The Kingdom of Heaven is patient… to a point.

Last week we were looking at an event from history where Jesus began to tell a parable about the kingdom of Heaven to the large crowds that were following Him. In this parable, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field. Jesus explained that after the seed was sown, an enemy of the man who owned the field sowed tares in the midst of the wheat that he had planted.

 Jesus then explained that the slaves, upon seeing what was happening in the field, reported to the owner what they had discovered and asked permission to go into the field and remove the weeds. Jesus continued His parable by stating that the landowner responded to the slaves request by explaining to his slaves that they needed to allow these dangerous weeds to remain growing alongside the wheat until it was time for the harvest.

The owner explained to his slaves that at the harvest, after both the weeds and the wheat were removed from the ground, the reapers would be directed to separate the wheat from the weeds. After separating the weeds from the wheat, the reapers would be directed by the landowner to gather up the weeds to be burned. Then the reapers would be able to complete the harvest by safely placing the wheat into the landowner’s barn.

You see, while it is virtually impossible to differentiate between the wheat and tare as they grew, at harvest, when both plants reached maturity, a difference emerged. The ears of wheat, which is where the fruit of the plant is produced, would become so heavy that the entire plant would end up drooping downward, while the tare would remain upright. Here is a picture of the two at harvest.

In addition, at harvest time, the wheat would have a brown appearance when ripe, while the tare would be black. And by the time of the harvest the wheat plant would be sufficiently mature and strong enough not to be destroyed by the uprooting of the tares, which would not have been the case if the slaves would have went in earlier to attempt to remove these weeds. So at harvest time, there would be a distinction that would allow for the safe harvest of the valuable grain and the destruction of the dangerous tares.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, well that’s a great agricultural story, but what does that have to do with the kingdom of heaven? What is the deeper spiritual meaning that we are supposed to apply to our lives? If I have just described what is running through your mind, I just want to encourage you. I want to encourage you because, just a few verses later in this event from history, we see the disciples, ask Jesus the very same questions, beginning in Matthew 13:36. Let’s look at it together:

Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

Matthew tells us that after telling this series of parables, these earthly stories designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth, He left the large crowds and returned to the home where He was staying. The disciples, however, followed Jesus home perplexed at this how seemingly obvious agricultural story had anything to do with the kingdom of Heaven And in their perplexed state, the disciples asked Jesus “Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.” Matthew then recorded Jesus response in verse 37-43. Let’s look at Jesus response together:

 ³⁷ And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ "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, ⁴² and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Matthew tells us that Jesus began to answer His disciples’ question by revealing to the disciples who the characters in the parable represented. Jesus explained that He was represented in the parable by the landowner, while the field represented the world. Jesus then contrasted the two types of seed. Jesus explained that the good seed, which is the wheat, represented those who accepted the claims of Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting and following Him as Lord and Leader, which resulted in them having experienced the forgiveness of sin and had entered into the relationship with God that they were created for in the kingdom of heaven. 

By contrast, Jesus explained that the tares, or the weeds, represented those who have rejected the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus then identified those who reject the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven as being sons of the evil one that were placed there by the devil.

Jesus point here was that those who have rejected the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven have chosen, either consciously or unconsciously, to align themselves with those in the world who are hostile to God and who have set themselves up in opposition to God and His kingdom. As a result, they were sons of the devil in the sense that they have aligned and identified themselves with the same opposition to God and His kingdom as the devil has. And as such, these people were instruments that the devil would use in an attempt to destroy the kingdom of heaven and Jesus kingdom mission here on earth to provide the opportunity for all of humanity to enter into the relationship with God that they were created for.

Jesus then explained to the disciples that the harvest represented the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus will return with His angels to earth to achieve the final victory and judgment over selfishness, sin, death and the devil and usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense. And as part of His final victory and judgment over selfishness, sin, death and the devil; as part of ushering in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense, Jesus explained that His angels, who were represented by the reapers in the parable, will first gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness.

And just like the weeds in the parable, all of those who were stumbling blocks to the advancement of the kingdom of heaven as a result of their opposition to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, all of those who rejected the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel and the kingdom of Heaven; all those who either passively or actively rebelled against the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven will be revealed for what they truly are and will experience the eternal separation from God and punishment in hell. When Jesus referred to weeping and gnashing of teeth, He is painting a word picture to describe the response that those who have rejected the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven will have to the punishment that they will experience for all eternity in hell.

