The Mystery of the Kingdom
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And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,
,What is a ‘mystery’?
The Bibilical idea of mystery is something which has been kept secret through times eternal and is now disclosed. (The Gospel of the Kingdom; George Eldon Ladd; p.52)
A divine purpose, hidden by God, but finally disclosed, through the Scripture of the prophets, in new revelation of redemptive work.
Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—
but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—
Jesus used a set of parables to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom of God, truth, about the Kingdom of God, that had not yet been revealed.
Parables were used by Jesus so that the secrets of the Kingdom of God, may be known by his believers and unknown by non-believers.
According to Romans 16:25-26, the mystery of the Kingdom of God as been revealed and made known, by Jesus and His disciples, to advance the believer’s obedience to our faith in Jesus.
He answered them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables so that they may look and look, yet not perceive; they may listen and listen, yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back— and be forgiven.”
A parable was used to refer to a story from nature or human life to illustrate spiritual truth (Mark; NAC).
Jesus used parables to illustrate spiritual truth, but to also provoke reflection and decision; He challanged His hearers to submit themselves to the reign of God.
An example may be: As the snow is white, so must your heart be to enter the Kingdom of God.
As a person makes a u-turn to avoid going off a cliff to their death, so must a person in order to enter the Kingdom of God.
As a person reboots their computer to get unstuck, one must reboot their life in order to enter the Kingdom.
Old Testament Understanding of the Coming of the Kingdom of God (Daniel 2:31-35)
King Nebuchadnezzar was given a prophetic vision, recorded in Daniel chapter 2. A great statue which has a head of gold, a chest of silver, thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet or iron and clay. He observed a stone, cut out, from a mountain, without the use of hands, break off and strike the statue on it’s feet and crush them. The great statue was shattered to powder completely and carried away like dust on the wind. The stone that shattered the great statue then became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Dan. 2:31-35).
The interpretation is given by Daniel in verses 44 and 45:
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,
just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
This is the Old Testament perspective of the prophetic future. This is what the Prophets of God and the people of God, the Jews, looked forward to; it is also what the followers of Jesus look forward to as well today. The future glorious day when God’s Kingdom will finally come and fill the earth. All rulers, powers and authorities will come to an end and God’s eternal Kingdom will rule and reign.
From the Old Testament perspective, and the Jewish understanding, the coming of God’s Kingdom will arrive as one single great event. An event of God’s mighty power that will sweep away the nations and fill the earth will His righteousness and rule.
Is this how we understand the coming of God and His Kingdom?
John the Baptist - “Are you the One?” (Matthew :11:3)
A wild man called John the Baptist, arrives on the scene preaching, “Repent, because the Kingdom of Heaven has come near!” (Mt. 3:1-2). People flock to John, hear his message and are baptized as they confess their sins. John is the forerunner to Jesus, the official emmisary to the Messiah. He announces the arrival of the future King.
John’s message is two fold: repent and be baptized before the Lord’s Messiah; the One who is coming, who will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire (Mt. 3:1; 11-12).
The Coming One will baptize with Holy Spirit for salvation and with fire for final judgment (Mt. 3:11).
John’s understanding is that the Coming One, the Lord’s Messiah, will sift and seperate humanity, the wheat from the chaff; God’s people from the world’s people (Mt. 3:12).
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 up with fire that never goes out.”
We then read that Jesus comes to John and is baptized. John protests because he recognizes Jesus as God’s Messiah saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?” (Mt. 3:14). Jesus’ response is to allow this to happen because it fulfills all righteousness, the standard of God (Mt. 3:15). Note: baptism is a standard of God, not of man. It is a declaration that you are God’s child, on God’s side and that He is your King. All children obey their King, because they love their King. If you have not been baptized, but declare yourself as a follower of Christ, consider being baptized this Passover.
John is confused by what takes place, he does not quite understand. Coming to the story of John in Matthew 11, John, being in prison sends a message, to Jesus asking, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Mt. 11:3).
Why was John confused? Because he was expecting Jesus, if He was indeed the promised One, the Messiah, to come baptizing men and women in the Spirit and bringing the judgment of fire upon the wicked. He had an Old Testament understanding of the prophetic future when the Promised One of God would arrive in the world and crush the ruling powers and authorities and set up the reign and rule of God Almighty. The kingdoms of men did not physically fall and Jesus was not taking them down. This cannot be the Messiah!
