The King of the Prophesied Kingdom

Transcript

GRM 994
12/23/2007
The King of the Prophesied Kingdom
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh


If you've been at Indian Hills regularly over the last few weeks we've been studying the matter of the kingdom of God, the kingdom that is talked about in the scripture. We've been particularly focusing in our recent studies on the kingdom prophesied by the prophets of the Old Testament and further announced in the New Testament, a kingdom that would be established by Jesus Christ on the earth over which He would rule and reign in righteousness, a kingdom to encompass all kingdoms, all nations, characterized by remarkable events such as the removal of death, the removal of sickness, sorrow. All conflict between nations, between animals will be done away with. I want to continue that theme in our study today. And even if you've not been with us on the previous studies, I think you will pick up the thread of what we are emphasizing.

We will start in II Samuel 7, we have a number of verses we're going to look at, but after a few verses in the Old Testament, we'll focus our attention on a limited portion of the New Testament so that it doesn't involve a lot of roaming through the scripture today. The foundational covenant that God established with the nation Israel was the Abrahamic Covenant, beginning in Genesis 12. That was a covenant made with Abraham and his descendants, the Jewish people. Would come Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, then the twelve sons of Jacob which would be the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. God entered into a unique and special covenantal relationship with the nation Israel. That continues down until this day and there is much of that covenantal relationship that yet has to be fulfilled, and that's much of what we are talking about when we talk about the coming kingdom of God that will be established on the earth. The Davidic Covenant that is established in II Samuel 7 is an elaboration of just one portion of the Abrahamic Covenant, and what the Davidic Covenant is, it is a covenant God established with King David and his descendants. And in that covenant He guarantees to David that it will be a descendant of his that will sit on the throne over Israel for eternity.

Look at II Samuel 7:11, the end of the verse, God speaking to David through the prophet, the Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. It is a descendant of David who will have his kingdom established. That's why we talk about a Davidic kingdom or a Davidic throne, because it is the throne on which the descendant of David will sit. He shall build a house for My name, I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.

Look down at verse 16, your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. Now there is no confusion here in David's mind, nor should there be in our minds what God is talking about. David is a literal person, a human person, sitting on a literal throne, ruling over a literal, earthly kingdom, the nation Israel. And God says to David it will be one of your descendants, so it has to be a human, sitting on your throne, ruling forever. The kingdom will not end. There is only one kind of kingdom being talked about here—an earthly kingdom, ruled over by an earthly king, a human being sitting on a throne ruling over a nation.

Come over to Daniel 2. In chapter 2 God unfolds what the future will be for earthly kingdoms. And in a dream of the night Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, sees the image of a man, a splendid image. Daniel the prophet is called and interprets this vision for Nebuchadnezzar. And what this image does is unfold the coming empires of the world, beginning with the existing empire, Babylon. Following Babylon there will be the empire of the Medes and the Persians, the Medo-Persian empire, sometimes just called the Persian empire because of its dominance. Then the Greek empire, then the Roman empire. And the Roman empire will ultimately be divided into two—the eastern and western division, symbolized with the two legs of the man. Then further divided in its final form into ten toes, ten nations confederated together into a united empire. In the days of those kings, we are told in verse 44, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom. That's why when we get to the New Testament we're going to talk about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven because it is established by God or established by heaven. The God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. That kingdom will not be left for another people, it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. At a point in time and history God will dramatically intervene and the picture, back in verse 34, was of a stone cut without hands and struck the statue on its feet and crushed them. The iron, the clay, the bronze, all the other metals representing empires. The stone that struck the statue, the end of verse 35, became a great mountain or a great kingdom, filled the whole earth. So you see at a point in time God will dramatically intervene and shatter the kingdoms of the earth, and set up a kingdom over which His Son will rule, a descendant of David, according to II Samuel 7. He will rule not only over the kingdom of Israel, but He will rule over the kingdoms of the earth.

