The Gospel of the Kingdom

Before Mary conceived, the angel Gabriel said of Jesus, He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:32-33) From before his birth one of Jesus’ primary purposes was to rule an everlasting kingdom. And the Jews were already waiting for this promised kingdom. They were very familiar with the many Old Testament prophesies about the kingdom that the Christ would come and establish, even if they misunderstood what this would eventually look like.

During his ministry, Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, Mark 1:14). It was this same good news that Jesus sent the disciples to preach (Luke 9:2), and it is the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus prophesies will be preached in all the world, and to all nations before the end (Matthew 24:14). Many of the Jews were interested in what Jesus had to say because he preached about the kingdom; and they thought he would soon abolish the Roman rule and establish an earthly Jewish kingdom (Luke 19:11). It is also one of the reasons the disciples felt so confused following Jesus’ death (Luke 24:21). How could he be establishing an everlasting kingdom for the Jewish nation if he was dead?

Jesus spoke the gospel of the kingdom in parables, and he gives over a dozen different parables across the 4 gospels, specifically related to it. It was still presented as a mystery to most of his original audience (Matthew 13:11) just like it was in the Old Testament. Many of these parables teach the same two lessons about the kingdom: one, that it wasn’t just for the Jews but for all nations and that many of the Jews would miss out, (The Labourers, Matthew 20:1-6;  The Wedding Banquet, Matthew 22:1-14; The Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1-13, The Talents, Matthew 25:14-30; and The Wicked Husbandmen, Matthew 21:33-44), and two, God’s enemy would infiltrate the kingdom for a time (The Good Tree and the Corrupt Tree, Matthew 7:15-21; The Sheep and Goats, Matthew 25:31-46; The Tares, Matthew 13:24-30; The Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-32; The Net, Matthew 13:47-50; and The Leaven, Matthew 13:33).

[To avoid any confusion, please note that the gospels use the phrase “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven” interchangeably. See: Matthew 3:2 vs Mark 1:15, Matthew 11:11 vs Luke 7:28, Matthew 13:31 vs Mark 4:30-31 and Luke 13:18-20, Matthew 5:3 vs Luke 6:20, Matthew 13:33 vs Luke 13:20-22, Matthew 18:3 vs Mark 10:15 and Luke 18:17; and Matthew 19:23 vs Mark 10:23 and Luke 18:24]

Jesus repeatedly taught about the kingdom, including: that you must be righteous to enter into it (Matthew 5:20), that by casting out demons he was showing that the kingdom of God was already here (Matthew 12:28), that we must be like children to enter into it (Matthew 18:3), that it is hard for the rich to enter into it (Matthew 19:23), that it will be preached to all the world and all nations (Matthew 24:14), that is was prepared from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34), that we must be born again of the Spirit to enter into it (John 3:5), that his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36), that it is already here (Luke 17:21) and, to pray for its coming (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus taught that the kingdom is already here but also, that it is still coming. The kingdom is now, but not yet. And other New Testament writers likewise tell us that we are already part of it (Colossians 1:13), and that it is still coming (2 Timothy 4:18). The writer of Hebrews best sums up this now, but not yet concept:

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his [Christ’s] feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:8)

Jesus’ kingdom and reign has started, but his kingdom and reign is still coming. And we are to live now, like we are already a part of the kingdom, because it is now, even if it is not yet. As citizens of the kingdom we are to proclaim God’s virtues (1 Peter 2:9), to pursue righteousness, peace and joy in the Spirit (Romans 14:17), to walk worthy of God (1 Thessalonians 2:12), and to have grace through which we can serve God, because we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:28).

There is another king in the Bible whose reign followed this now but not yet plot-line. King David was first anointed by the prophet Samuel, while Saul still ruled Israel. David then spent years in Saul’s kingdom, and later fled for his life. For years King Saul, pursued, (literally persecuted, 1 Samuel 23:25) David. David was king but he didn’t have a physical kingdom, just a few followers made up of every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented (1 Samuel 22:2). Later, after Saul is killed in battle, David is anointed king a second time over the tribe of Judah. He rules for seven and half years in Hebron over this one tribe (2 Samuel 2:11). Finally, David is anointed a third time to rule completely over Israel (2 Samuel 5:3).

Consider the parallels to Christ: he is currently king, but he doesn’t currently have a physical kingdom in this world, just some ragtag followers: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). And for years his followers have been persecuted by the current “prince of this world” (John 12:31, 1 Peter 5:8). It has been foretold that Jesus will later rule the earth for a 1000 years (Revelation 20:6); but death, sin and the devil are still not vanquished during this reign. It is also when many still unfulfilled prophesies will come to fruition. Finally, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, when Jesus will reign completely. And once Jesus completely rules, he hands it all over to the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

We serve the king even if he doesn’t totally reign yet, but we know his kingdom is coming and we need to live like it, and keep proclaiming his good news to others. Because the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the ends of the earth, and then shall the end come. And one glorious day, we will hear the anointed one say, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34).

So, as we finish celebrating Easter, and Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection; remember the cross was the climax, but it’s not the end of the story. And this now, but not yet, is the reason we still struggle, it is reason we still sin, and why evil still triumphs in the world.

The Gospel of the Kingdom is really one storyline that spans Genesis to Revelation. God created humankind (Genesis 1:27) and prepared a kingdom for them (Matthew 25:34), and even before the foundation of the world God designed a way for his creation to enter into that kingdom (Revelation 13:8, Ephesians 1:4). The entire old testament is God directing history to lead to the climax of the story (Acts 2:22-23, Galatians 4:4-5), only speaking of his strategy in a mystery (Romans 16:25, Ephesians 1:9). When the ‘hero’ arrives on the scene, he must suffer to fulfil God’s plan (Luke 24:26-27). And Christ’s death, burial and resurrection is the climax: the plan that God kept a mystery so his enemy couldn’t interfere with it (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). The cross is God’s way for us to enter his kingdom (John 10:7-18). But the climax isn’t the end, it isn’t the whole story. The resolution only comes on the final page, when the story concludes. And we already know the ending: God’s kingdom will come down to the new earth and God will dwell with his people (Revelation 21:1-3). That’s the resolution, that’s the ending, that’s the happily ever after.

That's the Gospel of the Kingdom.

All Glory to Him who Reigns,