Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents
Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 19 –The Story of the Kingdom Revisited
Confounding the strong
[Bible references: Genesis 21; 25; 1 Samuel 1; Isaiah 54:1-3; 2 Corinthians 12:10]
A recurring theme in scripture is God’s habit of turning the tables on conventional thinking: the weak become strong, the wise are foolish and the barren shall become fruitful. On more than one occasion, children were born to couples who were old and barren. We also see God choosing a small, seemingly insignificant nation that has left very few archeological clues about its existence[1] to be the people through whom God would send someone to redeem the whole world.
About 4000 years ago, God called Abram from a major city, Ur, to go to a land promised to his descendants. Neither Abraham, his children, grandchildren or great grandchildren would be more than guests in a land not yet their own. Abram’s great grandchildren and their descendants would find themselves first guests, and then slaves, in a foreign country.
About 3000 years ago, when the captive nation finally returned to the Promised Land, there were several hundred years when they kept on assimilating themselves into the culture of the land they had supposedly captured. When they finally came together under a king, that united kingdom only lasted 120 years before dividing up and then each kingdom was torn away into exile. After a brief absence, a remnant had returned while they had momentarily re-established themselves as a kingdom, they were now simply a client province of a great Roman empire.
Overseen by a puppet king of the Roman Empire, the religious rulers, the Sadducees, were infused with Greek culture. The more devout rulers, the Pharisees, were focused more on external appearances and not on the one issue that God had chastised the nation over and over again, justice. But in the midst of this, there would be a faithful remnant, ready to receive the Messiah[2].
The Messiah: The Suffering Servant
[Bible references: Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 3:16-17; 9:8; 11:5; John 21:25; Galatians 4;4-5]
Since the rebellion of Adam and Eve, it has always been a mystery to try to look forward in time to try to see God’s timetable for reconciling his image-bearers to himself. Even now, we still do not know when the fullness of time shall come for God to fully remove the corruption from His creation, but 2000 years ago the first stage of God’s redemption was begun. The Son of God, Jesus, would be born to a devout couple but who were of no political or social influence. His childhood was un-newsworthy to the point of it still being mostly unknown. But when Jesus’ brief 3-year public ministry finally begins, it seems that not enough could be written.
To begin his ministry, Jesus, the Son of God, instructed John the Baptist to baptize him. As Jesus went up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and the Father spoke. “This is my son in whom I am well pleased. And so, Jesus, in conversation with the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit established the Kingdom of God on earth. It is very notable that both his birth and life are prophesied about in great detail in the Old Testament[3]. Jesus’ miracles – his healings of the lame, the blind and other diseases; the casting out of demons – validated his ministry. His teachings were given with such authority, Jesus became distinguished greatly among the other teachers of the law. His life, totally without sin, was undeniable. His continually called people to take note that the Kingdom of Heaven (or of God) was near[4]; indeed, the kingdom was visible by His own presence among the people, His restoring people’s health by His healing, and the good news taught to the poor.
Law fulfilled, Life given
[Bible references: Matthew 5:17; Galatians 3:13-14; Romans 5:20-21]
But all of that was not the main point of the Messiah coming to live among us. The main reason the Messiah was born was so that he could die on our behalf. Indeed, his teaching means nothing if he has not resolved the problem of our sin. For that reason, he had to die the death that we were meant to die and to suffer what we were meant to suffer so that he could offer the life he meant us to live.
In Jesus we see the fulfillment of what was spoken of before in the Law and the Prophets about the Law, the Tabernacle and the Sabbath. The Law was given to expose our sins. The Tabernacle was given to show us how our sins could be removed. The Sabbath was given to reveal the rest that was available to us. All these were fulfilled in Jesus. We no longer need the Law to correct us because the law was fulfilled and would now be written in our hearts. We no longer need the Tabernacle (or Temple) because Christ was the sacrifice once and for all. We no longer need to set aside the Sabbath for rest because our rest could now be found in Jesus.
None of the promises given by God were promises for us to keep. There were no rituals or laws for us to keep in order to receive the promises. All was a gift for us to receive which we merely need to receive by faith; the faith that recognized our separation from the righteous and holy God because of our sinful nature and that God’s own loving sacrifice was sufficient to pay the just penalty for our sin and to make us righteous before God. Once our faith recognizes and receives this love of God, we have nothing to do but by His grace turn away from our sin and to turn towards the God who loves us.
First fruits of the Resurrection
[Bible references: Matthew 28: 18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6]
We can have a great confidence in this message because of the resurrection of Jesus. As foretold by scripture and was witnessed by many, three days after Jesus was executed, he was resurrected from the dead, where he continued to preach to the people for many days. On His last day on earth in his bodily form, he commissioned his disciples to take the good news and make disciples in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
During the last days of His ministry, Jesus was making it very clear about His identity as the Son of God. As this became clear, the people’s expectations were that He would then overthrow the Roman government and set up a physical kingdom of Israel – they thought that their salvation would be freedom from the Romans. When it became clear that this was not what Jesus was going to do, they turned on him. Even Jesus’ disciples lost hope upon His death. It wasn’t until Jesus’ resurrection that they began to understand the bigger picture.
After Jesus’ resurrection, the scripture’s prophesies about the Messiah became clearer. For the Messiah needed to come the first time to suffer and die, then the second time the Messiah will come in glory to fully restore the Kingdom. In the meantime, we are living between the first and second coming of the Messiah. The Kingdom is already here, but not yet fully.
When Jesus came the first time, it was to begin to usher in the Kingdom of God – and He made it manifest by his healings and teachings. But now, we are waiting for His return when He will come to fully restore His Kingdom. The first time, Jesus was resurrected. When He comes a second time, there will be a new heaven and earth, and everyone will be resurrected.
[1] Bohstrom, Philippe.” Did David and Solomon’s United Monarchy Exist? Vast Ancient Mining Operation May Hold Answers” Nov 21, 2017 www.haaretz.com/archaeology/MAGAZINE-timna-mines-support-biblical-tale-of-king-david-s-united-kingdom-1.5466612 accessed 2/16/2017
[2] Gutierrez, Juan Marco Benarano. “Judaisms of the Second Temple Period” Forgotten Origins: The Lost Jewish History of Early Christianity, Yaron Publishing 2017
[3] Majoran, Ray. “The Prophecies about Jesus” My Case for God. My Case for Christ. yourbreathinme.com/my-case-for-god-my-case-for-christ/the-prophecies-about-jesus/ accessed 2/16/2019
[4] Book of Matthew 31 times; Luke 32 times
Dancing In The Kingdom 