We left off last week with the determination that Jesus came for the poor. Jesus himself said that he was sent for the purpose of proclaiming good news to the poor. In the Greek the word for good news is also the same word for gospel. In the New Testament they are used interchangeably in many places. You will read one translation and you might see good news and in another you will see gospel. When we read that we are called to spread the gospel, it means we are to spread the good news. In other words the good news that Jesus proclaimed to the poor is the same good news we are to proclaim. So what was the good news that Jesus was proclaiming to the poor?
As you read the gospels, particularly Matthew, Mark and Luke, the synoptic, you will see one word or phrase emerge as a theme that is connected to the good news, the Kingdom of Heaven. In Matthew 3 John the Baptist is preparing the way for Jesus’ coming. He is preparing the way for the proclamation of the gospel to the poor. The very first words John speaks in the gospel of Matthew in order to prepare the away is “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Then when Jesus begins his ministry in Matthew his very first words after the temptation are in 4:17 “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Jesus came for a purpose, in order to bring a message and that message was the Kingdom of Heaven. The good news, the gospel is the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ ministry as it says in 4:23 consists of “teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”
So what is the Kingdom of Heaven that it would be declared the good news and it would bring the son of God out of the heavens and onto this earth as a man? We turn to Isaiah 9:1-7 and we’ll read about it.
Isaiah 9:1-7 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. 3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the restoration of everything back to the way it was supposed to be. In the beginning of creation there was Adam and Eve. There was perfection. There was peace, justice, righteousness. As we know when sin entered the world it created a chasm between us and our God. When we allowed darkness to enter where it was not meant to be everything became corrupted. Suffering entered our world. Justice became perverted and righteousness an afterthought. Every bit of pain we endure, every atrocity we witness committed is a direct result of the brokenness of our world due to sin and its hold in our lives and the rest of creation. The curse of sin did not simply corrupt humanity, but it corrupted creation as well. Natural disasters, among many other things became prevalent amidst a groaning creation. The Kingdom of Heaven is the restoration of all that is right and good. It is the abolition of oppression and suffering. The Kingdom of Heaven is v.2, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” This is what Jesus came proclaiming. The good news is that the time has come for everything to be set right again. We have been dwelling in deep darkness but we are coming to the light. Joy has come on this day. That inescapable joy that eluded this world for so long is returning. War will be no more. There will only be peace. No more pain, no more suffering. The Kingdom of Heaven is here. Everything that you could possibly imagine being messed up, the kingdom is the opposite. It is everything true and right. It is a just king, a just rule, a harvest of joy and righteousness. This is the Kingdom of Heaven and the good news that Jesus came to proclaim. Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But he didn’t simply say the kingdom was at hand but that it was here right now. He said, look around you demons are cast out and the lame healed, the kingdom is upon you. The kingdom is here right now. But this confuses us, because if the kingdom meant the correction of wrong and the redemption of justice then why are things such a mess. That is not an easy answer, and there are a lot of so called solutions to this problem, but I think we should let Jesus explain that. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43;
Matthew 13:24-30 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, 'No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
Matthew 13:36-43 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
He says the Kingdom might be compared to and then tells the parable of the weeds. God is not the only one at work in this world. We often underestimate sin and place in the realm of verb. It is an action we do and nothing more. But according to scripture sin is not a verb but a proper noun. Sin is a living an active force that is fighting against us. It isn’t simply something we perform but rather it is something that performs us. Sin in itself is attempting to pull as away from the kingdom. So here in the parable of the weeds we have Jesus who has planted the kingdom of heaven. He has come to bring an end to the suffering of this world. To produce a good and righteous crop full of joy and pleasure. But the enemy, the evil one, sin has come in the night and refuses to go down without a fight. In its death throes it is going to takes as many as it can get. So it casts the seeds of weeds among the good crop, among the kingdom. But to uproot the evil, it might also uproot the good. Think about that passage in 2 Peter where it says that God is not slow to act, but he is rather not willing to allow any to perish. God doesn’t simply end the world because then imagine all of his children that would be uprooted and destroyed because haven’t yet come to know him yet. So it is here. The Kingdom of Heaven is present but not complete. To bring about the completeness of the Kingdom of Heaven would bring about the loss of the very thing Christ came for. So suffering continues. The pain remains. Justice has not yet come to eradicate oppression. But the kingdom is coming. The day of harvest will arrive, and then there will be no more weeds, no more poverty. Or lets look at the parable between the parable of the weeds and its explanation. Matthew 13:31-33;
Matthew 13:31-33 He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." 33 ¶ He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."
The kingdom of heaven is here. It might be small, you may have a hard time identifying it, but every day it grows larger. It takes time for it to grow, but when it does it will be so great and massive that it cannot be contained. When Jesus came he brought that little tiny seed and he planted it. Then he sent out his disciples. They watered it and it grew. Then there were more disciples, and more, and more. The Kingdom is ever expanding and growing larger and larger with every day. The day of the harvest is coming, but until that day gets here the Kingdom will continue to grow. This is what Jesus came to proclaim. The beginning of redemption. The start of the process of reconciliation of creation to God.
And just as Jesus said over and over again in the beatitudes of Matthew 5, Blessed are the poor, whether that be in literal monetary, spiritually, or whatever, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The very ones Jesus came for. The ones who have been victimized by the sin of this world, fro them the Kingdom of Heaven has come. Jesus came to bring good news. That news is that our pain and suffering has not gone unnoticed. God doesn’t stand by uncaring, but God has acted and is acting. Redemption is coming. The comfort and rest proclaimed in Hebrews is growing. God has redeemed us. There is no reason to lose hope, no purpose in giving up. We only need to hold on a little longer and all will be well. There is hope. This is the good news, the gospel. God has heard our cries and he is fixing it even now. We know one day there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering. The day of rest is coming, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
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