kingdom of heaven

The other side

The original word used to refer to God’s people, “Hebrew” was an ethnic term that referred to “a diverse mixture of nomadic wanderers or at least those who appeared to have at one time been nomadic” (5680).  The term Hebrew or Eberite is derived from the word ‘eber (ay’-ber). “When speaking of rivers or seas, ‘eber means the ‘edge or side opposite the speaker’ or ‘the other side'” (5676). The word ‘eber is derived from the Hebrew word abar (aw-bar’) which means “to cross over” (5674). This word can be found throughout the Old Testament of the Bible in conjunction with major events that occurred in the lives of Abraham’s descendants, primarily before they settled in the Promised Land. The Hebrew word abar communicated the idea of transgression, or crossing over the boundary of right and entering the forbidden land of wrong. An example of this was when Jacob “crossed over” the Euphrates to escape Laban (Genesis 31:21).

After concluding his detailed teaching about the kingdom of heaven (Mark 4:1-34), Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us pass over unto the other side” (Mark 4:35). Upon reaching the opposite shore of the sea of Galilee, Jesus was met by a man possessed by a demonic spirit who referred to himself as Legion. This seems to suggest that the territory known as the Decapolis was associated with sinful behavior and may have been considered off-limits to people that were obedient to God’s commandments. If so, the fact that Jesus directed his disciples to go to this god-forsaken location seems to suggest that he wanted them to see what was going on there. Most likely, the reason for their visit to the country of the Gadarenes was so that Jesus’ disciples could see him exercise his authority over Satan’s army because, like their ancestors,’ his disciples would have to conquer these enemies in order to occupy the Promised Land, a.k.a. the kingdom of heaven.

While their ship was crossing the sea, it says in Mark 4:37, “there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” In spite of the sudden violent gust of wind and the torrential rains that accompanied it, Mark indicated in his account of the incident that Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the hinder part of the ship (Mark 4:38). Jesus’ disciples had to physically arouse him from his peaceful slumber and then, in a panic asked him, “Master, carest thou not that we perish” (Mark 4:38). The Greek word translated perish, apollumi doesn’t refer to death, but what is often associated with death; ruin, the loss of well-being. In other words, the disciples were suggesting that Satan could ruin their trip in order to stop them from doing damage to his kingdom. After rebuking the wind and telling the sea to be still, Jesus asked his disciples, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that you have no faith” (Mark 4:40). His point being that they hadn’t even made it to the other side yet, and his disciples were ready to concede to their enemy.

Discipleship

During his ministry on earth, Jesus centered his attention on the spiritual needs of God’s people; and for those who chose to become his disciples, he conducted a three-year apprenticeship program that focused on their membership in God’s kingdom. When the multitudes began to throng about him, Jesus looked for ways to discourage people from following him, rather than seeking to increase the number people that listened to him teach. An example of this can be found in Matthew 8:18 where it says, “Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.” The other side Jesus commanded his disciples to go to was the southern coast of the sea of Galilee. It was there, in the region of Gadara, that Jesus cast out the Legion from a demon-possessed man (Luke 8:33). Gadara was located in the portion of the Roman Empire known as the Decapolis. The Decapolis was a league of ten free cities characterized by high Greek culture (note on Matthew 4:25). Jesus’ motivation for taking his disciples to such a place may have been to expose them to the harsh reality of satanic worship that was taking place within the borders of the Promised Land.

As he was preparing to enter the ship to sail to the region of Gadara, Jesus was approached by a scribe, a professional writer of the Mosaic Law, who wanted to go with him on his trip. Their short interaction is recorded in Matthew 8:19-20, where it says, “And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath no where to lay his head.” It is evident in Jesus’ response that he was trying to discourage the man from joining his entourage. Jesus’ image as an important person that people wanted to get close to was probably the main reason he had to constantly be on the move. This meant that his disciples rarely saw their families and were not afforded the luxury of sleeping in their own beds. The message Jesus was conveying to the scribe was that discipleship involved very difficult work that would require a huge sacrifice and not many were fit for the task.

