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The Kingdom of God
As we explore books of the Bible it is important to remember
that these are texts written for a purpose. They are from a time and place and,
while they may be powerfully meaningful in our time, their original purpose was
to speak to the world in which and to whom they were written.
Matthew is a narrative structured to lead to a point by
presenting the life, teachings, miracles and death of Jesus. Recognising the
fact that Matthew is told as story leads us to ask: Why is he telling this part
of the Jesus story? What is he teaching at this point? Where is he heading?
While the book of Matthew is an accurate record of the life of Jesus, it is
also a reconstructed telling of that life – told for a purpose structured and
in a purposeful way.
There are six basic sections in the book of Matthew and in
defining those sections we will see the author’s intent and purpose for writing
his narrative of the life of Jesus.
Part 1: Matthew 1:1-4:16 – The Character. We are introduced
to Jesus as the leading character of the book and, indeed, of the entire
plotline of the Bible.
Part 2: Matthew 4:17-11:1 – The Plot. Jesus introduces us
the “Kingdom of Heaven” as a workable and in fact necessary replacement
worldview for the people previously caught up in the Kingdom of this Earth.
Part 3: Matthew 11:2-16:20 – Personal Conflict. Responses to
Jesus. Doubters scoff. Haters hate. Believers question. The “Kingdom of Heaven”
as described and demonstrated by Jesus doesn’t meet the expectations of anyone
– whether they were for or against Him.
Part 4: Matthew 16:21-20:34 – The Goal. Jesus introduces
“The Cross” as the difference between the Kingdom of this Earth and the Kingdom
of Heaven.
Part 5: Matthew 21-27 – Kingdom Conflict. Jesus’s Kingdom of
Heaven is put to the test as a worldview and is pushed to the wall. Seemingly
it fails. Jesus is crucified. The Kingdom is defunct.
Part 6: Matthew 28 – Death Concurred. The Cross is applied
in a new way due to the Resurrection. No cross has ever been followed by life.
An empty tomb demands a new look at the entire narrative. What does this Jesus
and His Kingdom mean to you and me? How does it have Authority in our lives?
So, what is the point of the book of Matthew? To prove the
Kingdom of Heaven – in which the cross and empty tomb feature – is the new
reality of the people of God. The new Israel.
To help his readers take this leap, Matthew writes specific
things. He chooses carefully which statements of Jesus he will include, which
miracles of Jesus he will include and which stories about Jesus he will
include.
Matthew 11:1-15 is a prime example. John the Baptist, who
declared Jesus the Lamb of God and baptised Him, now languishes in prison and
doubts his gift of prophecy. He sends his followers to ask Jesus if He really
is the promised Messiah. Jesus response is: tell John what you see, tell him
what you hear. Matthew the storyteller reminds the reader: Tell doubters what
you saw in chapters 8 and 9! Tell them what you heard on the mountain in
chapters 5 to 7. And tell them (chapter 10) the pep-talk Jesus gave His
disciples before sending them out to apply all He said and all He showed them!
It’s happening! Tell John, the Kingdom of Heaven is here! He was right!
Then Jesus goes into a little sermon about John. In effect, He
says God’s people have been listening to prophets for eons and John is the
ultimate prophet in that kingdom. But there is a new kingdom being inaugurated
right now – the Kingdom of Heaven – and anyone who believes and joins up to
this kingdom is more significant than any prophet in the previous kingdom. John
the Baptist was the final preacher before the coming of the Kingdom of God. Not
only was he right, he was on to something so big it was going to change the
world. And change is hard – for everyone!
Jesus’ Kingdom seems like a great idea to many of us, today.
But back then, they wanted freedom from Roman oppression. They looked back to
their forefathers being liberated from Egypt and expected that kind of freedom
again – only better, longer – the eternal Kingdom of God on Earth. But instead,
they got beatitudes and healed beggars. The poor were blessed and the Roman
oppressors were seemingly ignored. Jesus suggested that welcoming persecution
made you a Kingdom citizen rather than destroying your enemies. His Kingdom was
about hearts, not pocketbooks.
Jesus took the purpose of the Temple – reconciliation – and
put it into the heart of each believer. Our bodies became the Temple of God and
we – each and every one of us – became the priests overseeing that temple. A
Kingdom of priests. The reconciled became reconcilers.
No wonder it was hard to understand. No wonder John
questioned Jesus. It wasn’t just a new idea – it was a return to an old idea. God
was building His final Kingdom by reclaiming His first temple – the people
created in His image. In Genesis, God put us at the heart of the Garden –
Humanity: a garden temple crowning His work of Creation. Now, He reclaims us
through the death and resurrection of His Son and places us at the nexus of
Creation today – the highways and byways of this world – Humanity: a temple on
every corner.
Even today, the pious balk at the core idea of the Kingdom
of Heaven for which Jesus lived, died and lives again. This Kingdom – the new
Kingdom of God that Jesus started and which grows like a rock flying in from
outer space preparing to crush every Kingdom set up by mankind – is one based
on the many rather than the few. A Kingdom of priests – living temples, each of
us, revealing God’s image to the world.
The success of this Kingdom comes from the healing power of Jesus’
death and resurrection being applied by millions of believers on the ground all
around the world. As we believe, we are changed. As we are reconciled with God,
we begin reconciling with others. Such a Kingdom cannot be stopped. And it
never will be!
Today’s leaders, religious and political alike, need the
Kingdom of God to be about buildings, infrastructure, money and power. But,
instead, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. Go
and tell John. And tell him: ‘God blesses those who are not offended by me.’
That is what the Kingdom of God really, truly, honestly
looks like.
And that’s what Matthew’s story is about.
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