Proclaiming a New Kingdom

Introduction

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If you could create a utopia, what would it look like?

In 1516 Thomas More attempted that very thing. He created an idealized kingdom, one that he thought was a perfect earthly kingdom. Most likely influenced heavily by Plato’s Republic written several centuries before.

In Thomas More’s utopia here are some major features: Slavery is a feature of Utopian life, and it is reported that every household has two slaves. The slaves are either from other countries (prisoners of war, people condemned to die, or poor people) or are the Utopian criminals. The criminals are weighed down with chains made out of gold. Gold is part of the community wealth of the country, and fettering criminals with it or using it for shameful things like chamber pots gives the citizens a healthy dislike of it. It also makes it difficult to steal, as it is in plain view.

Other significant innovations of Utopia include a welfare state with free hospitals, euthanasia permissible by the state, priests being allowed to marry, divorce permitted, and adultery being punished by enslavement. . .In addition, there are no lawyers. The law is made deliberately simple such that all Utopians will understand it, thus no one should be in doubt of what is right and wrong.

Would this be your picture of a perfect society?

What would the perfect kingdom look like for you?

Would it be just floating on a cloud all day and playing a harp?

This is how some people present heaven.

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If utopia is so desirable, why has humanity never achieved it?

Consider this question long and hard. Especially consider this question if you are an unbeliever. I think we can all agree (whether believer or unbeliever) that utopia—a perfect society—would be a good thing. If all humanity agrees that utopia is good, why, then has humanity always failed to produce a perfect society?

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The first half of Matthew 10 answers this question. Humanity is under oppression and needs deliverance. But what exactly oppresses humanity? Many people have attempted various answers, but only the Bible succeeds at answering the question properly and giving an actual solution.

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So, turn now to Matthew 10:1-15

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Here we will see a spiritual kingdom brings spiritual deliverance, a new kingdom brings new urgency, and a greater kingdom brings greater judgment.

Spiritual Kingdom, Spiritual Deliverance

Matthew 10:1–4 ESV

1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Revelation

List of names

The list of the disciples makes up the majority of this text, and sometimes preachers and teachers can get side tracked explaining each disciple and their significance.

I want to try to focus the significance Matthew is trying to give to this list.

First let me mention a few things about the list. The word “first” is applied only to Simon Peter, and no other number (like second, third, etc. . .) is given. Peter is always first in the lists of the apostles. Judas is always last.

Matthew has also arranged these names in pairs of two. Most likely, this is how these apostles were sent.

Ties to Numbers 1

Matthew gives several hints has to why he is giving this list of names in such a way. First the number 12 is significant. He mentions the number twelve at the beginning of verse 1 and 2. This number reminds us of the twelve tribes of Israel. This was the way that God had established the kingdom of Israel. The phrase, “The names of the twelve apostles are these” is reminiscent of Numbers 1:5:

Numbers 1:5 ESV

5 And these are the names of the men who shall assist you. From Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;

Matthew works to constantly figure Christ after these Old Testament figures to show their ultimate fulfillment.

The Lord had just delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt and their wicked gods and worked to establish a kingdom through Moses.

Now God through Jesus is again delivering a people and establishing a new kingdom.

You can see some of the things that God is delivering his people from in v. 1 “. . .gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction”

A Spiritual kingdom brings spiritual deliverance

Relevance

Consider the great evils of the king of Egypt who did these things in the name of his gods in order to maintain his power. He enslaved a people and then slaughtered their baby boys. God delivered his people from this oppression. Preserved them through the long wilderness journey. Allowed them to conquer the Promised Land and establish a kingdom.

And yet we open up the Gospel of Matthew with a very similar story with the beginning of Exodus. A wicked king in Jerusalem wants to maintain is rule and so he murders several baby boys. It’s almost like Jerusalem had become a new Egypt.

The great kingdom of God that was established on earth had become no better than the greatest evil that God has delivered them from.

We know that would be true too if Jesus only rescued people from a physical oppression.

Every politician promises utopia.

Everyone wants a utopia.

This is how the Marxist revolutions worked. They promised a better life, better wages on the other side and demanded violent revolutions.

Several violent revolutions have taken place, but still no better on the other side.

One theologian recently remarked, “The Marxists want to say there is no ultimate right and wrong . . . there is only oppressor and oppressed. But work that out. It means that according to their lights there is nothing wrong with being the oppressor. They know that, but are hoping that you don't catch on in time.”