Along with the hardship of being away from loved ones, and sometimes not even having enough time to eat, Jesus expected his disciples to give up all of their earthly responsibilities in order to focus their full attention on preaching the gospel. When one of his disciples asked to be excused from the trip to Gadara so he could attend to his father’s burial, Jesus responded, “let the dead bury their dead” (Matthew 8:21-22). Meaning, I have more important work for you to do. The spiritual work Jesus engaged in while he was on earth was not something to be taken lightly. During the brief time that he actively ministered to the Jews, Jesus probably spent less time sleeping than most people would think is humanly possible. What Jesus was looking for in the twelve disciples that became his inner circle of confidants and close companions during his three-year ministry was a willingness to leave everything in order to eat, sleep, and breathe with the creator of the universe. There was no middle ground, no half-hearted commitments. It was all or nothing in Jesus’ work of proclaiming the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven

One of the topics that Jesus talked about frequently was the kingdom of heaven. Rather than a place far away, somewhere out in the cosmos, Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven exists here on planet earth. In order to create a mental image of the place he was talking about, Jesus told a series of parables that are recorded in Matthew 13:24-52. The first of these parables is referred to as the parable of the tares. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way” (Matthew 13:24-25). According to the footnote on Matthew 13:25, the tares Jesus spoke of in his parable were “probably darnel, which looks very much like wheat while it is young, but can later be distinguished. This parable does not refer to unbelievers in the church. The field is the world (v. 38). Thus the people of the kingdom live side by side with the people of the evil one.”

Jesus’ illustration of the kingdoms of God and Satan existing side by side in the world was most likely a reference to the Jews dispersion throughout the world after Jesus was resurrected. For almost 1900 years, the Jews didn’t have a homeland, but were integrated among other nations and lived without any political structure to sustain them. It wasn’t until after World War II, when their race was almost exterminated, that the Jews were granted access to the land that was once their inheritance from God. In his second parable, Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof” (Matthew 13:31-32). Since its reestablishment in 1948, Israel has continued to gain strength as a nation and has attracted worldwide attention because of what appears to be its supernatural preservation in spite of continual military attacks against it.

In his explanation of the parable of the tares, Jesus indicated there would come a time when Satan’s followers would be removed from the world. He told his disciples, “the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burnt in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world” (Matthew 13:38-40). After this explanation, Jesus used three illustrations to convey the extreme value of membership in the kingdom of heaven. He likened his kingdom to treasure hid in a field, one pearl of great price, and a net that was able to gather into it every kind of fish in the sea without breaking (Matthew 13:44-48). In his final remark to his disciples, Jesus emphasized the value both the Old and New Testaments of God’s word (Matthew 13:52). Whereas, some might have thought the history of God’s people was irrelevant, Jesus made it clear that it was important for them to know the whole story about God’s establishment of his kingdom on earth.

Understanding

Jesus’ teaching included some hard sayings that were often misunderstood by those that gathered to hear him speak. After the scribes and Pharisees began to twist his words and take them out of context, Jesus started using stories that were referred to as parables to convey truths about God’s kingdom. Jesus’ parables used comparisons or illustrations from nature and human life to convey messages that might be misconstrued if he were to talk about them openly among unbelievers. On one occasion, when there were so many people gathered by the sea side to listen to him teach that he had to get into a ship to keep from being crushed by the crowd (Matthew 13:1-2), Jesus used the parable of the sower to describe the effects of hearing the word of God. This parable included a key lesson that Jesus later interpreted for his disciples so that they wouldn’t misunderstand the point he was making. Therefore, its meaning was very important and Jesus wanted to make sure they didn’t misinterpret it.

When Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10), it says in Matthew 13:11, “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” The Greek word translated mysteries, musterion (moos-tay’-ree-on) means a secret or mystery (through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites)” (3466). What Jesus was implying was that membership in God’s kingdom was required for certain information to be revealed. In other words, unbelievers weren’t on the need to know list, therefore, Jesus didn’t tell them everything about the kingdom of heaven. When he explained the parable to his disciples, the key issue Jesus focused on was the unbeliever’s inability to understand or assimilate the word of God. Jesus said, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Matthew 13:13).

Understanding of the word of God occurs at a deeper level than information that is processed through our brains. Jesus likened the word of God to seeds because seeds need to be underneath the soil in order for them to germinate. Like farming, Jesus suggested that assimilation of the word of God was a process that took place over time and an important factor that was revealed in his parable was the quality of the soil, or in reality, the condition of a person’s heart. He said, “But he that received the seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. The Greek word Jesus used for understanding, suniemi (soon-ee’-ay-mee) is derived from the word sun (soon) which denotes union; “with or together, i.e. by association, companionship, process, resemblance” (4862). The process of taking in and fully understanding the information and ideas that Jesus taught about the kingdom of God occurred while the disciples were living with him over the course of three years.