By contrast, Jesus explained that for those who are members of the kingdom of heaven as a result of believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, they will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. With this phrase, Jesus was pointing His disciples to a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible, called the book of Daniel. In Daniel 12:3, we see the prophet Daniel a little over 500 years prior to the birth of Jesus, describe the resurrection of those who were right with God and their entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

And it is in this earthly story designed to reveal a deeper spiritual truth that we discover a timeless truth about the kingdom of Heaven. And that timeless truth is that the Kingdom of Heaven is patient… to a point. The timeless reality is that just as if was for the disciples, there will be people in the world who respond to the message of Jesus and the message of the kingdom of heaven by rejecting that message.

Some will violently oppose the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven in a very overt and obvious way. Others will violently oppose the message of the Jesus and the kingdom of heaven in such a way that their day to day lives will look virtually indistinguishable from those who have enthusiastically embraced the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven. And those who violently oppose the message of the kingdom of heaven will live right alongside those who enthusiastically embrace the message of the kingdom of heaven until the day that Jesus returns to earth to usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense. And the timeless reality is that God will continue to allow this to happen because the kingdom of heaven is patient, to a point.

The kingdom of heaven is patiently waiting until the end of God’s story here on earth. The kingdom of heaven is patiently waiting as God uses the church as the vehicle to reveal His Son Jesus to the lost, hurting, and broken world around us. The kingdom of heaven will patiently allow the devil to attempt to derail and destroy Jesus and His kingdom mission through self-righteous religious people who do not have a relationship with Jesus who serve as stumbling blocks to the kingdom.

The kingdom of heaven will patiently allow the devil to attempt to derail and destroy the kingdom through those who violently oppose Jesus and persecute His people.  The kingdom of heaven will patiently allow the devil to attempt to derail and destroy the kingdom through those whose lives look no different from members of the kingdom of heaven, yet fail to bear the fruit that results from being a member of the kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of heaven will be patient, until the time of patience is over.

Now you may be wondering, “But why is the kingdom of heaven so patient?” The kingdom of heaven is patient, because God is so gracious. God, in His grace, desires to give all of humanity an opportunity to respond to His offer of forgiveness through His Son Jesus by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and leader. The kingdom of heaven is so patient, to a point, because, in God’s perfect timing, He will usher in the kingdom of heaven in its fullest sense at Jesus second coming.

And at that time, all of humanity will be exposed for who they truly are. And at that point, those who have rejected the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven will have no excuse. All of humanity will come face to face with Jesus, who will ask this simple question “Do I know you?” And those who have rejected Jesus will want to say “but, but, but… And Jesus response, in His perfect justice will be “Was I not patient with you? Did I not allow you to reject me over, and over, and over again? What is your excuse?” And for that person, they will have none.

So here is a question to consider: how are you responding to the fact that the kingdom of heaven is patient, to a point? Are you responding to the patience of the kingdom of heaven by rejoicing in the grace that has been given you and by telling others about the grace that God is offering them through Jesus Christ? Or are you responding to the patience of the kingdom of heaven by taking advantage of it?

Because the timeless reality is that the kingdom of heaven is patient…to a point…

How do you know who is "in" and who is "out"?

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” During this series, we are spending our time together looking at a series of statements by Jesus that are recorded for us in an account of His life that has been preserved in the New Testament of the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew.  

During this series, we are discovering how Jesus described the kingdom of Heaven. During this series, we are discovering how one enters into the Kingdom of Heaven. During this series we are discovering how one should live as part of the kingdom of Heaven. And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit, in our heads, hearts, and hands in such a way that we would live lives that reveal and bring the light and love of the kingdom of Heaven into the areas of influence we have been given. 

Last week, we looked at an event from history where Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a short-term mission trip and discovered the timeless truth that the kingdom of heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed. We discovered that no one walked away from a conversation with Jesus about the kingdom of heaven saying “eh, whatever”. Instead, Jesus made it unmistakably clear that the message and teaching of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven will be either enthusiastically embraced, or it will be violently opposed.

Now a natural question that could arise here is “Well, if the kingdom of heaven is seeking repentant people who respond by enthusiastically embracing the claims of Christ and the message of the kingdom of heaven, what happens to those who violently oppose the claims of Christ and the message of the kingdom of heaven? And what about those who do not violently oppose the claims of Christ and the message of the kingdom of heaven, but just disagree? I mean some people just do not believe what you believe. So how can you say that the kingdom of heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed. And what happens to those who do not feel the need to repent so that they change the trajectory of their live that is moving away from God back to God so as to believe, trust and follow Jesus as Lord and leader?”