This is what the world said back then, and is what the world says now. Jesus was not/is not the Messiah because He did not/has not taken down the kingdoms of men as promised and prophesied in the Old Testament. This is why the Jewish people continue to look for their Messiah today, refusing to recognize Jesus, as their Messiah today. Jesus did not fulfill their expectations of how they believe God said Messiah would arrive in our world, live in our world and reclaim this world.
The Jewish people, the worldly people, do not understand that Jesus is reclaiming this world today, as He did yesterday, and will do so in the future, through reclaimed hearts. This is how you attack the soveriegnty of the Devil, not through destroying men. The Kingdom of God is here today, changing the spiritual order and condition of men and women, not the external, physical political ordifaces of power. The Kingdom of God has come, arrived and is working through the shell of a mustard seed, a little yeast in the dough, a treasure hidden and in the seeking of a priceless pearl.
The Kingdom of God is here with persuasion, rather than with all-power.
The world does not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, as God, because they do not understand Jesus’ method of taking rule and establishing His reign. He destroys the rule of the Devil in this world by winning hearts and setting people free spiritually from the power of sin and death, by sacrificing Himself on a cross. What do we understand Jesus to mean when He says to us to ‘pick up your cross and follow me’?
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it.
Or what do we understand when Jesus prays, “they are not of the world, as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:14)? To be in the world but not of the world is to understand the parables of the Kingdom of God found in Matthew 13.
It is to understand that the Kingdom of God is here today, but not in irresistible power. It is a seed planted by Christ followers that can be rejected. It can be seed tossed on hard ground but not received. It is seed planted but in the turmoil of storm and drought, dies because of lack of depth and roots. The Kingdom can be seed that sprouts in men’s hearts, but is choked from growth because of man’s dualistic hearts and the inticements of worldly treasure. The Kingdom of God is not irresistible in power, man can reject it, but it is present today and uses the persuasion of the Spirit working in Christ followers faithful to their call in Christ.
The parable of the weeds and wheat (Mt. 13:36-42) tells us that until harvest time, weeds and wheat, believers and non-believers will exist in this world together. Evil will not disappear as much as we wish it would. Crime and violence will not end, until Christ returns, instead it will increase and the follower of Christ is to persevere ever more. Jesus essentially says, the Kingdom of God is here today, and at work in peoples hearts, but will not destroy sin and evil just yet.
The parable of the mustard seed and yeast (Mt. 13:31-33) reveal that the Kingdom of God is present today, but not in the form expected. It is tiny today, seemingly insignificant, but in the future, God’s Kingdom will be bigger than any plant in the garden. A little yeast today, will leaven the whole loaf tomorrow. Today, our world is swallowing up the leaven, Christ, Christianity, believers, so that one is or will hardly be aware of its’ or our presence. But just wait till tomorrow. Jesus has planted the Age to Come in the Age of Today.
He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.
The parable of the Hidden Treasure and Priceless Pearl (Mt. 13:44-46) shares with us that to pursue the Kingdom of God is totally worth it. To seek the Kingdom of God and attain it, is a value that transcends all other in this life. Once you find Jesus, give everything else up. Jesus is the access to this treasure and priceless pearl. No man or woman can enter the Kingdom without believing and following Jesus.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” -John 14:6
Jesus reveals to us in The Parable of the Net (Mt. 13:47-50) that He is seeking men and women today, hearts, that would hear and believe in Him. He is fishing for souls to take home to His kingdom, through his chosen instrument of men. When the time comes and the net is brought in, it will be a day of seperation - those to the Kingdom and those to the judgment and fire. Which side will we end up on? Which side will you end up on?
The Kingdom of God is accessed by faith, and through faith only.
For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
In the Garden of Eden man and woman doubted God and wanted to be God, someone we were not created to be. As a result, man and woman were removed from paradise and the one-on-one physical relationship with God. As a result of our doubt in God, we are now to live and come to God through faith. Sin became the barrier, that we errected in the relationship.
Therefore the Kingdom of God is received through faith in Jesus Christ alone, God with us. The Kingdom of God is made a reality in our world when we exercise the Faith. Are you exercising the call to Faith in Christ?