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A Misunderstood Kingdom

Just when you think you’re too old for fairy tales about princes and such, a prince hits the news. Not in a good way, but still a reminder of kings and kingdoms. But I assure you that you often, in worship service prayers, do speak of a kingdom. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come . . . This kingdom of God (or, in Matthew’s case, the kingdom of heaven, since he does not wish to write the sacred name of God) is mentioned 49 times in Matthew’s Gospel, 16 times in Mark’s Gospel, and 38 times in Luke’s Gospel. 

It was Jesus’ first message and his central message. You can’t get past the first 14 verses in the earliest Gospel, Mark’s Gospel, until you hear that Jesus came into Galilee preaching, saying the kingdom of God has come near; repent and be believe. Sometimes his preaching is like cool summer breeze, sometimes like the shriek of the fire engine, sometimes like the tolling of the funeral bell. The strange thing about the kingdom of God, however, is that Jesus never defines it in a clear sentence. He often says the kingdom of God is like . . . From the parables and sayings of Jesus it is clear what the kingdom is not. It is not what the average Jewish Joe had been taught and had in mind: a restoration of the kingdom of David, the driving out of the Romans, the blowing of the horn of freedom and the gathering of Jews from all the nations. It was not the common picture of Jews living a thousand years, every grape yielding 30 gallons of wine, heaven as a great banquet with the Gentiles serving those at table. Nor do we find, as we study the parables and sayings of Jesus, that the kingdom of God is God’s rule over a land area, like the idea of a century ago, that the sun never set on the British empire, spread as it was from Australia to Canada to India to Africa.

It is clear that Jesus’ concept of the kingdom of God is what he taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done . . . The fondness for parallelism in Jewish writings (read the Psalms) is seen in this prayer, and it is the key to understanding the kingdom. For the kingdom of God is not God’s rule over a land, but in the individual heart. Seeing this, much in the parables becomes clear. Unless we have the trust and faith of a little child we can never enter the kingdom of God. To be in the kingdom of God is to seek God’s will, not our own. And that is not easily done. The kingdom is, however, worth any cost. The kingdom of God is like a man who stumbled over treasure in a field, and he went and sold all he had to purchase that field and have the treasure. The kingdom of God is like a man who was a pearl merchant and had been seeking the most perfect pearl. One day he found it, and gave all he had to possess it. 

The kingdom of God is worth any cost and sacrifice; if your hand or foot causes you to stumble cut it off, for it is better to enter the kingdom of God maimed than to go to hades. 

We see how one can be not far from the kingdom, yet outside, as Jesus said of the rich young ruler. For entry into the kingdom of God is not through good deeds, or keeping all the commandments. We enter the kingdom by realizing that Jesus is the Messiah, and that by his death for our sins and his resurrection from the dead, we can like a little child come to him and trust him with our life, our dreams, our deepest desires. It is trust, repentance, commitment to the will of God, that opens the gates to the kingdom of God and brings the deepest joy and fulfillment to our lives. 

It is true, however, that the present age is a mixed bag. Not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, has entered the kingdom of God. Jesus said of the kingdom, let the tares grow with the wheat until the harvest time. While the church is the beloved bride of Christ, simply being a church member because it’s what your family has always done does not mean that you have entered the kingdom of God. 

The kingdom of God is drawing near, like the tide which comes nearer and nearer with each wave to where we build our little sand castles. The kingdom came in its fullness in Jesus, and it will come in its completion when he returns. That’s why we pray, thy kingdom come.

Go to church this Sunday and I’m sure you will hear more about the kingdom and how to enter it.

Earl Davis’ column “Raccoon Theology” appears biweekly in the Watauga Democrat, the Blowing Rocket, the Avery Journal-Times, and the Ashe Post and Times. Dr. Davis is a minister (College Avenue Baptist Church, Lenoir), an author, and an artist, earldavisfineart.com. He can be contacted at [email protected]