Another question that often arises at this point sounds something like this: “Well Dave, how do you know who is truly a follower of Jesus and who is not? I mean there are a lot of people who say they are Christians, but they sure do not act like Jesus. And there are a lot of people who do not go to church, but they treat me better than those who do go to church? So how can you really know who is a part of the kingdom of Heaven and who is not a part of the kingdom of Heaven that Jesus is talking about?”

If those questions are running through your mind, I want to let you know that you are bringing up some great questions. So how do we know who is a part of the kingdom of heaven and who is not? I mean, it’s not like members of the kingdom of heaven have a large tattoo of a cross on their foreheads that was placed there by Jesus Himself that identifies them as actually having a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Leader, right.

You see, one that the things that concerns me the most as a pastor is the reality that you might think that you are a part of the kingdom of heaven when in reality you are not. Some of you have not entered into a personal relationship with Jesus that provides the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that you were created for in the kingdom of heaven. And the reality is that I do not know who you are. And neither do the people around you.

You see, you can come to church every Sunday, you can show up to a community group, you can even serve in a ministry, and still not have come to the place where you see the need for a relationship with Jesus Christ. You can wear the right clothes and be in the right places and even give the appearance that you are doing the right things, and still not know Jesus.

For some people, it is quite evident that they are opposed to the claims of Christ and the kingdom of Heaven. They violently oppose it and let you know that they violently oppose it. Yet, for others, their opposition to Christ and the kingdom of heaven does not reveal itself as obviously. In our culture, we call these people passive aggressive, or passive resistant. While they may be violently opposed to the Jesus, Bible, church thing, they hide their opposition well. We may not see their opposition until years later. Or we may never truly know their opposition. And if that opposition is revealed, the hurt and pain that it inflicts can be even more painful.

So how can anyone really know who is a part of the kingdom of Heaven and who is not a part of the kingdom of Heaven that Jesus is talking about? How can we really know who is truly a follower of Jesus and who is not? This week, I would like for us to spend our time together looking at an event from history that reveals for us the reality that this issue is not a new issue. And in this event from history that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the kingdom of heaven that will help answer these questions. So let’s jump into this event from history together, beginning in Matthew 13:24-28:

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. ²⁷ "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' ²⁸ "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'

Matthew begins to give us a front row seat to this event from history by explaining that Jesus began to tell another parable about the kingdom of Heaven to the large crowds that were following Him. Now a parable is an earthly story that reveals a deeper spiritual truth. In this parable, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field. This parable would have connected with the crowds listening to Jesus, as they lived in an agrarian society and had seen this scenario play out throughout their life.

Jesus explained that after the seed was sown, an enemy of the man who owned the field sowed tares in the midst of the wheat that he had planted. Now a natural question that arises at this point is “what is a tare?” That’s a great question. A tare is a type of weed, which was also called a darnel. Now this weed was exceptionally dangerous to wheat for two reasons. First, the tare was a dangerous weed because the tare developed extensive roots that would compete with the wheat for nutrients that were necessary for its survival.

Second, and more importantly, the tare was so dangerous because the tare was almost indistinguishable from the wheat in appearance. And as the wheat and tares grew side by side, they would be virtually impossible to differentiate between the wheat and the tares. Jesus then explained that the slaves, upon seeing what was happening in the field, reported to the owner what they had discovered and asked permission to go into the field and remove the weeds.

Jesus then continued His parable by revealing how the owner, upon recognizing that his enemy had planted the weeds, and knowing the danger that these weeds presented to the wheat, responded to their request. So let’s look at the owners response in Matthew 13:29-30:       

"But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

Jesus continued His parable by stating that the landowner responded to the slaves request by explaining to his slaves that they needed to allow these dangerous weeds to remain growing alongside the wheat until it was time for the harvest. The owner explained to his slaves that at the harvest, after both the weeds and the wheat were removed from the ground, the reapers would be directed to separate the wheat from the weeds.

After separating the weeds from the wheat, the reapers would be directed by the landowner to gather up the weeds to be burned. Then the reapers would be able to complete the harvest by safely placing the wheat into the landowner’s barn. Now a question that could naturally arise here is “Well Dave, if the wheat and the tares look so similar, then how are the reapers supposed to separate them? If it is virtually impossible to differentiate between the wheat and the weeds, then how are the reapers supposed to do what the landowner had asked them to do?”

