Your Kingdom Come
Colossians 1:13-14
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus’ Mission
What did Jesus declare as his purpose in coming? Surprisingly, he didn’t say it was to die. He actually declared his purpose to be preaching the gospel of the kingdom:
Luke 4:43
But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.”
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed”
Mark 1:38
And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”
John 18:37
You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
Jesus was constantly teaching about the kingdom of God. All his parables were meant to illustrate the kingdom:
The kingdom of God is like…
- The mustard seen and leaven - Matt 13:31-33; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-21
- The wheat and tares - Matt 13:34; 37-43
- Seeds that grow - Mark 4:26-29
- Great treasure, a pearl of great price - Matt 13:44-46
- Sorting fish - Matt 13:47-48
- The forgiving king and unforgiving servant - Matt 18:23
- The generous master - Matt 20:1-16
- A king giving a wedding feast for his son - Matt 22:1; Luke 14:15-24
- The ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom - Matt 25:1-13
- The master going on a journey - Matt 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27
- Separating of sheep and goats - Matt 25:31-46
It was the subject of all his sermons before and after his death: Matt 4:23; 9:35; Luke 8:1; Acts 1:3
What is the kingdom of God?
If it’s so important to Jesus and the gospel, we had better learn what the kingdom of God is! The concept of the kingdom of God was something that was at least partially understood by the Jewish people of Jesus’ day. But for us, it is a rather foreign concept. When we think of a kingdom, we usually think of the territory ruled by a king. In the Greek and Hebrew, however, that definition is secondary. It mainly and predominantly referred to the being, nature, and state of the king – it was his dignity or power. In other words, the “kingdom of God” refers to God’s kingship rather than what we think of as kingdom, his reign rather than his realm. Using modern political terms, kingdom means something like “administration.” We had the Clinton Administration, the Bush Administration, and now we are currently under the Obama Administration. The Kingdom of God might be called the Jesus Christ Administration.
Reformation Online Glossary defines “Kingdom of God” this way: Kingdom of God (or Christ): God’s righteous reign in the earth, mediated by His Son, Jesus Christ. The kingdom of God begins in the hearts of redeemed men (Col. 1:13) and moves outward wherever men are subject to Christ’s gospel and law. The kingdom of God is not preeminently political, though it has implications for politics. Wherever Christ’s gospel breaks the stony heart of sinful man, bringing him to his knees in submission to Jesus Christ, there is the kingdom of God.
As a brief note: Matthew usually uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven” rather than the phrase “kingdom of God.” This is because the Gospel of Matthew is written to a Jewish audience, and it is (and was in the first century AD) Jewish tradition to avoid verbal statements about God. The terms are synonymous.