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The Kingdom of the Messiah The Sufferings of the Messiah Foretold.
Possibly no words define the mission of the Messiah
better than His own in John 3: 16, "For God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting
life." In the word "whosoever" we can all take
comfort, for it includes all who will believe. It is well for us
to remember that God's plan of salvation is from eternity. Rev.
13:8 says that Christ is "The Lamb slain from the
Foundation of the World." Thus we see that God's plan to
redeem men was conceived long before the fall, even before man
was created. God sees the end from the beginning and plans
everything after the counsel of His own will. Acts 2:23;
4:23-30.
Not only did God have the plan of Salvation in His mind, but
He knew how sinful men would reject the Messiah. The 53rd
chapter of Isaiah grows with evidence of divine inspiration as
it foretells the death and resurrection of our Lord. We are all
familiar with the 6th verse, which says, "All we like sheep
have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and
the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." From the
very beginning Jesus the Son was God's Lamb through whose
sacrificial death man would be redeemed. We can ponder long with
wonder and amazement the vivid picture of Christ's sufferings
and death as they are written in Isaiah 53. This was written 700
years before Christ was born and yet it tells such details as
the fact that Christ would be smitten and numbered with
transgressors. This was fulfilled when Christ was crucified.
Bible prophecy shows that Christ came to die; to give His life,
as an atonement for sin.
Christ came to Reign. But the Bible insists upon another
equally prominent fact, namely that Christ came to reign. He
came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God among men. He came to
dispute the dominion of Satan and the power of sin in the lives
and hearts of men. By redeeming men to God, he established his
right to rule. Sometimes our habit of thinking of kingdoms and
reigns only in terms of earthly empires causes us to mistake the
true nature of Christ's kingdom. It is quite obvious that Christ
has not set up any kind of earthly kingdom that in any way
resembles that of nations past or present. In view of the fact
that He specifically proclaimed the Kingdom of God as a present
reality, we should examine His words and see what kind of a
kingdom He had in mind.
Turning to Mark 1:1 we read, "The beginning of the
gospel Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Since this passage
introduces us to the beginning of the gospel it is in order for
us to note what it "began" with. We have not far to
look, for in vv. 14, 15 we read, "Now after that John was
put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of
the kingdom of God and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the
gospel." It is quite evident that we need not look for a
future time to introduce the kingdom because Jesus said in the
first words of His ministry, that "The time is
fulfilled." The word "fulfill" means to perform
or carry out, as that which is promised, foretold or
anticipated; to accomplish or execute." Webster. When Jesus
said the time is fulfilled, He meant the time to execute the
promises of God had arrived. The terms "gospel" and
"kingdom of God" are used interchangeably.
The Nature of the Kingdom of God. According to John 3:3, to
preach the Kingdom of God is to preach the gospel, "Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of
God." Jesus declared that His kingdom was such that a
person had to be converted in order to "see" it. It is
one that we behold with eyes of faith; eyes that have been
enlightened. In verse 5 He continues: "Verily, Verily, I
say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Sprit,
he cannot enter the kingdom of God." We pause here to
stress the fact that the kingdom of Christ is one that can only
be entered through conversion. We have to be saved in order to
enter it. It is not difficult to see why Jesus said, "My
kingdom is not of this world." Our citizenship on earth is
the result of natural birth, but to become a citizen of Christ's
kingdom requires spiritual birth.
According to Luke 18:16, 17 the kingdom of heaven is a realm
where innocent little children are members. Jesus said, "Of
such is the kingdom of God." The atonement of Christ
includes little children and the nature of His kingdom is such
that they are members of it, because as yet they have made no
sinful choice. In contrast with the foregoing is the story of
the rich young ruler told in Luke 18:18-27. Concerning him Jesus
said sorrowfully, "How hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to
go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God." Some speculate that Jesus meant a low
narrow gate through the city wall and that a camel might succeed
in crawling through it on its knees and stripped of its load. We
are confident the disciples would have been familiar with that
custom in their time had it existed but their question shows
that they did not understand Christ to be talking about that at
all. In v. 25 they asked in amazement, "Who then can be
saved? Quite rightly they understood the kingdom of God to be
something only saved people could enter and the reply Jesus gave
in v. 27 shows that they were not mistaken. He said, "The
things which are impossible with men are possible with
God." Salvation is impossible for men and only possible for
God. To trust in riches or rank or heritage, and even the
performance of religious rites, is not enough. "Ye must be
born again."
The nature of Christ's kingdom is further revealed in Luke
17:20-21 as follows: "And when he as demanded of the
Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them
and said, "The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show,
(marg.); neither shall they say lo here! Or lo there! For behold
the kingdom of God is within you." First, you will notice
that the kingdom of God is. It was a present reality when Christ
made that statement. He also declared it to be a kingdom without
outward show. How different from any earthly kingdom! It was
built, to be seen with the eye of faith rather than of the
flesh. You have to be born again to "see" it. So while
the Pharisees were wondering "when" it was coming
Jesus explained "how" it was in existence.
No Earthly Kingdom Attempted or Promised by Christ.
To emphasize the contrast between His kingdom and earthly
kingdoms, we read John 6:15, "When Jesus therefore
perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make
him king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone."
Prior to this decision He had fed the multitude of five thousand
men. It was then that the people said, "This is of a truth
that prophet that should come into the world." V. 14.
Immediately they began to throng Him and would have proclaimed
Him king right there had He yielded. This is an important event
to remember. But the kingdom that Jesus came to inaugurate was
such that to have yielded to these ardent but misguided
enthusiasts would have frustrated His kingdom entirely. It was
because His kingdom differed from what the Jews of that time
were expecting, that they rejected Him. In so rejecting Him the
nation lost the kingdom.
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