Turn over to Daniel 7. In Daniel 7 Daniel sees a vision and dream at night. Different imagery, instead of a statue of a man here you have wild beasts. But they portray the same information—the coming world empires, beginning with the existing one. Babylon, then Medo-Persia, then Greece, then Rome, the final form of the Roman Empire being ten nations or kingdoms joined together, ultimately dominated by one king. And then at that time the God of heaven will intervene and establish the throne of His Son on the earth, which will endure forever. What happens down through the first eight verses, you have the unfolding of this vision, climaxing in the final form of earthly world government. The western world dominated by a ten-nation confederacy, ruled by one dominant person. Then you have a heavenly scene in verses 9-10 where God prepared to intervene in the affairs of earth in a direct way, by shattering earthly kingdoms and setting up the kingdom of His Son.

Verse 13, I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven one like the Son of Man was coming. Here in this heavenly before the throne of God in heaven comes one like a Son of Man. That emphasizes the humanity of Christ, He has for all eternity been deity, but at Bethlehem He took to Himself humanity. Christ's favorite title for Himself, in the gospels He is referred to as the Son of Man 83 times and 82 of those times He uses it of Himself. One time it is used in a question, are you indeed the Son of Man, by those who are questioning Him. So it becomes a title of Messiah. The Jews recognized it, it connects back to Daniel 7. Their Messiah would be the Son of Man because He has to be a man, because He has to be a descendant of David to sit on the throne of David. Remember it will be your descendant, your seed who will sit on the throne forever. So here comes one like the Son of Man before the throne of the Ancient of Days in glory, was presented before Him. Now note, to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the people, the nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.

It's clear, what are the kingdoms that are replaced here? They are earthly kingdoms—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. They happen in the context of this world, on the earth, ruled by a sovereign. Nebuchadnezzar was on the throne of Babylon, he saw the vision in chapter 2. The kingdom that God is talking about that smashes all earthly kingdoms and is set up to rule forever is a kingdom on this earth. And in our previous studies we've looked at a number of passages related to this and there are an overwhelming number of passages permeating the Old Testament on the kingdom that God has prophesied over which His Son will rule.

Now this is the background when we come to the New Testament, so come to the gospel of Luke we have the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist who would be the forerunner, the one who would come before the Messiah to prepare the nation for His arrival. Then you had the information relating to the birth of the Messiah Himself. Look in chapter 1 verse 26. And we've skipped over the first part where the angel appears to Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, and announces that he and his wife will have a son, and that son will be the one to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Now in verse 26 the angel Gabriel appears to Mary. The wife of Zacharias is already six months' pregnant. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David. Very important point. Remember II Samuel 7? God said to David, your descendant will sit on the throne over a kingdom forever. We're talking about a physical throne with a physical descendant. So here Mary and Joseph are in the Davidic line. We won't be taking the time to establish that, but very crucial point that Christ the Messiah of Israel be of the line of David. So they are of the descendants of David.

The virgin's name was Mary, he greets her. He tells her in verse 30 not to be afraid because you have found favor with God. Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You shall name him Jesus, Joshua, Jehovah Savior. He will be great, verse 32, will be called the Son of the Most High. Now note this, the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. Here is the ultimate, final fulfillment of the covenant that God established with David 1000 years earlier in II Samuel 7.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and His kingdom will have no end. Now we've come from the Old Testament to the New Testament, but we're still dealing with Jews and the Jewish nation, Jewish people. We are dealing with people from the tribe of Judah and of the line of David. And the angel comes and speaks about the Son that will be born will be given by God the throne of David. And His kingdom will have no end. Now if you are a Jew who has been raised on the Old Testament, what is the connection? It's not a problem, is it? That's exactly what God promised to David in II Samuel 7. That's exactly what I read would happen in Daniel 2, Daniel 7, and we could have gone on. Unto us a child is born, a son is given and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. What are you as a Jew thinking? This is the kingdom. I say this because some people come and say, we're in the New Testament so when they talk about a kingdom they must be talking about something else. Can you believe there are some writers who say, verse 33, the house of Jacob is the church, and the kingdom has become a kingdom of the heart. No Jew would understand that? Why does he have to be a descendant of David? He has to sit on the throne of David. Where did David's throne exist? In Jerusalem, on the earth. He has to replace the kingdoms of the earth with a kingdom that will never end. So at the very beginning we read about the announcement before He is conceived, then an angel says you will conceive by an act of the Holy Spirit, you will supernaturally bear a child who is going to be the king of Israel.

