The Gospel of the King and His Kingdom
In even a casual reading of the New Testament, especially the Gospels, we quickly learn that the focus of all of the writers is on Jesus and His kingdom. The fact that this focus is on the person of Jesus and that He was born to be Savior of the world does not surprise us. But the fact this boy child, Jesus of Nazareth, was also born to be King and rules a kingdom to which we are invited to belong is another matter entirely. We also find that living in this kingdom has a direct connection with our salvation. Even before Jesus is baptized and begins His public ministry, John the Baptist announces His arrival with the words, “Repent for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.” In the person of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God (the rule and reign of God) has come to earth. A new day has dawned, filled with grace, salvation, healing, signs, wonders, and opportunity to experience the love and goodness of God.
The Gospel or “good news” is not simply that Jesus has come into the world to make salvation from our sins a possibility, as wonderful as that is, but it is the Gospel of the kingdom. The King of kings and the Lord of lords has come to earth and established His kingdom, His rule, and reign, among us. And He now extends the invitation to all humanity to enter in by coming to Him in repentance and faith, and taking on a new identity as one of His subjects, a Christ follower. The word the New Testament uses to describe this new relationship is the Greek word mathetes, which we normally translate disciple. It can also be translated learner, adherent or apprentice, all reflective of the relationship that a rabbi of Jesus’ day would have with his disciples. They were recognized as “disciple” of a particular rabbi based not on their knowledge of his teachings but rather on their living out what the rabbi taught. People looked upon their lives and on the basis of their behavior declared them to be a rabbi’s disciple. So, it is for us who claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
The difficulty for us today is that for the most part, we do not have an actual experience living in an earthly kingdom with a king who has total authority over his subjects. We talk about our rights, our freedom to choose and freely offer our opinions on what is right, just and appropriate for us. This reality puts us at odds with Jesus’ kingdom, the kingdom of God.
The first step in rectifying this problem is to read the New Testament with fresh eyes and through a new lens. The new lens is salvation from our sins comes as a result of our becoming a son or daughter of God who lives in the Kingdom of God, under King Jesus’ rule and reign. Disciples of Jesus are made for the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom is the dwelling place of all disciples. There is no salvation for those only profess to “believe” or attend church or try and live a good life. Jesus said in Luke 14 that “you cannot be My disciple” unless you love Him above all else, take up your cross and follow Him, and unless you give up all your possessions. (Luke 14:25-33) The King demands that we have no other gods besides Him and that we walk in wholehearted obedience to all of His commands.
This Christmas season when we proclaim and celebrate the good news of the Gospel we need to remember it is the Gospel of the Kingdom, so we and others are not deceived. King Jesus is returning soon but until He does we are called to live in and represent His kingdom to the world around us. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
Click Here For Content Archives