The Kingdom of God

 

Matthew 13:  31-33, 44-52

Romans 8: 26-end


Since becoming a vicar, I no longer say the Lord’s prayer from memory; I always read it.   Now, before you think ‘what do they teach vicars now?   Doesn’t he even know the Lord’s prayer?’   I do, but whenever I say the Lord’s Prayer out loud I read it.   Partly because I do sometimes mix up the 2 traditional and modern versions –

·        ‘is it in earth or on earth’?

·        ‘are we saying thy’ or ‘your’?

·        And are we forgiving ‘sins’ or trespasses’ this time?

But I can also find myself skipping over the words without thinking what they mean.

For example

“Your kingdom come”

We use these words every week in church, but it’s easy to gloss over them to get to the ‘asking’ and ‘forgiving’ bits without considering the implications of what we’re saying?

What does ‘your kingdom come’ mean?

We don’t often use words like “kingdom” in ordinary speech – It’s a bit of an archaic term.   But “kingdom” is what the parables in Matthew chapter 13 are about; they are talking about God’s kingdom.   God’s Kingdom is central in Matthew’s teaching; he mentions it 50 times.

 

The Kingdom

So what do we understand by God’s kingdom?

I just want to clear up a few points first:

1.     Sometimes we read ‘Kingdom of Heaven’ - in Matthew, sometimes ‘Kingdom of God’ - in Mark and Luke.   They are the same thing, but Matthew – being a Jew writing predominantly to Jews, or Jewish Christians  – follows the more regular Jewish practise of saying ‘heaven’ rather than ‘God’.

2.     It does not refer to a place.   It is not an earthly kingdom, nor is it referring to “heaven” as a place.

It is a bit difficult to understand – but don’t give up!   This is one of the reasons Jesus used parables.  He takes something we don’t really know about and says “it’s a bit like this”, and compares it to something we do know about.

 

What do the parables tell us about God’s Kingdom?

The parables in Matthew chapter 13 illustrate different aspects of the kingdom of Heaven.

Sower

We didn’t read it this morning, Andrew spoke about it a few weeks ago, but the parable of the sower is well-known: how God extravagantly threw the seed of the word of the kingdom to everyone, whilst acknowledging, for various reasons, not all would accept it and allow the kingdom to become a reality in their lives. - the kingdom comes to life when it is accepted – the good soil - where it will grow, and there will be a final, rich harvest.

The parables we read today all expand on this first parable of the sower, explaining “the kingdom of heaven is like...” giving greater insight into how God’s kingdom grows:

  

Mustard Seed and Yeast

We have the unobtrusive character of the kingdom, like a tiny seed, seemingly insignificant, or a small amount of yeast hidden in dough.  But despite the seemingly insignificant beginnings, the seed grows, the yeast spreads, far beyond what a person might think.  

There must have been times in the early church where this new Christianity seemed so small and insignificant that it might seem it would never take hold.   Perhaps we think that now, how insignificant we are (numerically) in Swanland.

But the kingdom comes quietly.   From modest beginnings it will grow, like a seed grows into a large bush.   Or we see bread rise and know yeast must have been there.

 

 Treasure and Pearl

The treasure in the field, and the pearl of great price, show the tremendous value of the kingdom.   The kingdom is something for which people must give up everything.    In fact, when they comprehend the value, they will want to give up everything for it.

·        We may be surprised and stumble over the kingdom, like the worker in the field who found the treasure.  

·        Or we may have searched for it, like the merchant searched for the pearl.  

But regardless, both are overjoyed and do everything they can to secure their treasure.    Neither will pass up the chance; their discovery takes precedence over everything.

Living in God’s kingdom will re-shape priorities and result in single-minded devotion.   It will be costly – perhaps financially, or in terms of time, relationships.   The interests of God’s kingdom push everything else to a second place.

There’s another side to our understanding of the kingdom that we pray to come every week.

 

Net (and Weeds)

The parable of the net collects all kinds of fish, some good and some not.   They are both in the net, but get sorted out later when the net comes to shore.   This parallels the parable of weeds among wheat from a few verses earlier (which I spoke about last week).   This tells of weeds and wheat that are left to grow together, perhaps because the roots are intertwined, and it is too risky to consider pulling the weeds out, as it would pull the wheat out too.   So they are left until the harvest, when the weeds are separated out.   But that is for God to do, not us.

So, the kingdom has begun to come.   For now, good and evil will live side by side for a while, but these parables tell that evil will be rooted out and destroyed when God’s kingdom fully comes at the end of the age.

 

The Kingdom

What is this kingdom?   God’s kingdom is where he reigns, where he rules, where things happen as he intends.  

God’s kingdom continues the Old Testament ideas where God is presented as a king, but goes further with the coming of Jesus.  

In Luke 17, Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming; he answered

 ..., ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

So we’re not looking for God’s kingdom to come into existence, but rather to come more and more completely, until, at the end of the current age, when it will be fully here... where God’s standards and laws are followed, and He is acknowledged as king – the most important one, the one in charge.

Inviting people to “enter” the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, is a way of inviting them to turn away from self-centred lives, lives that ignore God and instead to become a follower of Jesus, his example and teachings.   It is about the establishment of God’s rule in the hearts and lives of people, bringing peace, overcoming all that is evil in the world, ultimately setting the world to rights when even death will be destroyed.

 

So what are we praying for when we say “your kingdom come”?

We are starting with ourselves:   As Christians, our lives reflect this kingdom.   As we allow God to put his laws, his values, in our lives, we become more like Him.   Praying, spending time with him, allowing him to change us, making conscious changes ourselves in our lives to stop doing the selfish, destructive things and to start doing loving things, then his kingdom is established.

Living in God’s kingdom will re-shape priorities and result in single-minded devotion.   It will be costly – perhaps financially, or in terms of time, relationships.   The interests of God’s kingdom push everything else to a second place.

 

It’s not just about us - we then continue to pray for the world.   We are praying for God’s rule and reign on earth, personified in the example and teachings of Jesus, to continue to be established.  

So we pray for justice, for the poor, healing, mercy, to give to the needy, love, forgiveness of sins, for freedom from sin and from the guilt of sin, with restored relationships with God.   

And more than pray, we act and live now in a way that gives a foretaste of what life will be like when God’s kingdom is fully established.

  

We live…

·        … knowing we are loved by God, as we read in Romans.  

·        … led by His Spirit, who prays to the Father for us.  

·        … knowing we are not condemned because God has pronounced us not guilty.

·        … knowing that no matter what we face in life, nothing can separate us from this love.

Revd Kevin 

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