Look in Luke 2. The end of chapter 1 verse 67, when John the Baptist is born Zacharias gives a prophecy and he says in verse 68, blessed by the Lord God of Israel. For He has visited us to accomplish redemption for His people, raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servants. So he realizes we are on the brink of the coming of the Messiah because the angel has told me my son will go to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus is born in Bethlehem and the shepherds that are out in the fields that night watching their flocks have a supernatural appearance to them by angels. Verse 8, in the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, watching over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them and they are frightened. The angel said, don't be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For today in the City of David, Bethlehem, there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Christ, the Greek word Christos, the anointed one, the Messiah, the one anointed by God to rule. He is the Savior, He will be a Savior for Israel in every way, a Savior spiritually, a Savior physically. He has been born at Bethlehem. What are these shepherds thinking? What is the angel talking about? Christ the Lord, I wonder what that means. They understand perfectly, they are Jewish shepherds. The Messiah has been born at Bethlehem, David's city, because that is what the Old Testament requires, that He sit on the throne of David as David's descendant. Remarkable prophecies.

Come back to Matthew's gospel. Two of the four gospels, Matthew and Luke, concentrate on the physical birth of Christ. Note the first 17 verses of Matthew, these are verses that often we skip over when we are doing our Bible-reading because we get into verses like verse8.. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Joseph, Joseph the father of Aha, Ahas the father of Hezekiah. And it goes on and you say, that's really helpful. I wonder why the Lord puts all this in there because I don't even remember who all these guys are. But it is essential to know that the Messiah be qualified by His lineage to sit on the throne of David. So verse 1, we're tracing the record of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. We're all the way back to Abraham, but the time is spent on showing he is in the line of David. Because you could be Jew but not be qualified to set on the throne of David. You have to be a descendant of David. So that's what these first 17 verses do, show that the Messiah is a legitimate descendant of King David.

Come down to verse 20, the angel appears to tell Joseph who is engaged to Mary, that his wife is pregnant but it is a virgin birth. She is conceived by the Holy Spirit, she hasn't been unfaithful to Joseph. Verse 21, she will bear a Son, you will call His name Jesus, He will save His people from their sins. He was the one who fulfills the prophecies like Isaiah 7:14. Verse 23, the virgin will be with child, bear a Son, they shall call His name Immanuel, which means God with us, because He will not only be Son of Man, He will be Son of God. He is both divine and human, He is the God/Man. He will save His people from their sins. He is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies. Joseph has no misunderstanding of whom we are talking about here. Some of the greatest prophecies of the coming of Messiah, of His coming rule and reign are found in Isaiah, usually considered the greatest of the writing prophets in the Old Testament.

Then we come to chapter 2. Some time has passed and magi, as we refer to them, wise men from the east, arrive in Jerusalem, and they ask the question, verse 2, where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and we have come to worship Him. They had some time earlier, some time within the last two years, seen a star and understood that star indicated the King of the Jews had been born. Now the capital of the Jewish nation is Jerusalem. The King of the Jews has been born, so we'll go to the capital. We want to worship this King. Now this is amazing. Why do wise men from the east want to travel that long, arduous, dangerous journey to come to Jerusalem to worship someone who has been born King of the Jews? You understand at this point in time the Jews were a little nothing of a nation. They have a king, but their king is not even a Jew. He is Herod the Idumean. And he rules just because the mighty Roman emperor who rules the Roman world has installed him. Why in the world do these men want to travel all this way to bow before a baby who has been born King of the Jews?

They come to Jerusalem and they expect everybody will know. All they have to say is where is the King of the Jews? Oh you'll find Him right over here. Nobody knows. Where is He? They're not celebrating. How did they know we don't know? You know perhaps some of Daniel's prophecies, remember Daniel was in the east at Babylon when he received his revelations and prophecies that we have in the book of Daniel. Maybe some of those had circulated over there. We're not told, but these men come to worship the King of the Jews.

