Lesson Four: The Kingdom of Heaven
4.1 Jesus taught us a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, He taught so much about the Kingdom of Heaven that you could say it was the main subject, or theme, of all of His preaching and teaching. This is especially true in the Gospel of Matthew. But what is the Kingdom of Heaven? Few people know.
4.2 Jesus began His ministry by saying, "Be repenting; For the kingdom of heaven is at hand." When Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" He meant, "The kingdom of heaven is here." That's exciting. The kingdom of heaven is here! But again, exactly what is the kingdom of heaven?
4.3 Jesus began many of his parables by saying "The kingdom of heaven is like..." (see Matt.13:24, Matt. 13:33, Matt.18:23, Matt. 20:1, and Matt. 22:2)
The "Kingdom of Heaven" was so far beyond human understanding or experience that it was totally impossible to speak of it in any way except to say that it was like something. So that is what Jesus did. Think about it for a minute. What would it be like if the kingdom of heaven came down to earth and was established in the hearts and minds of men and women? What would it be like if God's will was done on earth as it is in heaven? Essentially, really, Jesus was trying to explain to the people what grace was like, and what a kingdom ruled by grace would be like. The people could hardly imagine such things. It was beyond them, so Jesus told them stories called parables to help them understand.
4.4 One of the best parables that Jesus ever gave about the kingdom of heaven is one that most Christians don't even know about. That's because the parable itself is in the Old Testament, and Jesus only alluded to it. That means Jesus mentioned it, but never really explained it. He didn't have to. The people of His day knew what He was talking about. They were very familiar with that parable, and they had studied it for years.
Speaking of John the Baptist, Jesus said,
For this is he of whom it is written:
Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You. Malachi 3:1Jesus went on to say,
Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist: but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Jesus never explained what He meant by that but we can guess (see note below). Then He went on to say...
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
When Jesus said that, He was alluding to a parable found in the book of Micah. The people understood that. Then Jesus continued...
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matthew 11:10-15
Whenever Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" He was making a strong point, and He wanted the people to "get" it.
4.5 So exactly what was Jesus saying? The parable Jesus was alluding to is a very interesting one. Here it is...
I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob.
I will surely gather the remnant of Israel;
I will put them together like sheep of the fold,
Like a flock in the midst of their pasture;
They shall make a loud noise because of so many people.The one who breaks open will come up before them;
They will break out (break forth),
Pass through the gate, and go out by it;
The King will pass before them, with the LORD at their head.
Micah 2:12-13 (parenthesis mine)4.6 Jesus had alluded to these verses in Micah when He said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." Sheep can be very violent when they are breaking forth out of the sheepfold in the morning. In fact, they will stampede to get out of the sheep pen and into the pasture. Normally you would not think of sheep as violent animals, but it's true. They are even more violent if the shepherd does not let them out of the pen early in the morning. If the shepherd waits until the sun is high, and then lets the sheep out, they will explode through the gate with extreme force. Micah says the people of Israel would be like sheep in a pen, making a loud noise. Sheep don't make a loud noise unless they have been left in the pen too long. The people Jesus was talking to knew all about sheep and they knew the parable that was written in the book of Micah. In fact, because of this parable the people were expecting "the one who breaks open" to appear as a forerunner to the Shepherd Himself, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus was making it plain that "the one who breaks open" was John the Baptist, and that He Himself was the King and Shepherd of Israel. That's why Jesus said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force." In the light of Micah's parable a good interpretation of those words might be, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been undergoing violence because the hungry sheep (people), have been breaking forth into it. Hungry sheep (people), break forth into it with force. Notice that it is only the hungry sheep who break forth so violently into the pasture to greet their Shepherd and King.
note: This is a good sort of violence. It is good for the kingdom of heaven to "suffer" that kind of violence. "Suffer" is an old English word. That word does not even appear in the Greek text. The old English word "suffer" simply means "permit." The kingdom of heaven undergoes and allows this kind of violence. Compare Mark 10:14 "Suffer (permit) the little children to come unto Me." (parenthesis mine)
note: Notice that the hungry sheep break out of the pen and into the pasture. This is a good picture of salvation. People escape from the cramped, fetid little pen that held them bound into the beautiful green pastures where they can feed to their heart's content, and be safe in the care of the Good Shepherd.
4.7 The people of course would almost certainly have remembered another Old Testament picture story..
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul:
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil. For you are with me.
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23And yes, my friends that is what the kingdom of heaven is like!
note: John the Baptist never really got to see the kingdom of heaven in its fullness. John did not live to see Jesus die on the cross, or rise again from the dead. In that sense we are greater than he. We can understand and appreciate grace even more than he ever could have. Yet Jesus said John was the greatest man ever born! Wow!