If that question is running through your mind, I want to let you know that you are asking another great question. And to answer this question, we first need to understand a little bit more about wheat and tares. You see, while it is virtually impossible to differentiate between the wheat and tare as they grew, at harvest, when both plants reached maturity, a difference emerged.

The ears of wheat, which is where the fruit of the plant is produced, would become so heavy that the entire plant would end up drooping downward, while the tare would remain upright. In addition, at harvest time, the wheat would have a brown appearance when ripe, while the tare would be black. And by the time of the harvest the wheat plant would be sufficiently mature and strong enough not to be destroyed by the uprooting of the tares, which would not have been the case if the slaves would have went in earlier to attempt to remove these weeds. So at harvest time, there would be a distinction that would allow for the safe harvest of the valuable grain and the destruction of the dangerous tares.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, well that’s a great agricultural story, but what does that have to do with the kingdom of heaven? What is the deeper spiritual meaning that we are supposed to apply to our lives? If I have just described what is running through your mind, I just want to encourage you. I want to encourage you because, just a few verses later in this event from history, we see the disciples, ask Jesus the very same questions.

We will look at those questions later this week…

The kingdom of heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed...

This week we have been looking at an event from history where a man named Matthew gave us a front row seat to this meeting as Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a short-term mission trip. On this short-term mission trip, Jesus instructed the disciples to proclaim the following message “repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Jesus gave the disciples a kingdom mission to call the Jewish people to recognize and feel remorse for how they we reliving their lives so that they would have a change of heart and attitude that would change the trajectory of their lives that was moving away from God back toward God.

Jesus then explained to the disciples that there would be differing responses to their mission and their message. While some would receive and welcome their message, others would refuse and reject their message. And because of that reality, Jesus commanded His disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.

Jesus was painting a word picture that called the disciples to be wise in avoiding danger but harmless in not forcibly opposing their enemy. The disciples were to have the cunning of snakes without the venom to harm their opponents. The disciples were to be cunning when it came to their own survival and the approval of their message.

Jesus then revealed to His disciples that they would experience a harsh response and harsh opposition from some when they heard the message of the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus explained that they would not only be exposed to the possibility of physical punishment; He also explained that they would be criticized and slandered by those who heard the message of the kingdom.

Jesus then basically said to his disciples “make sure that you have your fear focused on the right object. You better fear with an eternal perspective in mind.” Jesus then explained that while sparrows were relatively worthless in Jesus day, God knew and controlled the direction of their lives. Jesus then explained to the disciples that they were worth far more than sparrows, and that God cared and was in control of every aspect of their lives.

Jesus wanted to let His disciples know that while they would face danger and even the possibility of death as they proclaimed the message of the kingdom, that nothing would happen that would take Him by surprise or frustrate His purposes and plans. And because of that reality, Jesus explained that everyone who pledged their allegiance to Jesus as Messiah, Jesus would acknowledge as part of the kingdom of Heaven before God the Father. And everyone who rejected Jesus as Messiah, would be rejected by Jesus before God the Father. Now if you were a disciple, would Jesus words here ease your anxiety? If you were a disciple and still feeling anxious, notice what Jesus says next, beginning in Matthew 10:34-39:

Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ "For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; ³⁶ and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD. ³⁷ "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ "He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.

Now imagine yourself as one of the disciples. What would you be thinking at this point? What would you be feeling? How would you respond to Jesus instructions? Is this what you would expect Jesus to say? Can you relate to what the disciples must have been feeling at this point?

Maybe you are thinking to yourself “woo, hold on there, I thought Jesus was this nice shepherd, who was going to pick me up, place me on His shoulders and carry me though life so that my life would be calm and peaceful. I thought that Jesus came so that I could have peace on earth, good will to men so that I could experience my best life now here on earth.”

However, Jesus is crystal clear here; Do not think that I came to bring peace; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. But why bring a sword?  A sword is an instrument of violence that brings violence and division. Jesus point here is that, just like a sword, Jesus and the message of the gospel will bring division amongst even the closest of people.

And to back His claim, Jesus quoted from a section of a letter that was written by the Prophet Micah over 700 years earlier. In Micah 7:6, the prophet Micah described how the Jewish people in King Ahaz’s day were rejecting God and acting with rebellion and sinfulness even to the closest of their relatives. Jesus then applied this Old Testament quote to His disciples by telling them “he who loves father or mother, or son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me”.

