No Ordinary Kingdom
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Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is standing here among you, and I am it! Believe in the good news!” (Mark 1:15; Matthew 5:17 - a loose translation). Jesus claimed the Kingdom was now present in Himself. Kind of an unordinary thing to say do you not think? Jesus also said, “that the Kingdom of God will not come with something observable, the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21). Jesus said the Kingdom of God would arrive without fanfare. The only audience when Jesus was born were some livestock, Mary and Joseph. Growing up in a carpenter’s home, from Nazareth, would not draw much attention to yourself either, “because nothing good came out of Nazareth” (John 1:46). Jesus walked everywhere, because he could not afford a donkey, a horse, out of the question, though that is what he should have been on. A horse was the animal of royalty, of the rich, of a king. Jesus came to restake his claim of this vineyard world, stolen by death, sin and hearts of men. Instead of mowing down men in battle, He mowed down demons, powers and principalities by love - healing the deaf, mute, dumb and blind, even putting death in the trash with a man by the name of Lazarus. Jesus feed the poor, restored the dignity of a prostitute, made leaders of men who would not be considered worthy of holding office today and trashed those who were in office and felt entitled to being treated as elite.
Everything Jesus did was good. He never committed one mistep. He never uttered one lie, one word of slander, not one word of hate. He did what He said He would do, so that we would know the truth before it happend…knowing that He spoke the truth always. He looked out for all people, not wanting one to go astray, but instead all to know Him, His Father and His Kingdom to come, that was already here. His corronation was announced by a man considered obtuse to society. John was considered a wild man, living on locusts and wild honey, spending his days in the desert walking and talking with God. He called people to repent and confess their sins and to be baptized, to make themselves ready for the King to come who would baptize them with the Spirit Holy (Mark 1:4-8).
On coronation day, Jesus rode into His capital on the foal of a beast of burden, not a horse, to the praise of “Worthy is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mt. 21:5; 9). He cleaned out His throne room, the temple, having been corrupted and perverted by men. He declared the power of His Kingdom is prayer and life in the Holy Spirit (Mt. 21:13). Jesus declared tax collectors and prostitutes would enter His kingdom before men, and women, of mere religious observance, whose hearts were not fully His (Mt. 21:31-32). He declared the consitution of His kingdom, “Love God and love people, as I love you and you learn to love yourself” (Mt. 22:37-40). Calling out the hypocrisy and lawlessness of the religious leaders and His declaration of love, Jesus’ coronation came to it’s climax with His death on a cross, His resurrection from the clutches of death and His ascension to His throne; having put all his enemies, powers and principalities under his feet, including sin and death, through His death and resurrection.
This is exactly how Kingdoms are established on earth…NOT!!! This is no ordinary kingdom.
Jesus’ Kingdom is no ordinary kingdom. It is a kingdom where loving your neighbor and hating your enemy is not acceptable. The hostility rule of hate, is replaced with the rule of extravegant love. He or she who is your enemy, is to be loved as your neighbor, your friend as family.
“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
The standard of the Greco-Roman worldview was to love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Who is my neighbor? That person sitting right next to you, or behind you, or next to you where you live, where you shop, where you fill up, who checks you through the cashier till, the one who curses you and your God. The Kingdom Gospel of Jesus ascends far above the Torah, or the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, or the Law of Moses. Leviticus 19:17-18 called the Israelite to not hate his brother, take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself.
“You must not harbor hatred against your brother. Rebuke your neighbor directly, and you will not incur guilt because of him. Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.
Jesus says, love your enemy as I have told you to love your neighbor, your fellow Israelite. Do not take revenge or bear a grudge. That is a high order. It is easy not to take revenge or bear a grudge amongest ourselves, but with an enemy? One who curses at you, cheats you of a descent wage, lets you go, does unneighborly things to annoy you or poke at you? Just a second Jesus, I cannot even meet that call to the kingdom with my own church family! So we need to take care of the log in our own eyes, before we can see clearly the speck in the others.
I am to love those who inflict suffering, injury or even death on me. I am to love and forgive those who hate me, aggrevate me, annoy me, make you pull your hair out. Why? Jesus says so that you may be sons (& daughters) of the King in Heaven (v.44). Am I a son or daughter of the King, of Jesus? Jesus says, “You know me, I know you, you are My friend, if you do as I command” (John 15:14). Jesus says, “you will remain in Me, and I in you, if you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples” (John 15:7). This is not an either/or proposition, loving your “enemies” is a command and expectation of Our King, not an option, or we are illegitimate children, for Satan to have and hold. We are to love because of God’s common grace, His common love, His common favor upon all His creation. He makes it to shine and rain on all his creation and created beings; on both the righteous and unrighteous; the holy and unholy; the perfect and imperfect. We all know that nobody is perfect except for God Himself - Father, Son and Holy Spirit, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
To love an enemy is to be extraordinary and to be part of no ordinary Kingdom.
Be Perfect as I Am Perfect
Interesting, that Jesus calls you and I to be perfect. Jesus said,
For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
To live as part of the Kingdom of God, one is expected to be perfect, not ordinary.
Perfect (teleios) means to be fit, mature, fully grown.
a process of moral character
becoming holy as God is holy (Lev. 19:2)
Sanctification
It is our present status (Eph. 4:11-12), but also our standing in Christ (Heb 10:14) and future hope and glory and Jesus’ return and our resurrection (Phil. 3:10-12)
Three Stages of Perfection
Saving Perfection - Christ’s death guarantees forever the perfection or redemption of those being set apart for God.
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.
Maturing Perfection - Sanctification, the “perfecting of the saints” (Eph. 4:12; 1 Jn. 4:17-18)
Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
Resurrection Perfection - The believers purpose and aim is to achieve resurrection from the dead and unto perfection.
My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.
Embracing Jesus’ command to “love” leads to our perfection.
When we embrace and pursue Jesus’ command to love without boarders, we are becoming perfect and becoming mastered by His Kingdom story.
The Kingdom Gospel Story
Becoming perfect involves mastering the Kingdom Story, and being master by the Kingdom Story. To be mastered by God’s love is to become mastered by the Kingdom Gospel.
Am I mastered by the Kingdom Story? Have I mastered the Kingdom Story?