The Jewish leaders have no problem in telling them, well if a King of the Jews has been born, there is only one place where the legitimate King of the Jews can be born—Bethlehem. Now here you are in the capital city, Jerusalem, and you're going to be sent five miles south to a little nothing of a town called Bethlehem. The Jewish leaders, there is no celebration going on, there is nothing going on. Herod the king even had to call the leaders of the Jews to find out for sure where He was born. But if you know the Old Testament prophecies, you know where the Messiah has to be born. Micah the prophet had prophesied that the Messiah would be born at Bethlehem. So you see the Jews are looking for a human descendant of David who will be born at Bethlehem and is born to be the Messiah, the King, God's anointed, appointed ruler. That's what the birth of Christ is all about. He's the King of the Jews.

Come to Matthew 3. John the Baptist begins his ministry. Now in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What's John doing? He's preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah. The picture of the prophets is like a king was coming to a city. Well you know they didn't have paved roads in those days so prepare the way for the arrival of the king, there would be workers that would go before and smooth out the road, smooth the potholes and so on so that the king could have a smooth road to arrive on, a prepared road. So it became a picture of preparing the way for the arrival of the royal person. That's John the Baptist's role. What did he announce to the nation? I am here to prepare you for the coming of the Messiah. What do you need to do? Repent. Why? The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of heaven is not something within the heart of an individual person. The Jew had no concept of that. They're looking for someone to sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem, to rule as the Savior of Israel over the nations of the world.

The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom that has been established by heaven on earth. The God of heaven will establish His kingdom on the earth, ruled by the Son of Man, who is also the Son of God. Why do they have to repent if this kingdom is coming? What is going to happen according to the prophets when the Messiah comes? He is going to judge all unbelievers for their sin, and He's going to reward those who have repented of their sin and trusted in Him by privileging them to be part of His kingdom.

So John goes on down in verse 10, he's telling the leaders of Israel they need to repent, genuinely turn from their sin. Verse 10, the ax is already laid at the root of the trees, therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. What's he talking about? The one who comes after me is mightier than I, I'm not worthy even to fasten or unfasten His sandals. The end of verse 11, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Believers will be baptized with the Holy Spirit, unbelievers will be baptized with fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand, He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor, He will gather His wheat into the barn, He will burn up chaff with unquenchable fire. Picture drawn from the prophets, you can follow the cross references back into the Old Testament—Isaiah, Jeremiah. The Jews clearly understood, when the Messiah comes it will be first a day of judgment when He will pour out His wrath on unbelieving rebels and then he will reward those who have repented of their sin and been genuinely looking forward to His coming to establish His kingdom.

That's why the message is repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The kingdom of the Messiah is coming near to you by virtue of the fact the King is present on earth and going to be offering the kingdom. You had better get ready. That's John the Baptist's role.

Jesus is led away in the wilderness following His baptism and then He begins His public ministry. Look at chapter 4 verse 17, from that time Jesus began to preach and say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He doesn't explain to the Jews, I've come to tell you about a different kind of kingdom. You've been looking for a physical kingdom, but I want to tell you it's a kingdom in your heart. No, there are no passages like that, none. There is only one kind of kingdom that is talked about in the gospels, in the rest of scripture for that matter. That is the kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament. He makes on change. John the Baptist, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets comes as an Old Testament prophet. What does he preach? The kingdom that was prophesied in the Old Testament. And it's going to be set up on this earth, and only those who have turned from their sin and believed in the Messiah will be part of it. You'd better get ready. Jesus begins His public ministry as the Messiah. What is His announcement? Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And the kingdom will not be established unless first there comes judgment. This is the time for you to repent.

