Lesson Four A: The Kingdom of Grace.
4a.1 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15
4a.2 The burden of Jesus' preaching was to announce the kingdom of God. Central to all of Jesus' teaching stood the good news of the kingdom of heaven. It was not just the main subject - it was the only subject of all of His parables. He spoke more of the kingdom of heaven than of Himself. He often said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." He was desperate that men should understand this message.
4a.3 Everywhere in the gospels the kingdom of heaven is on Jesus' lips...
What is it like?
- It is like a sower who goes forth to sow
- It is like a costly pearl
- It is like a mustard seed
- It is like a treasure hidden in a field
- It is like a king who arranged a marriage for his son
- It is like ten virgins; five wise and five foolish
How does one enter?
- By becoming as a little child
- By repentance and faith
How important is it?
- It would be better to mutilate yourself and enter the kingdom of heaven crippled or maimed than not to get in at all
4a.4 Yet for all His preaching and teaching on the kingdom of God, Jesus never once paused to define it. Instead He spoke of it as if everyone knew what He was talking about. The idea of a "kingdom of heaven" was centuries old in Jesus' day. It lay within the vocabulary of every Jew. It was something they understood and longed for desperately. (see Joseph of Arimathea, lesson 237)
4a.5 Long before, at Mount Sinai, God had made a covenant with His chosen people Israel.
And Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Exodus 19:5-6
4a.6 God's original intent for the children of Israel was that they should be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation; a people set apart for the worship and service of God - and, implied but not stated, a witness to the nations. These verses in Exodus chapter 19 are really the first mention of a kingdom ruled by God. That is why these verses are so important.
4a.7 This covenant made at Mt Sinai was a covenant of grace. The Exodus was viewed as a sheer act of God's grace. The signs and wonders, the deliverance from Egypt, and the destruction of pharaoh's army - all were illustrations of God's grace. It was grace because it was absolutely undeserved. The writer of Exodus took pains to show us a people beggarly, cowardly, and utterly unworthy. The Exodus was an act of God who chose for Himself a people - that they might chose Him. The covenant concluded at Mt. Sinai could only be understood in Hebrew theology as a response to grace. It was also a covenant of promise.. a prophet would come who would be the Messiah, the Redeemer of all mankind, and the Spirit of God would be poured out upon men. It is good to remember this. It was not a covenant of works. Later generations thought it was - and it took the powerful preaching of Paul and others to correct them. But a covenant of works was not the faith of the Old Testament.
4a.8 If it was a covenant of grace, then it was also a government of grace. At its start the nation of Israel had no king. They were a loose confederation (brotherhood) of twelve tribes ruled over by judges upon whom the Spirit of God rushed to deliver the people in times of need. Prophets also spoke to the people, as the Spirit of God rushed upon them. Thus the people were under the direct rule of the Spirit of God. There was no intervening king; no autocracy. No army conscripted. There were no public works. Only the tabernacle - the place of worship - served to draw the people together. Their worship of God was the basis of their unity, and their national identity. The only tax the people had was the tax for the upkeep of the tabernacle and its service. What a picture of freedom! The people were living under grace. This was the kingdom of God as the children of Israel first knew it - But by Jesus' day they had lost sight of it.
4a.9 The people of ancient Israel believed there is only one God. He is a moral God, in control of nature and history, who reveals His righteous will and summons men to obey it. They believed that they had entered into covenant relationship with Him, and that they were His people. As such they could expect His blessing. The nation of Israel was supposed to be the kingdom of God on earth - but...
4a.10 But they forgot God's warning... they were God's people only as long as they (by faith) kept His covenant! The terrible day came when God had to say to them, "You are not my people." They were not the people of God simply because they were the children of Israel - they were His people only if they kept the covenant - and they had not.
4a.11 Yet the prophets spoke of a "righteous remnant." God would not forget His promises. A righteous remnant of the people of God (those who kept His covenant) would see the coming of the Messiah, who would finally establish the rule of God upon this earth. This righteous remnant was not the whole nation of Israel - but only the true Israel - those who kept the covenant. In fact the kingdom of God would not even be racially determined! Gentiles were welcome and could even take leadership! (Indeed, the early disciples of Christ saw themselves as the true Israel.)
4a.12 Just how God's rule was to be established upon the earth was open to question. The prophet Isaiah gave the answer.
"Behold, My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice. Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break. And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth." Isaiah 42:1-4
This Servant would be able to say of Himself...
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; Isaiah 61:1
4a.13 When Jesus came, the Spirit of God rushed upon Him - anointed Him - as God's chosen Messiah to deliver God's word and to establish the kingdom of God on earth. (see Luke 4:18)
4a.14 Jesus announced that the kingdom of God had arrived! It was not future or coming; it was here and it was now. "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15
4a.15 This bold announcement is still shocking. It means that the kingdom of God is realized and actualized in the experience of the people as they repent and believe the gospel. It is not future, but now! God's Spirit comes upon all those who turn from sin to faith in Christ. His peace, His love, His healing, His joy, His power and protection, - and His freedom - follow His rule. This is the everyday experience of the people under His rule. It is the rule of His Spirit and of His grace. That is His government of peace - the rule of heaven.
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