Jesus point here is that the disciple’s primary allegiance is to be to Him. Jesus wanted His disciples to clearly understand that if they cared more about family or self than Jesus, then that is what they will choose when persecution or difficult times come. Jesus reminded the disciples of the reality that we choose to stand by what we love the most, don’t we? The issue that Jesus was raising is the priority of our relationships. And the timeless truth is that as followers of Jesus, our allegiance is to be to Jesus first and foremost.

And in case the disciples missed it, Jesus rammed His point home by stating “whoever does not take up His cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me”, Jesus called His disciples, and members of the kingdom of heaven throughout history to reconstruct their identity to be a part of God’s kingdom community and mission. Just as Jesus embraced His kingdom mission by denying self to instead embrace the cross, Jesus was calling His disciples throughout history, to deny self to instead to embrace the kingdom mission to be the vehicle that He uses to reveal Himself to the lost, hurting, and broken world around us.  Jesus point to His followers throughout history is that we cannot follow Jesus unless we are prepared to walk this path of self-denial.

 Jesus reinforced His call by stating that “he who finds his life will lose it and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it”. Jesus point is that whoever selfishly places themselves as the center or the focus of life will end up losing the eternal life and relationship with God that they were created for as a result of rejecting Him here on earth. By contrast the person who denies their selfishness so as to commit to following Jesus and the message of the kingdom of heaven will gain the eternal relationship with God that they were created for and that begins here on earth.

Now do you think this is what the disciples were expecting to hear? Is this what the disciples thought about when they heard about the kingdom of Heaven? Is this anything like the stories that they grew up hearing when it came to the Messiah and the kingdom of Heaven? And is this what you think of when you think of the kingdom of Heaven? If we are honest, many of us at this point are thinking “that is not the picture of the kingdom of heaven that I expected to hear.”

If you are in that place, I have some encouraging news. You are not the first person to feel that way. As a matter of fact, Matthew introduces us to another person who felt the same way in Matthew 11:1-6. Let’s meet this person together:

“When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. ²  Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples ³ and said to Him, "Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?" ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. ⁶ "And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me."?

Matthew tells us that John the baptizer, who we met last week, after being arrested for proclaiming the message of the kingdom of heaven, sent some of his disciples to basically ask Jesus “Are you the Messiah, the promised one from God, or did I make a mistake”? Now why would John ask that question? Why would John doubt Jesus after he had leveraged his entire life into the kingdom of heaven?

John doubted because this was not how the story was supposed to go. John doubted because he had been born and raised believing that the Messiah and the kingdom of heaven would bring in peace and prosperity for those who were in the kingdom. But John wasn’t experiencing peace, was he?

And maybe your life as a follower of Jesus is not going how you thought the story was supposed to go. You became a follower of Jesus believing that things would automatically get better in your life; your relationships would get better, your finances would get better; life would be flying pink elephants and rainbow-puking unicorns. But that is not the case for you.

Notice Jesus answer to John. Jesus does not simply come out and say, “John, don’t worry, I am the Messiah and your life will get better soon”. Instead, Jesus pointed John back to a section of a letter written 600 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 35:5 and Isaiah 61:1, Isaiah predicted and proclaimed the events surrounding the arrival of the Messiah. The same events that John the baptizer saw and participated in his life and ministry.

Jesus pointed John back to the promises of God that are recorded for us in the letters that make up the Bible. And if John the baptizer, the man who leapt in the womb at the arrival of Jesus, the man who heard the voice of God and saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus at His baptism can question and doubt, it is understandable that there will be times when we experience times of questions and doubt.

And Jesus provides us a timeless response to time of doubt. When we doubt, we are to place our questions and our doubts under the authority and the truth of what God has said about who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do. Jesus then turned to the crowds and began to tell them about John the baptizer in Matthew 11:7-15:

“As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸ "But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings' palaces! ⁹ "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ "This is the one about whom it is written, 'BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.' ¹¹ "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ "For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ "And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. ¹⁵ "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”?

Jesus quoted a section of a letter written by the prophet Malachi some 400 years earlier to explain to the crowds listening that John the baptizer was the fulfillment of God’s promise to send one who would prepare the way for the Messiah, who would usher in the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus then stated that while there was no greater human being that ever lived than John the baptizer, whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

Jesus point here is that while John the Baptist pointed people to the coming of the kingdom of heaven, those who are least in the kingdom are greater because they point to the reality that  the kingdom of heaven had arrived through the arrival of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus then made an amazing and timeless statement; “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it be force”. But what does that mean?

