The Kingdom and the Cross

Barriers

When I was about 3 years old, I had a Superman Cape which I absolutely loved playing with. While Mum was inside, I’d be outside flying around, most likely saving people and fighting off the super villian.

Well, one particular day, when Mum was inside, probably doing some sort of housework, I thought that it might be fun to go and visit my sister who was now in Kindergarten.

Now our house was about 2km away from the school, and involved at least one quite significant road crossing. But that was no match for a 3 year old in a Superman Cape, because of course, I was able to fly.

Well, little 3-year old me did make it to School - and you can probably imagine the utter shock my Mum would have had when the school rang her to tell her that her son had someone managed to find his way there.

Well, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that this 3-year Superman got in quite a bit of trouble, but what’s worse… he got his Superman Cape confiscated.

This was terrible. My wings had been clipped.

I had felt invincible. I could do anything and go anywhere. Now I was stuck.

What hope was there for an aspiring Super hero?

Now I know, I was three years old - my wings should have been clipped.

But yet there is a feeling there which we can all relate to.

It’s that feeling that we are trapped. Certainly most of us felt trapped to some degree when we had COVID lockdowns, and to an extent with ongoing restrictions.

We feel trapped with our lot in life, whatever that might be.

Sometimes that trapped feeling might be a result of a poor decision we’ve made. Sometimes it is outside our control.

But when we get this feeling, we want a release.

The reality is, I think for most people in our community, they could identify this feeling like their wings have been clipped, but don’t really understand the root cause of it.

Perhaps they could point to a few factors in their life, but as Christians, we know there is something deeper then that.

You see, it all goes back to the fall.

God had made a perfect world, but evil entered, and the world has been marred by it ever since.

For those of you who have been following my sermon series over the last month or two, I’ve been discussing the various idea about the Kingdom of Heaven as described in Matthew 13.

Now during this time I’ve been describing two kingdoms - the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of the World.

The kingdom of Heaven is what Jesus established and anyone who accepts him is a part of. The kingdom of the world is really what is around us.

Now let’s just step back a moment. You see, before sin entered the world, there wasn’t a need for the two kingdoms. It was all God’s. But when sin entered, the world was forever changed.

And this is actually why we feel so trapped. This is why we all have the feeling that the world is not as it should be.

Because evil entered the world.

Now in this recent sermon series I’ve talked about Jesus establishing a new kingdom. But while ever the root problem of sin exists, the kingdom of the world will always exist.

And so, to establish a new kingdom, it becomes necessary to do something about the actual problem. Otherwise, you just have someone with a fancy claim, but no substance to it.

This is why, to fully appreciate the Christian understand of these kingdoms, it is so important we understand the cross.

The Cross

You see, with sin in the world, we don’t have justice. And unfortunately, that essentially defines the kingdom of this world - a place where injustice reigns.

The only way to move to a realm where injustice no longer sits on the throne, justice needs to be carried out.

Now let’s just think about justice for a moment. When someone commits a crime, we would say justice was done when the person committing the crime pays a penalty that is equivalent to the crime.

Now every country has a justice system of sorts, some better then others, but let’s assume we somehow managed to lift them all up to scratch and they worked as they should - the problem is, there would still be a problem with justice.

That is because these worldly systems are only designed to address certain crimes - but sin goes beyond this. It is turning our backs on God and trying to do things our own way. We’ve gone against God’s good design, and made a real good mess of things.

Justice needs to be served. And no worldly system will ever be good enough.

For God to establish a new kingdom, justice has to be served - and this is why the cross is so important.

The cross is the justice that was needed. This was not just another good life lost. This was the Son of God, sacrificed in such a way, that all sin could be atoned for.

This morning we have read through much of the story that leads us to the point that Jesus is on the cross, thereby allowing this new kingdom to be established legitimately.

I’m not going to go over it in detail now - but it is worth reflecting on - because through this story we see that what Jesus went through was real.

We saw that in the garden of Gethsemane, where as Jesus prays - there is this agony in his words. The pain is there for us to see.

Jesus was mocked. He was tortured. He was given the type of death reserved for the worst and lowest criminals.

He was placed on a cross, where for hours he would struggle to even breathe.

But I want to take you to the point just before he breathes his last.

If you have your bibles, look at chapter 27 verse 45.

What I want to point out in particular is the big cosmic events that happen.

In verse 45 we read about a darkness that comes over the land. Was it some sort of eclipse? We’re not actually told. How God did it doesn’t really matter. What matters, is that the events that are happening on this cross are shaking the very nature of creation itself.

Where now at 3pm. Jesus has been struggling for breath for hours. And he cries the words “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

In this context, these words are as bad as things get.

