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The Gospel of the Kingdom

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

What is the gospel?

More specifically, what is the gospel of the kingdom which Jesus proclaimed?

To begin, look back to the centuries and millennia at the role of kings in general.

Kings do not rule a republic. Kings do not rule a democracy. The power of a king is absolute and those who rule in the king’s domain (territory, dominion, lands) tell the king’s people (subjects) what to do and because they are subjects of the king the people must do what their king demands.

The message is NOT one from a common subject to other subjects of the king. No, a proclamation is written and spoken by the authority of the king and ruler of his subjects. This is true of the Kingship of God, as well as that of a mortal king.

The ‘proclamation, qara‘ is spoken to the subjects of the king with the expectation of obedience by the king’s subjects. Someone (in the Bible, sometimes an angel or a Prophet) has met with the king (or with God our Heavenly King), heard the message or news to be heralded or proclaimed and by authority of the king, he tells everyone.

Most are familiar with the first announcements of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

Luke 2:10-11 KJV And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

The announcement by an angel from God is that the King has been born, a King of the Jews, as Jesus will come to be known as He becomes the sacrifice for our sins on a Cross.

God is NOT like any other mortal king and God has proclaimed Himself through Scripture.

Exodus 19:7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him.

Moses is proclaiming the gospel of God. Moses has met with the King of Creation and proclaims the good news to the captives of Pharaoh.

8 All the people answered together and said,

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

The Hebrew slaves of Pharaoh might as well have said, “We accept the LORD as our King in the place of Pharaoh our king.”

And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.”

Again, God! our King and Leader and Ruler and Sovereign, and Creator of all things, judge of all souls!

Christ Jesus IS God incarnate; that is: Jesus Christ is GOD in the flesh! He has set the captives of this world free from sin and the ruler of this world.

What had happened earlier, when God our Heavenly King challenged the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) with plagues and curses on the lands Pharaoh ruled, a land where the Hebrew people had been subjects of the lowest caste as slaves below every man and woman of Egypt?

Why had God chosen to take His own subjects, chosen by His covenant through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph?

(Here is God’s proclamation to Pharaoh, a mere mortal king of men, through Moses.)

Exodus 9: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews,

“Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.

16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

And from the days of Moses until this day the Name and Power of God is proclaimed in all the earth and the miracles the LORD did for His people of Israel in the desert at Sinai, as they were led from the slavery of Pharaoh to God’s promised land.

Set Me Free – Castings Crows

To be continued…

May 28, 2014
In these last days…
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. – Hebrews 1 ESV

An astounding claim! The Person of God spoke through the Prophets. (The books of the Prophets speak to this.) The Prophets speak what God wants to tell man.

HOWEVER; in these last days (as opposed to the thousands of years of creation and of man, even since Abraham and the books of Moses) GOD, THE LORD, has spoken to man by HIS SON, CHRIST JESUS.

Jesus Christ is the Very Glory of God! GOD speaks though the WORD directly. This is the Living Gospel;the Good News of our salvation!

Continuing in our theme of God speaking through the Prophets, let’s again examine the question from a New Testament perspective.
- What does a Prophet see?
- Who does God make a Prophet?
- What is the message of the Seer?
- Is it the message from God Almighty?
A Prophet will see the things of God that no other man can see.

John 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

John 7 14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”

16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

“… but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

John 1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

God the Father IS the Very Word of God Existing in the Person of the Son, Christ Jesus!

Jesus Christ IS the Very Word of God spoken in His Holy, crucified and risen flesh!

What is the message of the seer – the Prophet of God?

Matthew 11:

7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

10 This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.

Is it the message from God Almighty?

Mark 1:

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying,

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Luke 24:

And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

It would be yet another lesson to study all that Jesus had spoken of how He IS the fulfillment of many of the prophesies of Scripture, spoken by the Prophets.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ? He IS the Person and Word and Prophet of GOD! Jesus Christ IS and will be greater than any prophet. Christ Jesus IS fulfillment of scripture and prophesy. He IS the beginning and the end. God has not and will not use ANY other sinful man (and we are all sinful men and sinful women) to speak or interpret any word of prophesy that opposes Jesus: He IS God the Son.

Can God yet appear to other men (after the resurrection of the Son to the Throne of Heaven?

Yes. Scripture also speaks more of these prophesies, of true prophets and of false prophets. Yet Christ Jesus IS the Word of God. He has sent us the Holy Spirit, the third Person of God. Again, this would be another study for another day.

Jesus is Lord.

NO man and NO Prophet stands above Him.

Jesus IS God!

Jesus said, to His Disciple Phillip:

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
May 27, 2014
The Gospel: Witnessed by the Romans

Acts 10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

Don’t miss this: Caesarea is the administrative capital and military outpost of the Roman Empire by which Rome ruled, taxed and maintained civil order in Judea and Idumea.

Cornelius is a centurion – a Roman soldier, part of the Italian Cohort sent across the Great Sea (Mediterranean) to maintain the claim of Rome in these foreign colonies; much as the Spanish, English and other empires have done in more recent centuries.

We recognize that Jesus was Messiah to the Jews and preached to Jewish converts from other nations. We recognize that Jesus also taught in other areas – gentile towns – clearly with little or no connection to Judea or long-ago destroyed Israel.

We may have missed (until the missionary journeys of Paul) that Romans, as occupying residents of the Land of Promise, were witness to the Gospel.

Acts 10:3 About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?”

And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

How does it happen that a Roman is witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Again, it’s just like you or me at work: we probably didn’t see that ‘Roman’ right there beside us (doing their own job) as we were witness to all of the truth of our faith.

Let’s focus on some Romans (other than Pontius Pilate) at the spectacle of the Crucifixion of Christ Jesus on the Cross in Jerusalem some months earlier than this scene with Cornelius.

Luke 23: Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”

Were there Roman Centurions present in this scene with the potential for an uprising against Roman authority? Or course; many Roman soldiers.

20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

Were Roman Centurions present? Yes, and the crowd is growing even more unruly. They continue to do as ordered (even though the Roman ruler of the occupied territory has declared this man ‘innocent.’) How can he do that? Yet orders are orders.

27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

A military escort for the condemned criminals through the crowds of Jerusalem? SOP – (Standard Operating Procedure).

33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The soldiers cast lots to see who would win his clothes. (A rather macabre occupation of time for executioners to be distracted from the cries of dying men.)

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed.

A foreboding storm covers the scene of the skull of death (as it was known). Are the Roman Legions fearful?

Would you be fearful? … Probably.

46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”

And having said this he breathed his last.

47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”

48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.

What who you (as the Centurion) think of the witness of this spectacle?

Just one more additional thought (which I mentioned in an earlier writing about the Sermon on the Mount):

Do you think that Jesus (or anyone) could gather 5000 people or 4000 people or multitudes together to witness His teaching and witness His miracles and witness the truth of His daily life without Roman Centurians also being present?

Not likely.

We witness the gospel to any the Lord also sends to the places we live, work, play, travel and worship.

What is your witness of the Gospel to the Romans guarding over you (who you rarely notice)?

May 24, 2014