You see, it is in this statement that that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to the kingdom of heaven. And that timeless truth is this: The kingdom of heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed. Just as it was for the crowds that came to listen to John the Baptizer; just as it was for the crowds that came to listen to Jesus; just as it was for the disciples; just as it has been throughout history, the kingdom of Heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed. 

You see, no one walked away from hearing John the baptizer’s message saying “whatever”. No one walked away from Jesus saying whatever. No one walks away from a conversation about Jesus and the kingdom of heaven saying “whatever”.  The message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven is either enthusiastically embraced, or it is violently opposed.

Some people hear the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven and respond by enthusiastically embracing Jesus. Some people hear the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven and respond by violently opposing Jesus. And some people hear the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven and respond by enthusiastically embracing Jesus after they violently opposed Him.

And because of that reality, here is a question to consider: how are you responding to the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven? Are you enthusiastically embracing the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven? Or are you violently opposed to the message of Jesus and the kingdom of heaven?

Because the timeless reality is that the kingdom of Heaven is either enthusiastically embraced or violently opposed…

A mission requiring the cunning of snakes without the venom to harm their opponents...

As the sun rose in the early morning sky a young man rose from a restless night sleep. A restless night sleep that flowed from anticipation. You see, the young man had been approached by a new teacher who had invited him to leave his career as a fisherman behind to instead follow Him as a disciple. This new teacher explained that instead of catching fish, he would become a fisher of men. Instead of spending his time and energy in the back waters of the Sea of Galilee, he was going to be this teacher’s apprentice who would help proclaim His message. A message that proclaimed that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand.

As a young Jewish man, he had grown up hearing stories about this kingdom. As a young Jewish man, he grew up hearing stories about a day in the future when God would send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah, who would come to bring the Jewish people back to God and back to prominence in the world. And now this new teacher had arrived proclaiming that the time had arrived for the Messiah to arrive. He had watched this teacher do the miraculous; he had watched this teacher teach like no other teacher he had ever heard.

And with each and every day, the anticipation built that this could be the time. This could be the time for the Messiah arrived to kick out the ruthless ruling Roman empire and usher in the kingdom of Heaven and bring the Jewish people back to their rightful place in the world. The anticipation built because it was becoming clearer to him that His teacher could actually be that Messiah.

The anticipation built because last night, after dinner, this new teacher explained to him and the fellow disciples that tomorrow they would be heading out to proclaim the message that he had heard Him proclaim. His teacher explained that tomorrow, he would head out throughout the Jewish nation to proclaim the message “the kingdom of Heaven is at hand”.  His teacher told him that he would receive instructions and be sent out to tell others about this new teacher and His message about the kingdom.

So, of course he could not sleep. I mean how could he even think to sleep. He grew up his whole life hearing messages about the Messiah and the kingdom of Heaven and now he was going be one of the ones who would help proclaim the message that the Messiah was coming to kick out the Romans and usher in that kingdom. There would be no sleep that night. As soon as that first light appeared over the horizon, he was up, packed, and ready to go. He was the first to show up to meet with his teacher and receive his instructions.

And then his teacher, Jesus appeared to begin the meeting. And he could not wait for the meeting; he could not wait for the instructions. So he leaned in and began to listen. He began to listen to his teacher Jesus as He began to give instructions that would forever change his life.  He leaned in as Jesus gave instructions that would forever change his perceptions about the kingdom of Heaven.

Instructions that another one of the disciples, a former tax collector named Matthew would record for us to read today. Instructions that still apply to us today. Instructions that have to potential to radically change how we view Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven. And it is in these instructions that we will discover a timeless truth about the kingdom of Heaven. So let’s look in at this meeting and discover those instructions together, beginning in Matthew 10:5-15:

These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. "Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts,  or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. "And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. "As you enter the house, give it your greeting. "If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. "Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

Matthew begins to give us a front row seat to this meeting as Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a short-term mission trip. And on this short-term mission trip, Jesus instructed the disciples to proclaim the following message “repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand”. Sound familiar. Jesus not only invited the twelve disciples to become a part of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus invited the twelve disciples to be a part of the kingdom mission that He was given to invite others to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.

And as part of His instructions to the twelve disciples, Jesus explained that the message was to be proclaimed only to the lost sheep of Israel. In other words, Jesus instructed the disciples to proclaim His message about the kingdom only to the Jewish people. Now a natural question that could arise at this point is “Why would Jesus tell the disciples to go to Jewish people first? If that question is running through your mind, you are asking a great question.