During His earthly ministry Jesus did many might miracles. Do you know why He did many mighty miracles? Well He was filled with compassion. He had a social program to help the poor, help the needy, heal the sick. That's not the reason did this. True, He had compassion; true, His actions had social impact. But His miracles were of a specific nature. Turn to Matthew 4. He started to preach the message of the kingdom. Come down to verse 23, Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues. Who is He talking to? Jews. What's He doing? Proclaiming the good news, the gospel, the good news of the kingdom. What kingdom? There were not any Jews who would ask that question. To ask that question would mean you were totally ignorant of the Old Testament. And what did the Jews pride themselves on? Knowing the Old Testament. When Herod called the Jewish leaders and asked, where will the King of the Jews be born? They didn't say, we don't know. It's in Micah 5 as we have it. Bethlehem, it has to be Bethlehem. No other options. Even though that's the only place where it says it will be Bethlehem, it has to be Bethlehem. And that's consistent with the fact that He'll be a descendant of David.

So now He is proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. And, verse 23, healing every kind of disease, every kind of sickness. Why? We don't have time to go back and redo, some of you have been here for previous studies, what are the characteristics of the kingdom that the Messiah of Israel would establish on the earth. There will be no sickness, there will be no disease, there will be no death, there will be no pain, there will be no violence, there will be no war. The lion will eat straw like the ox, the baby can play with the poisonous snake. They will not hurt or destroy anywhere in My kingdom. So here Jesus is demonstrating, I'm preaching that the kingdom is at hand and I'm demonstrating it. I am the king. Here is what is going to happen when I establish the kingdom. Disease will be removed.

So the word spreads, verse 24, they are bringing to Him those with various diseases. He healed them. Why? Because He is the King. I'm giving you a taste of the kingdom, an added incentive to get ready, repent. To receive Me and welcome Me as your king so that the kingdom can be established. Because you understand the Old Testament prophets were clear, the establishing of the kingdom on earth was conditioned upon the reception of the King by the Jews. It didn't mean that His rejection would nullify the kingdom, but it wouldn't be established until that time. We'll say more about that in a moment.

Look in Matthew 8:16. We're emphasizing this because some of you come out of different backgrounds. Augustine, as we've talked about, back in the 5th century began to promote the idea, and he changed his mind during his lifetime, that instead of there being a literal physical, earthly kingdom, it would be a spiritual kingdom in hearts. That became the doctrine of the Roman Catholic church as it developed, it was the doctrine of the Reformers—Calvin, Luther and so on. It came out of Catholicism and has continued down. And so confusion. People think the kingdom is just spiritual, in your hearts. No, the kingdom is spiritual in the sense it is comprised of those who have had a spiritual transformation of heart by the power of the King. But it has always been a kingdom established on the earth, that's the only kind of kingdom the prophets talked about.

We're not in the kingdom now. And confusion on that causes people who are running around saying we are in the third wave movement, as they refer to it in charismatic circles. And that means we're in the kingdom and we ought to be healing the sick and raising the dead and dealing with poverty. Not so, folks. This is just demonstrating the kingdom is at hand when Christ is present on the earth.

Matthew 8:16, when evening came they brought to Him many who were demon possessed and cast out the spirits with a word, healed all who were ill. Why? This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah 53, Messianic passage, He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases. This is what the Messiah will do. And you get to Revelation 22, there is no sickness, there is no disease, there is no dying, there is no pain, there are no tears. We are in the kingdom that is eternal and all those things are gone. Don't even remember them anymore. So the miracles of Christ are demonstration, irrefutable evidence that He is the Messiah of Israel.

Look in chapter 9 verse 35. Things are happening here. Verse 34, the Pharisees were saying He cast out the demons by the ruler of the demons. They are not impressed by irrefutable miracles. Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues. Who is He ministering to? Jews, Jews, Jews. The kingdom cannot be established on the earth until the Jews respond in faith to Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah. He was proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. It goes hand in hand with the kingdom. If the kingdom is at hand, if the King is present, we should see demonstrations of His power. The King is not on earth now, He is seated at the right hand of His Father in heaven, awaiting the time when He will go before His Father's throne in glory, as Daniel 7 said, and receive the authority now to come to the earth to establish His kingdom.