In verse 50, after crying in a loud voice, he finally gives up his spirit.

But now look again, because the big cosmic events are only just beginning.

In verse 51, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Just keep that one in mind because I’m going to come back to it.

Then we get a massive earth quake. The creator has just died - it makes sense his creation will respond.

But in this earthquake, something else quite bizarre happens. We get a little foretaste of what we’re going to look at on Sunday. We see tombs being broken open and many holy people who had died are raised to life.

Now this little phenomenon is just a foretaste. I think we can safely assume that they all would have died again.

But what Matthew’s gospel is really trying to show us is that when Jesus died on the cross, it is really a big deal. This is not just another good person dying.

So much so, that even the centurion in verse 54 can only exclaim: “surely he was the Son of God!”

But let me come back to the curtain in the temple which I skipped over quite quickly before.

You see, while it might only get just over half a verse, it is actually quite significant.

The temple was symbolic of God’s dwelling place on Earth. In the middle of the temple was a relatively small room called the Holy of Holies. This little room essentially represented the way things should be. You might even call it the seed of this new kingdom.

Well, as the curtain is torn, from top to bottom (in other words - in a way only God could do), it was like the kingdom was being unleashed.

Only the death of Jesus on a cross was able to bring this about.

Because of this ultimate sacrifice, a new kingdom was able to be firmly established. A kingdom unlike any other. A kingdom which is not restricted to a physical boundary, but where Christ rule is supreme.

Freedom

Now here’s the thing. Because this new kingdom has dealt with the big problem through the cross, the thing that holds us back… the thing that makes us feel trapped… is gone!

It is the most amazing thing… to be able to find freedom in Christ. It is unlike any sort of freedom this world has to offer.

The ads on TV will try to pretend like they can give you freedom. They’ll promise you financial freedom. Or if you take a holiday you’ll find freedom. Or perhaps buy a bigger house, or better furniture, or whatever it might be and you’ll have freedom.

But let me tell you… even if you were to win lotto and buy everything you ever dreamed of… you’ll still feel trapped. And that’s because there is an oppressive force in this world.

It is only as you enter into the kingdom that Jesus established that you will experience true freedom. You will still face the burdens of this world. Illnesses. Bad relationships. Financial stress. But you’ll do it knowing the whatever happens - you are secure in Christ. That there is a meaning and purpose to what you are doing.

This is what happens when we enter the kingdom - and it is only possible due to the cross.

How will live

But there is another aspect of this which I just want to touch on briefly.

You see, I’ve just described how the cross provides us with freedom - and this is very true.

But we live in a time when the ways of this world have not yet passed. If you have entered this kingdom by accepting Jesus, then you are dual citizens.

But for us as dual citizens, we need to be shaped by the events I’ve just described. The freedom we receive is not to be lived like the freedom that the world offers. That would be to misunderstand the nature of it all.

Now, if you’re not familiar with this, it might sound like a contradiction, but we find freedom by sacrifice.

Let me just quickly take you back to Matthew 16, when Jesus was first predicting his death to his disciples, which earned Jesus a sharp rebuke by Peter who couldn’t stand the idea that his Messiah would die in such a way.

Well, after Jesus counters Peter with his own rebuke, he then says: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me”.

You see, here’s the thing about the cross and what it means for us to live in the kingdom during this period of ‘now, and not yet’… it is calling us to live sacrificially. We’re we deny ourselves, and put other’s before ourselves.

How can this be freedom? Well, if you haven’t tried it - do so. And you will find a new sort of freedom. A freedom which is much more powerful.

Conclusion

The cross doesn’t really make sense from a worldly perspective.

People often don’t understand how a single death some 2000 odd years ago makes any difference today. But that’s because they don’t realise the nature of the person who died. As we looked today however, the cosmic events that Matthew described for us should show that this was no ordinary death.

But it also doesn’t make sense about how it can provide freedom. When the weight of the world is getting us down - again we might ask how single death 2000 years ago makes a difference. But that’s because they don’t understand the nature of the world. They don’t understand the real problem, and that a solution was needed.

The cross doesn’t make sense - but then again, this is what led Paul to write in 1 Corinthians 1:18 that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”.

Once we do begin to understand, we realise that a crossed shape life makes sense. That denying yourself and living for others provides a true freedom.

Freedom is not just about doing whatever you want, whenever you want. Rather it is about being free of the things that burden us and keep us down.

People often ask why we call this day good when it has Jesus dying.

Well, when we understand what this is all about it should be very clear. It is good because the cross gives us freedom and shows us a better way to live.

Let me pray...