In other words, the Marxists aren’t mad that someone is oppressing, they’re mad that they aren’t the one that get to oppress.

This happened recently with the Black Lives Matter movement. Certainly every life matters regardless of ethnicity, but The official BLM organization was Marxist to its core. One pundit remarked that BLM actually stands for “Black leader mansion.”

The leaders of the movement used the money they gained to buy themselves some really nice homes. They used ideological justice as a get-quick-rich scheme by manipulating people’s empathy.

This of course calls into question any notions of justice and equality. The reason why no one can attain any sort of utopia is because the greatest thing that oppresses us is not society, something systemic, or political. The greatest oppressor of the human race is sin. What we need is victory over sin.

This is what Christ’s kingdom brings. Christ lived a completely righteous life and never sinned once. He died a death we deserved and killed sin with him. If we trust in him, we too overcome the oppression of sin. We begin that now and will finally be free from all sin in the life to come.

A spiritual kingdom brings spiritual deliverance.

And if there is such a great deliverance offered, shouldn’t that of great priority?

New Kingdom, New Urgency

Matthew 10:5–10 ESV

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food.

Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Matthew 2:6 “6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ””

This is not to say that the mission is expanded to the gentiles. The mission certainly was. But its “To the Jews first, and also to the Greeks.” And here we see the very first missionary journeys announcing the good news of the kingdom. Notice that is the heart of the message in v. 7, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And the apostles are given various signs to show the reversal of the curse of sin is in effect.

They, unlike other preachers of heaven and justice, are instructed not to receive payment for their proclamation. They are also told to live completely dependent upon the people which they are reaching. The point is though, they are not given the time to make preparations for the journey because there is a sense of urgency.

There is a lot of headache surrounding how to decide what in a given text is binding on us today and what in a text is given for description. Consider: why does Matthew give this account? Is it so we know how to live our day-to-day lives as Christians? Should we always be on the move, never settle down in one location, and only be about proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom? Would it be wrong to get a job?

This is the interpretation of the monks: (gold coin story?)

But Matthew gives us clues as to the intention of this story. I believe Matthew is merely describing what happened in the past to show us specifically that 1. Jesus fulfills prophecy by reaching the kingdom of Israel and 2. Jesus fulfilled his given mission, he did not fail.

Given these historical truths, we should still wonder, how can I apply this text in my life today?

In v. 5 the instruction was to not go to the Gentile town, not to get sidetracked on the mission to the Jews. Again, the idea here is not that Gentiles are unimportant or lesser. Jesus himself has already interacted with Gentiles and marveled at their faith. The idea is that this particular mission is to the Jews and must be fulfilled as such.

The first word of v. 7 in the original language is “As you go” emphasizing the fact that this is an itinerant mission. They would not be staying in one place very long. Everything in v. 10 is not giving a list of what missionaries should or should not carry today, but again stresses this sense of urgency to get the message to everyone.

What we see is a new kingdom brings a new urgency.

Relevance

News about novelty spreads quickly. When the first iPhone came out it seemed as though everyone had one in a matter of weeks. When you find out about a your new baby your giddy to tell everyone you know.

There is a kingdom that will free you from sin, death, disease and demonic influence. Consider the greatness of this kingdom. Shouldn’t there be an urgency to spread its whereabouts?

A December 2021 Evangelism Explosion study conducted by Lifeway Research found that two-thirds of Americans said they were “open or very open to having a conversation about the Christian faith with a friend.” Despite an apparent openness to faith conversations by most people, 60 percent of Americans said “many of their friends who claim to be Christians rarely talk about their faith.” 

An April 2022 Evangelism Explosion study conducted by Lifeway Research found that less than half of self-identified Christians have, at least once in the past six months, shared a Bible verse or Bible story with a non-Christian loved one (46 percent), invited a non-Christian friend or family member to attend a church service or other program at church (43 percent), or shared with a non-Christian loved one how to become a Christian (38 percent). The same study also identified that almost 2 in 3 Christians (65 percent) agree sharing with a nonbeliever how they can become a Christian is the most loving thing they can do for them.

“Lost people are more amazed at our silence than offended by our message,” said evangelism professor Alvin Reid.

Evangelism Matters - Christian Standard

There is an urgency in the kingdom proclamation in Matthew 10. There is an urgency to complete the mission, not get sidetracked by things that aren’t the mission, not get sidetracked by money—to care more about getting the message across than our own physical well-being.