True or false

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described several ways of differentiating between true and false believers. Because there were so many hypocrites among the Jews that worshipped in God’s temple, Jesus wanted his followers to understand that God did not accept false or insincere worship. He told them plainly, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). In particular, the scribes and Pharisees were known for their pious acts of worship and having a condemning attitude toward those that didn’t follow the traditions of their elders. Therefore, Jesus told his disciples, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1-2).

For the most part, Jesus’ followers were aware that life as a Christian was not meant to easy, but there was still probably a lot of confusion about what was expected of someone that was a true believer in Christ. Jesus emphasized the importance of prayer and assured his disciples that God’s children could expect to receive good things from their heavenly Father. He told them, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth: and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). The point Jesus was trying to make was that the attitude of a person’s heart was critical to their success when it came to the petitions they made of God.

Perhaps, the two most essential components of Jesus’ instructions to his followers was the need for perseverance and a requirement for an intentional effort to be made to please God in the believer’s pursuit of happiness. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). The contrast between a strait, or narrow gate, and a broad gate was intended to show Jesus’ disciples that the choice to follow him was not an easy choice to make. In order to be true disciples of Christ, there had to be a realization that the only way they could have a meaningful spiritual life was to give up the pursuit of physical satisfaction.

Secret service

Jesus didn’t mean for the life of a Christian to be complicated or difficult to figure out. There were really only three things involved in maintaining a right relationship with God: giving, praying, and fasting. For each of these activities, there was expected to be a reward or you could even say payment from God in return. Jesus made it clear that there would be no spiritual reward given for activities that were done publicly. With regards to giving to the poor, Jesus said, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). One of the reasons Jesus cautioned his followers against doing these things publicly was because there were many hypocrites in the synagogues that were making a show of their supposed good works (Matthew 6:2). Instead of making a big deal out of it, Jesus said, “But when thou doest thine alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:3-4).

At the core of Jesus’ teaching was the conflict between an individual’s public and private life. Often times, the person that made a spectacle of giving to the poor was privately committing sins against God. Jesus referred to these people as hypocrites. The Greek word translated hypocrites, hupokrites (hoop-ok-ree-tace´) means “an actor under an assumed character (stage player)” (5273). There was a lack of authenticity in their behavior. Hupokrites is derived from the word hupokrinomai (hoop-ok-rin´-om-ahee) which goes even farther to say that such a person had decided to speak or act under a false part, there was a conscious decision to pretend to be something that one was not (5271). Jesus instructed his disciples:

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:5-6).

The Greek word translated secret, kruptos (kroop-tos´) refers to something that is concealed or private (2927), but at the root of this word is the idea of an intentional effort to hide something or cover it up, to keep it a secret (2928). Rather than making a show of their good behavior, Jesus was telling his followers to do everything they could to keep it from being found out. The primary reason for this, Jesus said, was because God sees what we do in secret (Matthew 6:6). God is hidden from our view; we are not aware of his activities. He is constantly doing good things on our behalf and he wants us to do the same.

Blessedness

Blessedness, the state of being blessed with divine favor, was the original state of the world when Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden (Genesis 1:22). After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the land was cursed (Genesis 3:17), but it wasn’t until Cain killed his brother Abel that a person was cursed by God (Genesis 4:11). When Abraham was called by God to leave his country and his family behind and go to a land that God would show him (Genesis 12:1), God told Abraham, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3). For 2000 years, the world revolved around Abraham and his descendants, also known as the Israelites or Jews, but when Jesus entered the world, he turned that world upside down. One of the most important messages Jesus delivered to his disciples is referred to as the “Sermon on the Mount” (note on Matthew 5:1-7:29). Jesus began his teaching with something called the “Beautitudes” or be attitudes. These declarations of blessedness were intended to show Jesus’ disciples that happiness was more than an emotion that was dependent on their outward circumstances. Jesus’ used a Greek word, makarios to refer “to the ultimate well-being and distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God” (note on Matthew 5:3).

