Seek First the Kingdom - Part 7

(1) Creating Shalom Out of Chaos
(2) The Fall Brought Chaos Back Into Creation
(3) The Kingdom: God’s Plan to Restore Peace to the World
(4) Jesus Was Sent for This Purpose
(5) What is the Kingdom?
(6) Patterns of the Kingdom in Scripture
- The Garden of Eden
- The Wilderness
- The Promised Land
- The Kingdom of Solomon
- The Days of the Apostles
(7) The Life and Ministry of Jesus (Part - 7)
(8) Attributes of the Kingdom
- Prosperity and Joy
- Peace
- Righteousness
- Holiness
- Knowledge of the LORD
(9) The Millenium Kingdom
(10) The Believer’s Responsibility to Progress the Kingdom

PATTERNS OF THE KINGDOM: The Life and Ministry of Jesus

“When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them. But He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.’” (Luke 4:42-43)

 

A close examination of the miracles Jesus performed will reveal that many, if not all, of the miracles testify to the kingdom, “for I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus began His ministry teaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17), told His audience “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt 6:33), and then He proceeded to perform miracles that demonstrated aspects of the kingdom.

 

“Jesus was going throughout all Galilee teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people,” (Matt 4:23).

 

The gospel of John records seven miracles of Jesus that all testify to the kingdom. Three of the miracles deal with healing the body. Healing a diseased person, a person who is crippled, or one who is blind, represent some of the greatest signs of the kingdom because “Shalom” is restored to that individual’s life and the people around him. The benefits of the kingdom are greatest for the person whose life is in the most chaos. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” (Matt 5:3). The kingdom comforts the mourners, feeds the hungry, bestows mercy, bears up under persecution, and brings forth peace, (Matt 5:3-10).

 

When Jesus sent the twelve disciples out He instructed them, “Preach saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand,’” (Matt 10:7). Their preaching was to be accompanied by four signs of the kingdom, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons,” (Matt 10:8). Casting out demons, like the healing of sickness, restores the health of the person bringing peace to the individual’s life. Casting out demons is one sign specifically identified by Jesus as a sign of the kingdom.

 

“If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matt 12:28).

 

Jesus performed all the signs that He instructed His disciples to perform to testify to the kingdom.

 

"Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” (Luke 7:22)

 

The “gospel” Jesus was referring to was “the gospel of the kingdom,” (Matt 4:23). When Jesus healed people, feed people and clothed people, he brought Shalom into their lives and gave His followers an example to follow. When Jesus healed the woman bleeding for twelve years, He restored her to her family and community. When Jesus healed the man blind from birth, the man could bless God for the beauty of the creation. When the man was freed of the demon possession, he sat down “at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind,” (Luke 8:35).

 

Jesus raised three people from the dead, including Lazarus, (John 11:1-45). If healing is a sign of the kingdom, it follows that resurrecting the dead would be among the greatest signs of the kingdom. Jesus may have been alluding to those who would witness His own resurrection when He said,

“Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power,” (Mark 9:1).

 

When prompted to bring about the kingdom, Jesus said,

“The kingdom of God does not come with careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is, because the kingdom of God is within you,” (Luke 17:21).

 

The statement of Jesus has led many to understand that the kingdom is not manifested in a physical form on the existing earth. However, if the kingdom of God is within believers, then the kingdom will manifest itself in the physical actions of kingdom people. If it is manifested in the actions of believers then the kingdom has a physical form on the earth today. Said another way, people see the kingdom every time a believer acts to bring order, purpose, and peace into the world, “for the kingdom of God is…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” (Rom 14:7).

 

We can gain some insight into the operation of the kingdom by understanding the types of behavior that are not part of the kingdom. For example, the kingdom does not consist of people nor activities that bring chaos to the world.

“Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor 6:9-10)

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Gal 5:19-21)

“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” (Eph 5:5)

The examples Paul cites move the individual and the world toward greater chaos and turmoil. Instead of bringing Shalom to the world, these actions bring about the "Tohu-Bohu" that existed before the creation. At the end of the age, “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness…then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father,” (Matt 13:42-43).

The actions of kingdom people are to be different from worldly people who introduce chaos into the creation. The actions of kingdom people bring “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The actions of the believer must always be bent toward repairing the world. When believers act like Jesus we manifest the kingdom in the world. The action of the believer should always be judged against the standard of the kingdom, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father,” (Col 3:17).

The Holy Spirit is fundamental to the progression of the kingdom. The Spirit enables the believer to live a kingdom life through obedience to the commandments of God. The work of the Spirit was prophesized by Ezekiel who said, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” (Ezek 36:26-28).

If the work of God at creation brings peace out of chaos, we would expect the work of the Son of God to bring peace to the world. Through every miracle He performed, Jesus restored a portion of the world back into the condition that existed before the fall.

“He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near,” (Eph 2:17).

The miracles of Jesus testified that He was from the Father because the Father has been in the business of creating Shalom out of tohu-bohu at creation.

“Philip said to Him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father?’ ‘Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” (John 14:8-10)

(to be continued - Scott)