The Kingdom of Heaven
F-260 2019 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 57:05
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I took all the greek words in the gospel of Matthew and made a word list in my Bible study software, and sorted them by the ones that are used the most often to the least often. I wanted to know what did Matthew talk about the most in his gospel. So here is the list in order from the most to the least, but I’m only showing you the words that appear 50 times or more.
the; or
he
and; both
you
in
be
into; to; in
I; we
say; tell
not; where
but; and
say; tell
who; which
Jesus
from
this
all; every
not
on; upon
for; because
come; arrive
man that
do; make
what
son; Son
then; at
from; of
heaven; sky
have Lord
be; become;
with; after
disciple
go out
through
hear
behold
approach
father
many; much
or; whether
until; to; as
see
raise up
give; grant
receive; take
kingdom
or; whether
so; then
day
that
thus; in this
God
highpriest
answer
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There are 54 different greek words that appear in Matthew 50 times or more. Only 54 greek words appear 50 times or more. Matthew uses 1,658 different greek words in his gospel. of that 1,658 different words that he uses, he only uses 54 of them 50 times or more, most of them are the words, “the, or, he, and, you, in, be...”
Well you’re probably thinking, did you learn anything from doing this, because it just looks like a bunch of words to me?
Well, let’s now just look at the nouns, and beside them is the number of times the greek word appeared. Of that 1,658 different words he uses, here are the nouns that he uses 50 times or more.
150 — Jesus
113 — man
92 — son; Son
82 — heaven; sky
80 — Lord
72 — disciple
63 — father
55 — kingdom
54 — day
50 — God
I used two different tools, 1: a word list tool, 2: a morph text search; and both gave me almost amazingly similar results. Here is the list from the morph search by root:
152 — Jesus
115 — man
89 — son; Son
82 — heaven; sky
80 — Lord
78 — kingdom
73 — disciple
65 — father
51 — God
51 — house
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Now we can start to see a pattern. Themes begin to emerge.
Jesus, family, Heaven, the kingdom, disciples, God
Now over 30 times in Matthew Jesus refers to Himself as the “Son of man.” so those first three categories, you could increase the first category (Jesus) by about 30 and drop man, and son by about 30. And Lord is also another reference to God, and to Jesus, so if you adjust the numbers a little these are the topics he ends up addresses the most.
Jesus
God
heaven
kingdom
disciple
son/father
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Now how many of these topics do you feel like you hear about all the time and have a pretty good grasp on, and which ones do you not hear about a whole lot, and don’t think you know a whole lot about.
Which ones would you feel comfortable talking about with neighbors, friends, co-workers?
Because these are the things that Jesus and his disciples went around talking about and preaching about, which Matthew was one of the 12.
And today, I want to focus on the kingdom.
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!” 3 For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight!
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Notice Matthew gives us who, what, when, where, and why of John’s preaching.
He talks about another to come after him:
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn. But the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”
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I want to point out
And then in the next chapter we are told the who, what, when, where, and why of Jesus’ preaching.
12 When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, along the road by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 16 The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
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He then called his first four disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John. And after He called his first four disciples it says:
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
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Everywhere John the baptist went, he went preaching to repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. And everywhere Jesus went, he went preaching repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
The OT pointed to a coming glorious kingdom where, one like a son of man would be given an everlasting kingdom and rule, and the whole world would be changed, and God would rule from His throne for ever and ever.
44 “In the days of those kings, the God of the heavens will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.
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13 I continued watching in the night visions, and suddenly one like a son of man was coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. 14 He was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom; so that those of every people, nation, and language should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.
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The OT prophets preached about a coming kingdom, John the Baptist preached about a coming kingdom, Jesus preached about a coming kingdom, and Jesus preached that it had now come.
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; 21 no one will say, ‘See here!’ or ‘There!’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”
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And the apostles preached about the kingdom
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
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But it’s even more than that.
When Jesus went around preaching throughout his ministry, he preached about the kingdom.
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
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23 Now Jesus began to go all over Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
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When Jesus gave his most well known teaching, (the sermon on the Mount) he started and finished his “blessed are...” sayings with the kingdom
1 When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
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that was the first and this is the last
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
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throughout his sermon on the mount he continues,
19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
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When He taught his disciples to pray, he taught them to pray for God’s kingdom to come.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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He taught us to seek after the kingdom of God
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
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He started the sermon on the mount talking about the kingdom and He finished the sermon on the mount talking about the kingdom, with a strong warning against those who were there who believed they were saved but had not repented and therefore were not actually saved and would not be allowed to enter the kingdom.
19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’ 24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”
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I’m going to skip a most of the verses that Jesus mentions the kingdom, only because there are so so many, so don’t think this is an exhaustive list.
Again:
35 Jesus continued going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.
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Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, called his disciples, taught them and then sent them out two by two to the neighboring villages to preach, and he told them to preach about the kingdom.
5 Jesus sent out these twelve after giving them instructions: “Don’t take the road that leads to the Gentiles, and don’t enter any Samaritan town. 6 Instead, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’
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Later Matthew gives us a bunch of parables that Jesus taught about how the kingdom of heaven is like...
31 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
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33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds of flour until all of it was leavened.”
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44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
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and on and on and on
he gave us warnings about the kingdom
3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
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23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
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43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit.
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And he rebuked those who prevented people from entering the kingdom
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.
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He talked about how the gospel of the kingdom will go out to all the world
14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
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Jesus did not separate the gospel from the kingdom, He understood them to be one and the same message. The good news about Christ, was synonymous with the good news about the kingdom.
All the other gospels repeat this same idea, although Matthew typically used the phrase the Kingdom of heaven, whereas the other gospel writers typically used the phrase the Kingdom of God.
At Jesus’ death, he was crucified as the king of the Jews and the thief on the cross next to him pleaded with him about his kingdom.
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
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But then after Jesus was killed for his preaching about the kingdom, he rose from the dead and spent 40 days on earth before He ascended into heaven.
And what did He do during that 40 days.
you remember this story don’t you? Here is one of his first appearances to his disciples.
13 Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 Together they were discussing everything that had taken place. 15 And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them.
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And what did he do?
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?”
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what glory? remember Dan7 where the Son of man would be given glory and a kingdom?
27 Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures. 28 They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther. 29 But they urged him, “Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”
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Noticed how he appeared out of nowhere and disappeared the same way. And again when Jesus appeared to the twelve in the locked room, he came out of nowhere. As a matter of fact, every time we see him after His resurrection He just appears out of nowhere. That’s because He was busy, and I mean real busy. He was going around teaching those who believed in Him and preparing them to launch the church that will last until He returns. So in that 40 days of intense work to get the people ready to launch God’s church, what did he spend his time doing?
3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
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and so they asked
6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”
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and this was his answer
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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 end of the earth.”
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Witnesses about what? about the kingdom of God, that is here in our midst, but will not be fully consummated until He returns in the sky and puts an end to the world as we know it.
So what did the disciples do? What did they go out and preach?
Philip:
12 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
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Paul:
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God.
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25 “And now I know that none of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will ever see me again.
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23 After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and testified about the kingdom of God. He tried to persuade them about Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
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30 Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
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Paul wrote to the Colossian believers:
13 He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
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What kingdom are you in?