The Kingdom of God - Pt 4

“The Kingdom of God!”

Part FOUR: The TIMING of the Kingdom!

The Kingdom of God is the reign of Jesus over all His creation!

This morning, we come to the issue of the TIMING of the Kingdom. In other words, “When IS, or when WILL the Kingdom of God be manifest?”

To ANSWER that question, we must begin with the early HERALDS of the Kingdom: the Angel Gabriel, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Twelve.

What did they SAY or TEACH about the TIMING (or WHEN) of the Kingdom?

I. The Angel GABRIEL – (Luke 1:30-33)

Luke 1:30–33 CSB

Then the angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

1. Gabriel is speaking of the KINGDOM! – (vv.32b-33)

– “…throne …reign …kingdom”

2. This is a FUTURE EVENT!

(v.32) – “He will be great and will be called… […] the Lord God will give him the throne”

(v.33) – “He will reign…”

One final observation regarding Gabriel and Mary:

3. This was a NOT a PUBLIC announcement, but rather a PRIVATE revelation to Mary!

The first PUBLIC declaration came from the next herald:

II. John the Baptist – (Matthew 3:1-3) (Luke 3:1-6)

The kingdom of heaven was first introduced in “all the vicinity of the Jordan” (Luke 3:3) by John the Baptist, who was proclaiming, “Repent because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” (Matthew 3:2).

This coming of “A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!” (Matthew 3:3).

John’s appearance is the PRELUDE to the coming of the kingdom! And his message can be characterized by an IMMANENCE or an URGENCY(“…has come near”) of the kingdom!

According to John, the urgency of the kingdom necessitates THREE specific things:

1. A PUBLIC RECOMMITMENT to God, seen in repentance, confession of sins, and baptism (cf. Matthew 3:2, 6).

This was not some private, “in your heart” decision! The baptism and confession of sins were a public declaration of commitment to the coming kingdom of God! There was nothing casual here!

NOTE that the baptism was, “…of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” – (Luke 3:3)

NOTE ALSO, this decision required a life change! – (Luke 3:8a) – “Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance…”

(Luke 3:10-14) – Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people today asked, “What then should we do?”

Instead of asking what is the bare minimum I must do to be saved?

The immanence Kingdom of God demands a RESPONSE! – “Why?”

2. An AWARENESS of IMPENDING JUDGMENT! – (Matthew 3:7-12)

This was an especially powerful message to the children of Israel because they assumed they were safe from judgment because of their heritage – (3:9)!

3. The PROMISE of the BAPTISM of the HOLY SPIRIT – (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16)

In the context of the passage, you are either baptized by the Holy Spirit(salvation), or with fire (judgment)! (cf. Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17)

This was the same PROMISE Jesus spoke of following His resurrection!

Acts 1:4–8 CSB

While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.” So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Which brings us to the next heralds:

III. JESUS and the TWELVE! – (Matthew 4:17)

Following the arrest of John, Jesus began preaching the same message! – (Mark 1:14-15)

Jesus also referred to the Kingdom of God as, “…the good news of God” (εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ θεοῦ)!

NOTICE also that there is an even greater immanency to the TIMING of the Kingdom!

(v.15) – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near…”

καὶ λέγων ὅτι Πεπλήρωται ὁ καιρὸς καὶ ἤγγικενἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ· μετανοεῖτε καὶ πιστεύετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ.

Lit., ‘And saying because fulfilled the time and to make near the kingdom of God, repent and believe in the good news.’

There are FIVE verbs in the verse!

The first is “saying” (λέγων), along with the conjunction, ὅτι, because - not translated in the CSB.

The next two verbs “fulfilled” and “come near” are both perfect tense (completed actions with ongoing results), active voice, and indicative mood (sure)!

The final two verbs μετανοεῖτε καὶ πιστεύετε, “repent and believe”are both present tense, active voice, and imperative (a command, not an option)!

Do you see the urgency? “Because the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is come near, you must repent and believe the good news!”

Folks, this WAS and IS JESUS’ MESSAGE concerning the TIMING of the Kingdom of God! The timing is NOW! The Kingdom of Heaven is COME NEAR, repent, and believe the good news!

Like John, Jesus’ ministry also included BAPTISM, performed by His disciples – (John 4:1-2)

Luke 4:43 CSB

But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

THIS is why Jesus said in (Luke 4:43), “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

How many of us today, if asked, “What was the purpose of Jesus coming to earth?” would answer, “To die on the cross for our sins!”

We tend to jump straight to the end of the story—to the ultimate purpose!

While Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is a HUGE part of the story, it’s not the only part!

The REASON Jesus preached is the SAME REASON WE PREACH! – (Romans 10:8-17)

Luke 8:1 CSB

Afterward he was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,

Now go to

Luke 9:1–2 CSB

Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

There was a consistency in the message of John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Twelve!

And now turn to

John 17:18 CSB

As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

God sends us with the same message: The time is still FULFILLED, and the kingdom of God is still NEAR!

CONCLUSION

We started with the question, “When IS, or when WILL the Kingdom of God be manifest?”

As we close this part of the message, what have we learned?

HOPEFULLY, there is a NOW aspect to the answer of the TIMING of the Kingdom.

However, this does not negate a FUTURE, or NOT YET aspect to the Kingdom (which we will explore in detail next week).

But for now, we can be certain that there is a PRESENT aspect, or realization of the Kingdom of God!

Since we have spent most of our time this morning in Luke’s gospel, I would like to share two final passages from Luke that affirm the NOW of the Kingdom:

Luke 11:19–20 CSB

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

(11:19-20) – “And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason they will be your judges. If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come [Indicative—statement of fact, aorist tense] upon you.”

But perhaps the most conclusive statement by Jesus concerning the NOW or PRESENT aspect of the kingdom is in

Luke 17:20–21 CSB

When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; no one will say, ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; no one will they say, “See here!” or “There!” For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst (indicative, present, active).”