Look at Matthew 10. He summoned His twelve disciples, verse 1, and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out, to heal every kind of disease, ever kind of sickness. So here are the twelve disciples, they are going to go out on His behalf as His representatives to spread the word, the King is here. How do we know you are telling the truth? Christ gives them the power to heal, to overpower demons. Where do they go? Verse 5, they are sent out, they don't go to the Gentiles, they don't go to the Samaritans. They don't go to Gentiles, non-Jews, they don't go to Samaritans who are mixed blood. They were a mixture of Gentile/Jews, Jews and Gentiles who had intermarried. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and as you go, preach saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's a kingdom promised to Israel, it's a kingdom announced to Israel. It is a kingdom that will ultimately encompass the world, but it centers in Israel. It cannot be established on the earth until the nation Israel turns from their sin and rejection and trusts in the Messiah. So the twelve go out. They don't go to tell Gentiles the King of Israel is here. They go to tell Jews the King is here and demonstrate a sampling of the kingdom.

Down in Matthew 12. Matthew 12 is a turning point in the gospel of Matthew. With Matthew 12 we won't have the kingdom offered to the nation anymore in Matthew. It is a kingdom rejected. Jesus Christ has three offices—prophet, priest and king. He is demonstrated to be superior and claimed His superiority over prophets, priests and kings in Israel in chapter 12. Note them, verse 6, I say to you something greater than the temple is here. The temple was the focus of priestly activity. But as a priest He is superior to the priests in Israel and their priestly activity. He is a prophet and greater than all the Old Testament prophets. So the end of verse 41 says, something greater than Jonah is here. And He is king. In verse 42 we are told something greater than Solomon, the most splendid of Israel's kings, is here. As prophet, priest and king He is superior. But in verse 28 we see what has happened. Christ has cast the demon out of an individual, showing He has authority over the realm of satan. The Jewish leaders say He casts out demons by the power of the prince of demons, Beelzebul. Verse 28, if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. You know there is no denying this. If I am casting out demons by the power of the Spirit of God, then I must be the Messiah of Israel, I must be the King here offering you the kingdom.

But you know what happens? They say He is casting demons out by demons. He is using the power of the devil to cast out demons. Verse 31, I say to you any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. See what happens here. We have a turning point. The nation at that point in time, that generation in the nation has committed a sin that results now in the offer of the kingdom being withdrawn from them. God is not done with the nation because He can't be, He's promised the nation. But He is done with the nation at this period of time. Now the nation will come under judgment and they will experience all that that judgment will bring about. Look in verse 32, it will not be forgiven him in this age or in the age to come, which in the Jewish perspective they would be anticipating the kingdom. But for them, their action as a nation is accepted as final.

You come down to chapter 13, a chapter that is often misunderstood. Here you have a series of parables told by Christ to the people. Something new has happened. It hasn't been Jesus' pattern to teach in parables. Now He begins to teach in parables. We think Jesus told these stories to help clarify the truth. That is not correct. Jesus spoke in parables to hide the truth from unbelievers. The disciples asked Him in verse 10, after He told the parable here, why do you speak to them in parables? Jesus answered them, to you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, to them it has not been granted. Verse 13, therefore I speak to them in parables, because while seeing they do not see, while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And that fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah concerning them.