You see, Jesus sent the disciples to the Jewish people first because in God’s plan of rescue and repair that would bring the opportunity for all humanity back into relationship with Him, it was through the Jewish people that the Messiah would come to bring the opportunity for salvation to all men, so the message of the kingdom of Heaven would need to begin with the Jewish people.  Jesus gave the disciples a kingdom mission to call the Jewish people to recognize and feel remorse for how they we reliving their lives so that they would have a change of heart and attitude that would change the trajectory of their lives that was moving away from God back toward God.

And to verify that their message was in fact from God, Jesus gave the disciples the power and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and cast out demons. Now all of these actions were miraculous actions could only happen by the supernatural action of God and would thus serve to verify the message of the kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus also instructed these twelve men to rely on the hospitality of the hearers of the message to provide for their needs so that God would receive the glory and so that the disciples trust would be in God’s activity though them.

Jesus then explained to the disciples that there would be differing responses to their mission and their message. While some would receive and welcome their message, others would refuse and reject their message. And for those who rejected their message, Jesus explained that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, which were two cities that God destroyed in the Old Testament by reigning fire from Heaven down upon them, than for those who reject the message of the kingdom of Heaven delivered by His disciples. But why would He say that?

Jesus point was that it would be more tolerable for those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah that it would be for those who rejected the message of the kingdom that was being proclaimed by the disciples because, while those who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah were equally liable for judgment due to their selfishness and rebellion against God, they never heard the message of the kingdom of Heaven as clearly as the Jewish people were hearing it from the disciples. And to reject the message of the kingdom after hearing the message and witnessing the signs so clearly would result a greater degree of condemnation.

However, after giving the disciples these initial instructions, Matthew tells us that Jesus changed the tone of His instructions in a striking way. A way that Matthew records for us beginning in verse 16-25:

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷ "But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; ¹⁸ and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ "But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. ²⁰ "For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. ²¹ "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ²² "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. ²³ "But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. ²⁴ "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. ²⁵ "It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

Jesus explained to His disciples that He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. In other words just as a wolves attack and try to kill sheep, who are helpless and notoriously stupid when attacked, the disciples would be attacked by those who were opposed to Jesus and the kingdom mission that they had been given by Jesus.

And because of that reality, Jesus commanded His disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. In the Jewish culture of the 1^st century, serpents were a symbol of cleverness in the culture, while doves were a symbol of purity.

Jesus was painting a word picture that called the disciples to be wise in avoiding danger but harmless in not forcibly opposing their enemy. The disciples were to have the cunning of snakes without the venom to harm their opponents. The disciples were to be cunning when it came to their own survival and the approval of their message.

Jesus then revealed to His disciples that they would experience a harsh response and harsh opposition from some when they heard the message of the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus explained that they would not only be exposed to the possibility of physical punishment; He also explained that they would be criticized and slandered by those who heard the message of the kingdom.

Now, I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves as one of the disciples. I want to take a minute and place ourselves in their shoes. Would your excitement about this mission trip increasing or decreasing as this conversation continues? If you were apprehensive at this point, just look at what Jesus says next, beginning in verse 26-33:

Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. ²⁸ "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. ³² "Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Now that’s encouraging. Thanks for the pep talk Jesus. How about “don’t worry guys. Everything is going to be fine. It’s going to be smooth sailing”. Instead, Jesus told His disciples "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. In other words, Jesus basically says “make sure that you have your fear focused on the right object. You better fear with an eternal perspective in mind.”

Jesus then painted another word picture for His disciples, this time of sparrows. In the culture of the day, sparrows were considered small and could be purchased with the smallest Roman coin. Yet while sparrows were relatively worthless in Jesus day, Jesus explained that God knew and controlled the direction of their lives. Jesus then explained to the disciples that they were worth far more than sparrows, and that God cared and was in control of every aspect of their lives.

Jesus wanted to let His disciples know that while they would face danger and even the possibility of death as they proclaimed the message of the kingdom, that nothing would happen that would take Him by surprise or frustrate His purposes and plans. And because of that reality, Jesus explained that everyone who pledged their allegiance to Jesus as Messiah, Jesus would acknowledge as part of the kingdom of Heaven before God the Father. And everyone who rejected Jesus as Messiah, would be rejected by Jesus before God the Father.

