Part 4 of our series left us asking, “Would God be faithful to his promise to gather and renew Israel? Would the promised Messiah finally fulfill God’s mission that Israel failed to live out? How does God’s Story continue?
In the time between the Old and New Testaments, Israel was still under God’s judgment, and the Romans occupied their land. Israel is awaiting God’s coming kingdom, a time in which God will gather his people and empower them to fulfill their missional calling to the nations. And God does bring his promise! But the promise of the kingdom isn’t what Israel expects; God brings the kingdom to Israel in the person of Jesus Christ.
In the Gospel of Matthew, John the Baptizer announces that God’s long-awaited kingdom is about to come (Matthew 3:11). Next, Jesus enters the scene (read Matthew chapters 1-3 of his birth) and proclaims that God’s kingdom has arrived:
15“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15)
Jesus doesn’t describe what he means by “kingdom,” but his audience would have understood that God’s kingdom is the restoration of his rule over the whole world. Still, questions would have abounded. The only way to understand what Jesus means is to listen closely to his words and see him in action.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus explain the kingdom in a few ways. First, as the in-breaking of God’s power and presence to defeat his enemies. Second, the arrival of salvation is an “already—not yet” reality, meaning people can both enter into it in the future and yet receive it now as a gift. Thus, the kingdom Jesus describes is present and future: already begun here, not yet in fullness.
In Jesus’ words and works, the rescuing and restoring power of God becomes present by the Holy Spirit. Jesus described it this way in Matthew 12:28:
28But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The work of God’s Spirit present in Jesus to restore and save from demonic power makes it clear that God’s kingdom has arrived. In and through Jesus’ ministry, the kingdom is a matter of God’s power to overturn the reign of evil in all the world. God’s kingdom and dominion arrive in the work of Jesus as he overcomes the power of evil.
The coming of the kingdom of God means a cosmic battle between God and Satan for all creation and human life. Jesus brings this power to liberate the world from the power of sin, death, idolatry, and Satan himself. Jesus invites women and men to enter this battle and align themselves with God and his kingdom. This salvation that Jesus announces is depicted metaphorically as a realm that human beings are invited to join and as a gift that people are invited to receive. To enter or receive the kingdom is to experience God’s power to renew, heal, and liberate human life from sin and its power in the present. The future will see the completion of this work as God’s saving power ultimately and finally triumphs over evil, death, and the devil.
The question we may ask is: why does God delay bringing his kingdom into fullness now? To that question, we’ll turn next time.
-Wade