Do you see what has happened here? He is telling them truth but He is telling them truth in a form that they don't have any idea what He is talking about. You see now the offer of the kingdom, the truth, is being withheld from them. They have rejected Him, God has accepted their rejection as final. That means the kingdom will not be established at this point. Now you'll note in verse 11 Jesus said, to you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. We're still talking about the kingdom of heaven. He doesn't talk about a mystery form of the kingdom. I don't know where we get that. He doesn't say you need to know the mystery form of the kingdom, or a new form of the kingdom that is mysterious. I want to tell you mysteries. What are mysteries? Well there are things down in verse 17 the prophets of the Old Testament didn't see, didn't understand. They weren't there in the presence of the Messiah. A mystery is something that could not be known without revelation from God. God is going to give new revelation regarding the kingdom. There are mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, mysteries regarding the kingdom that God will establish on the earth. It doesn't change the kingdom in any way. It's the exact kingdom with the exact same characteristics with the exact same king that the Old Testament prophesied. Do you know what the mystery being revealed in chapter 13 in these parables is? There is going to be a delay, if I can use that word, in the establishing of the kingdom. What did the Old Testament see? They saw the Messiah coming to earth. He would suffer and die, Isaiah 53; He would rule and reign in glory, Isaiah 2, 9, 11. They didn't know what that meant. Peter wrote in his letter that the Old Testament prophets saw His suffering and death, saw His ruling and reigning in glory, and they couldn't understand how both could be true. And so you know what they did? What we often do, we pick out what we like. What do we like? The suffering and death and rejection of the Messiah? No. Ruling, reigning in glory and a kingdom for Israel. So that's what they are looking for.

So what these parables, and there is a series of them, do is they don't change anything about the kingdom, they just tell us there is going to be a time lapse. The kingdom will not be established with the King at His first coming to earth. Rather, there is going to be a time of sowing the Word of God and preaching about the coming kingdom. And then at a later time the King will return, after having departed, and He will then establish His kingdom. So He talks about that time between the first coming of Christ and the Second Coming. It begins with the first coming of Christ. Look at the parable of the tares explained, the wheat and the tares. You know seed sown in the field, then an enemy comes and sows tares among the wheat. And they grow together until the harvest, verse 30, as Christ told the parable. Allow both to grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, first gather up the tares. Bind them into bundles to burn them up, gather the wheat to my barn. Sounds a little bit like John the Baptist, didn't it? Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, the winnowing fork is in His hand, He will separate the wheat from the chaff. Here separate the wheat from the tares.

Jesus explains the parable, verse 36, to His disciples. The disciples don't understand what is going on in these parables either, because they still don't grasp there is going to be a time gap between the coming of Christ to earth and His return to establish His kingdom. Verse 36, Jesus said, the One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. So there is the preaching of the truth regarding the kingdom, truth regarding the King, the establishing of the kingdom. That began with the preaching of Christ. So the One who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world. The field is not the church. Some people got some idea somewhere that the field is the church so we ought to baptize babies and let them grow up in the church and don't try to sort out believers and unbelievers because the wheat and the tares grow together. Well the wheat and the tares grow together in the world, the wheat and the tares don't grow together in the church. You understand the field is the world, the cosmos, not the eklesia. The field is the world, the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, the reapers are the angels. Just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man, Daniel 7, the Messiah who receives His kingdom from His Father before the throne of heaven. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, they'll gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, those who commit lawlessness, throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. That's a yet future event. We haven't separated the wheat from the tares, we are not shining in the kingdom. I mean, no change in the kingdom here. You know what's changed? We are told there is going to be a delay, a time lapse between the first coming of Christ, and there will be a Second Coming. A first coming to suffer and die, a Second Coming to rule and reign.

Look over in chapter 16. What is Christ now preaching? Look at verse 21, from that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day. Wait a minute, you're the Messiah. The Messiah will establish a kingdom, establish the throne of David on this earth over which He will rule over a kingdom which will never end. What about this suffering and dying? Even His disciples don't understand. We're all familiar, you know who speaks up here—Peter. And what does he say in verse 22? God forbid. Lord, this shall never happen to you. I mean, Peter with his failure to understand what Christ is saying, he thinks he is defending what God has said. But he has just picked out a portion that he likes. I mean, I'm waiting to get set up on a throne with you in your kingdom. What are you talking about, going to Jerusalem to be crucified and to be raised from the dead. We've been following you for three years, waiting to go to Jerusalem to set up your throne.