Jesus used the word markarios nine times in his opening statement to a crowd described as “the multitudes” (Matthew 5:1). It is likely there were more than 5,000 people, perhaps as many as 25,000 people, listening in when Jesus preached his sermon on the mount. Jesus’ startling statements were received with amazement, or as we might say today, the people were completely blown away by what he said. Jesus began with this declaration, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Jesus contrasted the person that lived a life focused on spiritual things in this world as a beggar, or someone that was poverty stricken, and royalty in heaven. His intention was most likely to illustrate that the two realms in which we exist, the physical and spiritual, are opposites of each other. What we think makes sense for us to do to take care of our needs in the physical realm might actually lead to spiritual poverty and vice versa. Unlike the free pass that the Israelites received, Jesus taught that entering into God’s kingdom meant that you must live a completely different kind of life than what made sense in the physical realm. Jesus stated, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). The Greek word translated persecuted, dioko means to flee or to drive away (1377). In other words, Jesus was saying that his followers should expect to be outcasts of society.

Born again

The effect of Jesus’ teaching was evident from the start. In his first public appearance at the temple in Jerusalem, when he declared his intent to rise from the dead, John tells us of Jesus that “many believed in his name” (John 2:23). Although the religious leaders were probably already plotting to kill Jesus, one man had the courage and conviction to find out for himself what exactly the term basileia (bas – il – i’ – ah) ouranos (oo – ran os’) or “kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 3:2) meant. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews, a member of the group that eventually condemned Jesus to death. He came to visit Jesus at night for one of two reasons, either Nicodemus didn’t want anyone to know he was there or he intended to have a lengthy discussion with Jesus and wanted to speak to him when he had more time available. Nicodemus stated plainly the reason for his visit. He said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him” (John 3:2).

Nicodemus wanted to know the truth. He believed that Jesus was a prophet, but was obviously still struggling with the possibility that God had actually kept his promise and had finally sent his Messiah, Jesus to save his chosen people. Jesus explained to Nicodemus that the reason he couldn’t make sense of what was happening was because he hadn’t been born again (John 3:3). Nicodemus’ response indicated that he was looking at things from a human or material perspective. He asked Jesus, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3:4). Jesus then explained to Nicodemus that being born again had nothing to do with the physical realm. He wanted Nicodemus to understand that in order to see the spiritual realm or kingdom of heaven, one had experience a spiritual birth, a birth just like or similar to the birth that brought him into the physical world, but completely different in its effect upon his life.

Jesus’ lengthy conversation with Nicodemus centered around the fact that a requirement for entrance into God’s kingdom was belief in him. He told Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:14-17). Jesus’ repetition of the statement “whosoever believeth in him should not perish” placed the emphasis on everyone, both Jews and non-Jews, being able to be saved as long as they believed in him. This declaration made it clear to Nicodemus that God’s chosen people were those who would by their own volition make a conscious choice to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. The great truth that motivated God’s plan of salvation was that he wanted to save the world, and therefore, made it possible through a process of spiritual adoption for everyone to be born again (Ephesians 1:4-5).

Repent

John the Baptist’s message was very simple and direct. The single most important point he made could be summed up in one sentence, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). The Greek word translated repent, metanoeo (met-an-eh´-o) means “to think differently or afterwards that is reconsider” (3340). At the core of John’s message was the idea of looking at the world differently, to see things from God’s perspective. The kingdom of heaven had to do with the rule of God and was considered to be both a present reality and a future hope for the Jewish people that lived during Jesus’ ministry on earth (Note on Matthew 3:2). The unique time period in which John preached was a key factor in the way he talked to people about repentance. According to John, time was of the essence; there was no time to waste when it came to getting right with God.

Some of John’s harshest messages were directed at the religious leaders that appeared to be righteous, but were only pretending to be interested in God’s kingdom. What the religious leaders really wanted was to control the Jews behavior. They made up rules that they expected everyone to lived by, but the rules were actually too difficult for the people to follow. Matthew 3:7-12 states about John:

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: and think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

John’s introduction of the spiritual concept of fruit was meant to make people aware of the fact that God wanted to see evidence of the change that had taken place in people’s hearts. Merely saying that someone had repented was not enough. As fruit is a tangible sign that a tree is reproducing or bringing forth a new source of life, so fruit in a Christian’s life showed that a real change of heart had taken place and a new way of living would follow.