheat?
What makes us fertile ground or receptive dough?
A willingness to give everything to obtain the Kingdom
The parables could also demonstrated Jesus’ love
we are the treasure and pearl
Jesus sacrifices everything for us
The Kingdom is the purpose of Jesus and us
Jesus gave everything and we must give up everything
The Parable of the Net
The Parable of the Net
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The kingdom is not just a present reality
There is a future culmination
But know God will judge every man
The righteous unto glory
The evil unto fire and weeping
For eternity!
“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
The citizen of the Kingdom has stood the test of time
He has treasures old and new
These treasures come from intimately knowing the Word
The scribe is one who learns and also transmits a text or message
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The life of Jesus is the inauguration of God’s Kingdom
We are the citizens
Made so by accepting the Gospel
The Kingdom spreads and grows no matter how meager the start
It is worth more than anything
What have you not traded in for the Kingdom?
You may fly under the radar right now, but God will divide the true from the false
Are you a scribe or a reader?
You will give account