You see they don't understand. He's told them the parables but they still can't put together that the plan of God involves a first coming and a Second Coming to earth of the Messiah of Israel, and a time gap in between. The parables of Matthew 13 unfolded that time gap, but they still don't understand it. But Christ is telling them now, and He says you have to understand what following Me means. Doesn't mean now we're going to start a kingdom and it's going to be glory from here on. So you have verse 24, He said to His disciples, if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny Himself, take up His cross and follow Me. I'm calling you to a life of suffering, a life of rejection. I'm going to take up My cross at Jerusalem and suffer and die. If you're going to be a follower of Mine you have to take up a cross and be like Me and follow Me.

All of a sudden this is a different message. Repent the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Sickness will be removed, disease will be removed, death will be removed. Now you're telling me we're talking about a cross and death at Jerusalem. You see He's been rejected by the nation. That rejection is accepted as final.

Look at chapter 20 verse 18. What does He say to His disciples? He took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, verse 17, and said, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, they will condemn Him to death, hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock, scourge and crucify Him. The third day He'll be raised up. _________________ change that has occurred in the message. You know what? The mother of the sons of Zebedee comes up to Jesus following this and says to Him, I'd like to ask, could one of my sons sit on your right hand and the other on your left hand in the kingdom? Verse 21, command that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and one on your left. What are the Jews still looking for? Here the mother of the sons of Zebedee, every Jewish woman as well as every Jewish man knew that when Messiah comes He will set up the kingdom. What does Jesus say? Oh, lady, you still don't get it. The kingdom is in our heart, there is no throne for your son to sit on one side and your other son to sit on the other side. Get it, it's in your heart. That's not what He says. You know what He says? It's my Father who will decide who sits on the right hand and on My left hand in My kingdom. She didn't have any misunderstanding of the kingdom, that it will be a literal physical kingdom with Christ sitting in a physical body on a physical throne in Jerusalem. The point is that's not going to happen right now.

And we have to stop here because I had originally planned that the Sunday before Christmas we were going to go through the Second Coming of Christ to earth. And here we are, I have all the notes if you have the time, but we can't go that far. But understand according to the Old Testament prophets, according to the New Testament revelation, the kingdom of God will not be established on the earth until the nation Israel recognizes the horror that they have crucified their Messiah, that Jesus of Nazareth is their Messiah and their Savior, and they repent of their sins and turn and cry, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. And then Christ returns in splendor and glory to destroy the enemies of Israel, to set up judgment and destroy the rebels in Israel, and to take believing Jews and believing Gentiles into the kingdom that He will set up upon the earth.

So we live in this period of time between the first coming and the Second Coming of Christ, where the message of Jesus Christ is proclaimed, where the message of His Second Coming to earth to establish His kingdom is proclaimed, and where the call goes out to men and women, understand who Jesus Christ is, the eternal Son of God, born at Bethlehem to be the descendant of David, to rule and reign. But first to suffer and die, because only those who have received the righteousness of God through forgiveness can go into His kingdom. And the only way to receive the righteousness of God applied to us is to bow and repent of our sins, stop trusting everything we're trusting in and place our faith in Christ. You know Israel couldn't let go of their convictions, their beliefs. We'll be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, we'll go to heaven because we're Jews, we've been circumcised. We're all right. Couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge they were guilty before God, under condemnation, under judgment, so they rejected their Messiah. Same basic issue today. Hard to reach church people, hard to reach religious people. They are convinced they are already okay, which is another way of saying Christ didn't need to come in the first place. But He did and He came and He suffered and He died and He was raised and He is alive. And He is coming again, and when He comes again He will judge sinners and will take the righteous into the kingdom which will have no end.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for your greatness and your grace. How we praise you for the message of your Son. Lord, so much truth, so much to know. And we are privileged to understand what you have said. Lord, above all how important it is that we recognize we are sinners, we need to repent, we are guilty, we are justly condemned. Lord, we would let go of everything we would trust in, turn from our sin and place our faith in your Son, the One who loved us and died for us. Lord, in Him and Him alone there is salvation. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Lord, we have the blessed and glorious hope of knowing some day He will return to this sin-cursed earth and bring righteousness and justice, and establish a kingdom that will have no end and we will rule and reign with Him. We rejoice to celebrate the One who is the Savior and He is the King. We pray in His name, amen.