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III. The Kingdom

A. What the Kingdom is Like

What will this new kingdom be like?

Jesus gave his followers a good citizens’ manual for life in the Kingdom. We know it as the Sermon on the Mount, the longest continuous collection of Jesus’ sayings in the Bible. It stretches across three chapters, from Matthew 5:3 to Matthew 7:27.

The whole sermon begins with the kingdom:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (see Matthew 5:3).

The poor, the mourners, the meek, the seekers of righteousness, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers, the persecuted - these are the people to whom the kingdom belongs (seeMatthew 5:3 to 5:11).

The kingdom is also rooted in the Old Testament. “Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (see Matthew 5:19).

But the true citizen of the kingdom is held to an even higher standard than the law of the Old Testament. The spirit of the law, not the letter, is the guiding principle (see Matthew 5:21 to 5:48, and compare Jeremiah 31:33-34).

In this world’s kingdoms, the rich and powerful rule. But the poor and forgotten will inherit the new kingdom of the Son of David.

B. Son of David

Having started his Gospel by showing us that Jesus is the perfect Son of David, Matthew uses that title for Jesus more than any of the other Gospel writers. Usually it comes from bystanders who address Jesus as “Son of David,” and almost always those bystanders are hoping for miraculous healing.

“And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed (him), crying out, ‘Son of David, have pity on us!’ “(see Matthew 9:27). The blind men call on the Son of David, and because of their faith they receive their sight.

“Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute. He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see. All the crowd was astounded, and said, ‘Could this perhaps be the Son of David?’ “(see Matthew 12:22-23). Here it is the miraculous healing that causes the crowd to suspect they might be seeing the promised Son of David.

“And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, ‘Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon’ “(see Matthew 15:22). In this case, a non-Israelite - a descendant of the hated Canaanites who were always leading Israel astray - recognizes Jesus as Son of David. She acknowledges that the Son of David has authority over all nations, not just Israel.

The emphasis on healing is not surprising. The prophets had foretold that no one would be sick in the time of the Messiah.

“No one who dwells there will say, ‘I am sick’; the people who live there will be forgiven their guilt” (see Isaiah 33:24).

Matthew shows us that Israelites and Gentiles alike recognized Jesus as the Son of David foretold in the prophets.

C. Repent!

So what do we do to get ready for the new kingdom?

When John the Baptist preached, his main theme was this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (see Matthew 3:2).

When Jesus first began to preach in public, his message was exactly the same (seeMatthew 4:17).

When Jesus sent the Twelve out to preach, he gave them the same message again (seeMatthew 10:7).

The most important thing for followers of Jesus’ way to know is how to prepare for living in the Kingdom of Heaven. And the most important preparation is repentance - turning our lives away from sin and back toward God.

D. The Last Instruction

All the promises to the Son of David are finally fulfilled after Jesus has risen from the dead.

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” Jesus told his disciples (seeMatthew 28:18). We recall the promise in Psalm 2:8: “I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth”- a promise now finally fulfilled.

Matthew recalls it, too. The last words of Jesus that he records are these:

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (see Matthew 28:19-20).

As followers of the Son of David, we share in the responsibility for His kingdom. We have the duty to help extend it to “the ends of the earth.” And we have our King’s promise that the kingdom will endure forever.

Continue to Section 4