The Kingdom Presence: New Testament (1)

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4.17

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17.20, 21

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6.33

Shiloh at last
As we have seen, Jacob prophesied of his son, Judah, that God would establish a Kingdom under his oversight that would include Israel and all nations (Gen. 49.8-10). From the beginning of creation, as we have seen, God was preparing that Kingdom for the day when “Shiloh” would come, when the Kingdom prepared for Him would belong to Him from that time forever.

Again, to review, “Shiloh” is an interesting word. In the Hebrew it appears to be a contraction of three words—“who”, “to”, and “him.” I think an accurate way of translating Shiloh would be something like, “Him-Whose-It-Is.” Jacob foresaw One coming for Whom the Kingdom from God was being prepared, with Whose arrival the Judaic dynasty would cease but the Kingdom would continue.

David also foresaw this day, when God, through the prophet Nathan, promised him that He would establish on David’s throne a Son Who would reign forever. David subsequently came to see this King seated at the right hand of the Father and ruling from heaven over all the earth (2 Sam. 7.13; Pss. 110, 72).

We have seen that the prophets also foresaw this coming One. They understood, if only incompletely, that the Kingdom of God would be given to One like the Son of Man, Who, in turn, would give that Kingdom to the saints of the Most High God, who would possess it forever (cf. Dan. 7.18-25), and that the Kingdom of God would increase in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit forever.

Into that rich background of Kingdom anticipation, Jesus came, proclaiming the Kingdom of God, asserting Himself to be the Son of David and King of Israel, and calling His people to renew their vision of the Kingdom and devote themselves to pursuing it.

During the days of Jesus’ earthly sojourn, the Kingdom of God was His highest priority. He intended that it should be ours as well.

We can see the primacy of the Kingdom in the mind of our Lord Jesus Christ in three ways. We’ll look at the first of these in this and our next installment.

Proclaimed and taught
The first words of Jesus’ ministry announced that the long-awaited Kingdom of God had come near to men (Matt. 4.17). It had come near to them in the Person of the One Who embodied it and would formally receive it when at last His work was done, and Who had come to bestow that Kingdom on His followers through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven.

Most of Jesus’ teaching revolved around some aspect of the Kingdom of God. The Sermon on the Mount introduced this teaching, the parables “colorized” it and made it vivid, His life and work embodied its purity and power, and His forty days of teaching after the resurrection provided a Kingdom exclamation point to the end of all His earthly instruction.

Nothing occupied the teaching of Jesus as much as the Kingdom of God. People were to understand that the promised Kingdom had come near; it was “at hand” and even “within” or “among” them. The promised interaction of heaven and earth had begun with new power and consequences, and those who hear the Good News of the Kingdom must prepare themselves accordingly.

They must see the Kingdom as more valuable than pearls or treasures, more enduring than the world, and more certain than any political regime with which they might be familiar. The Kingdom had come like a mustard seed, but it would grow to include all peoples and nations, to cover all the earth, and to bring all the promised blessings of God to those who believed and were born again through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of God began its coming on earth as it is in heaven with Jesus Christ. After Him, the history of the world would never be the same.

The first rule of following Jesus
With the coming of Jesus history took a new turn. God’s eternal covenant purposes began to unfold in dramatic and powerful new ways, which the coming of the Holy Spirit would confirm, vivify, and enlarge.

If the first rule of buying real estate is “location, location, location,” the first rule of following Jesus Christ is “Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom.” There is not an aspect of the instructional curriculum of our Lord that was not devoted to describing, promising, and proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is the focal point and foundation of all the teaching and preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot know Jesus apart from entering His Kingdom; but to enter it, and to realize all the promises of our citizenship there, we must seek that Kingdom as our defining priority in life.

For reflection or discussion
1. Jesus came to “bring near” the Kingdom of God. He has sent His followers on a similar mission (Jn. 20.21). What are the implications of this mission for you?

2. Do you think Christians today are as serious about the Kingdom as Jesus was? Explain.

3. How do you understand what it means to “seek” the Kingdom of God?

Next steps—Preparation: Do you agree that the first rule of following Jesus is “Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom”? Why or why not?

T. M. Moore

A companion book to this study of “Kingdom Presence” is available at our bookstore. Listen to an excerpt from The Kingdom Turn, by clicking here. Then order your free copy.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study.