Now if you were a disciple, would Jesus words here ease your anxiety? If you were a disciple, wouldn’t you still be feeling anxious? Friday, we will see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the kingdom of heaven in what He says next…

The kingdom of Heaven calls for repentant followers...

Last week we began to look at a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible, called the gospel of Matthew, as a man named John the Baptist began to proclaim the message “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand”. If John the baptizer was communicating this message in the language that we use in our culture today, his message would sound something like this “Repent, recognize and feel remorse for how you are living life. Change your attitude and your mind when it comes to the trajectory of your life that is moving away from God and turn back to God, because God is coming soon. The kingdom of God is approaching and will be here soon”.

           

A natural question for those listening to John’s message would be “is John the Messiah, the rescuer, the redeemer”? John denied that he was the Messiah. And to demonstrate that he was not God’s promised Messiah, John contrasted the baptism that he was providing with the baptism that will come when the kingdom of Heaven appeared through the Messiah. John explained that while the water baptism he was providing was an external sign, the baptism of the Holy Spirit that will come for those who enter into the kingdom of heaven will be internal. For those who refuse the kingdom of heaven, John explained that their baptism will be of fire.

Matthew then gave us a front row seat to the encounter that the messenger of the kingdom of Heaven had with the kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 3:13-17, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus told John that He needed to be baptized not because Jesus had ever sinned; Jesus wanted to be baptized because He wanted to identify Himself with sinful people, even though He never sinned.

This act was Jesus way of identifying Himself with us so that He could allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Matthew then recorded God the Father’s response to Jesus desire to identify with rebellious humanity as all three members of the Trinity were present as the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus to empower Him to accomplish His mission of revealing the kingdom of Heaven as God the Father proclaimed “this is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. And a little later in Matthew’s account, we see Jesus uttering a familiar message, beginning in Matthew 4:17. Let’s look at it together:

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Sound familiar? Matthew tells us that Jesus began to communicate the same message that John the baptizer began. “Repent, recognize and feel remorse for how you are living life. Change your attitude and your mind when it comes to the trajectory of your life that is moving away from God and turn back to God, because God is coming soon. The kingdom of Heaven is approaching and will be here soon”.  We then see Jesus begin to call others to respond to His message. We see the call and the response in verses 18-22:

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰ Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. ²¹ Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. ²² Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Matthew tells us that Jesus saw four fishermen and invited them to be a part of the kingdom of Heaven and to embrace and be a part of a kingdom mission. And these four men immediately left their nets and followed Him. Now I don’t know about you, but that just seems strange, doesn’t it? I mean, don’t’ you think it would be weird to just leave everything behind to follow a guy you just met? So what is going on here? In another account of Jesus life, the gospel of Luke, Luke gives us further insight into what happened. So let’s discover what happened in Luke 5:1-10:

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; ² and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. ⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch." ⁵ Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets." ⁶ When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men." ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Luke tells us that Jesus asked if He could use their boat as a stage to speak from. After speaking, Jesus performed a miraculous act by filling their nets with fish. Peter, seeing what had happened, responded to Jesus by recognizing that the trajectory of His life needed to change. Jesus responded to Peter’s recognition by inviting Him to be a part of the kingdom of Heaven. And Jesus responded to Peter’s recognition by inviting Him to be a part of His kingdom mission to invite others to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.

And it is here that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to the kingdom of heaven. And that timeless truth is this: The kingdom of Heaven calls for repentant followers.  Just as it was for the crowds that came to listen to John the Baptizer; just as it was for the crowds that came to listen to Jesus; just as it was for Peter and his fisherman friends, the kingdom of Heaven calls for repentant followers.

The timeless reality is that the kingdom of Heaven does not call perfect people. Instead, the kingdom of heaven calls for flawed, fallen, and broken people who recognize and feel remorse for how they are living life. The kingdom of Heaven calls people who desire to change the trajectory of their life that is moving away from God back towards God.

And Jesus call to be a part of the kingdom of Heaven is always the same- “follow me”. And when we respond to Jesus call to follow Him by believing, trusting and following Him as Lord and Leader, we receive the forgiveness of sin and experience the relationship with God that we were created for as a part of the kingdom of Heaven.

Now you may be wondering “well what is the kingdom of heaven like”? That is a great question and we will spend the rest of this series unpacking the answer to that question. Throughout this series, we simply want you to ask the question “am I a part of the kingdom of Heaven”.

Because the timeless reality is that the kingdom of heaven calls for repentant followers...