What happened to our urgency?

Did American affluence dampen our evangelistic fervor?

Do we really believe that lost people are out there living an okay life, not doing too much bad, they have everything they need so why should I waste my time with evangelism?

How much will God have to do to wake his slumbering church?

Was Covid not enough? Didn’t we see devastating affects of disease and lonliness? Shouldn’t that put fuel on the fire to spread the news of a kingdom without disease or lonliness? A kingdom whose King is ever with you?

A New Kingdom brings new urgency.

And why is there such urgency? Because there is also judgment for rejecting this kingdom.

Greater Kingdom, Greater Judgment

Matthew 10:11–15 ESV

11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Again we see the since of urgency as they go quickly from town to town.

“Find out who is worthy” in v.11 is the idea that this particular household can see the value of the kingdom of God. “Let your peace be upon it” in v. 13 would be a greeting when approaching the house, “Peace be unto you.” This would be like giving a blessing with an actual affect: because this household sees the goodness of the Kingdom of heaven, the peace of God is upon them in that they are no longer enemies of God or with each other from the effects of sin.

So if the household is not worthy, they let the peace return to them: “

The Gospel of Matthew 3. Instructions for the Mission (10:5–15)

like an uncashed check”

And then they are to do something quite different if a town or household outright reject the kingdom of heaven: they are to “dust off the feet.” This is a pronouncement of judgement: They do not want to be caught up in the same divine judgement this town will receive.

The Gospel of Matthew 3. Instructions for the Mission (10:5–15)

Shaking off the dust from the feet is an obvious symbol of dissociation

Then Jesus makes the astounding statement that Sodom and Gamorrah’s punishment will be more bearable.

This is astounding. Fire from heaven rained down upon Sodom and Gamorrah as an extreme example of God’s judgement of wicked man. Sodom and Gamorrah were judged for rejecting that which was natural: the way God created things to be.

These cities will be judged for rejecting the Kingdom of God. And their judgement will be far worse. It will be an eternal fire “where the worm dies not.”

Relevance

And so the decision today is clear: will you be in the kingdom of heaven or in the kingdom of this world? The kingdom of this world is always filled with injustice, poverty, hunger, disease, death, affliction, oppression, and sin. The kingdom of heaven has none of those things.

Application

Tell:

We’ve talked many times about how to share the gospel. We know the basic message of the gospel. And if you need a refresher on that go to 2 Corinthians 5:21 “21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” or 1 Cor. 15. We know that sin is the greatest problem we have inside of us and God’s wrath for sin is the greatest problem we have outside of us. and we know that Christ and brought an end to both our sin and God’s wrath coming our way.

And so I pray that we are a people who give a clear presentation of the gospel.

But Here’s something to always include when you share the gospel: “Would you like to trust in Jesus today as your Lord and savior?” Always pose this question. Why? Because there is an urgency behind the message of the kingdom.

You may get a “no” that’s okay. Follow up with, “What’s keeping you from making that decision?” and listen earnestly. Continue to help them through.

If you get a “yes” assure them of the promises of God in Scripture. You do not have to resort to a gimmick to convince someone they are saved. Simply walk through the Word, “You are now a child of God,” “All who call upon the name will be saved,” “By grace you are saved, through faith, and this is not of your own doing,” You are born again. Begin that process of discipleship.

Whether you get a yes or a no, there should still be a call to make a decision in your evangelistic presentation. There is a sense of urgency in sharing the gospel of the Kingdom.

Show

I remember a few summers ago I was in a personal evangelism class. I had to report every week that I shared the gospel, what method I used and all the details of the conversation. One of the parts of the assignment was that I asked for a decision.

I got 10 points off one time because I didn’t do that. I was evangelizing some Jehovah’s Witnesses who had come to my door. I had hoped that if I didn’t press for a decision they might return for me to have further conversations. (Though they never did come back anyways).

But I agree with getting 10 points off. I should have asked for a decision that day. There is an urgency behind proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom.

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Charles Spurgeon says, ““If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

Quote by Charles Spurgeon: “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to...”

Sharing the gospel without asking for a decision is like cutting the hay and never bailing it. Chances are the rain will come and make it take even longer for the hay to dry out.

Challenge

So continue to share the good news about Jesus, the good news about the kingdom of heaven. And share it with a sense of urgency, asking for a decision.