Meeting Jesus notes 4/27/08
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The Message
You cannot separate the Man from the Message. Nor can you separate the Mission from the Ministry. With Jesus, it all works together: man, message, mission, ministry.
Jesus was the epitome of “practice what you preach” - He WAS what He preached.
The message flowed out of WHO he was.
His teaching “amazed” people and his audience commented several times that he spoke “with authority” and not like the pharisees. (ouch)
His Message drew and transformed, enraged and engaged, confronted and challenged people. It ultimately got him killed . And it is still effecting our world today.
Jesus’ Message is central to who He is and it is central to our relationship with God.
Some Misconceptions
- Jesus’ message as the American ideal - all about me and my ambitions; designed to make me healthy, wealthy, wise
- The Domesticated Message- all about being safe and comfortable
As William Barclay said - “Jesus didn’t come to make life easy, he came to make people great.”
The True Message
- More than just “good teaching” designed to make life a little better - “self help gospel”
- At times is hard and difficult to accept - it requires change and sacrifice! (John 6:60 - this is a hard teaching! who can accept it!)
- It is the Narrow Road (Matthew 7:14)
- Is “upside down” - actually “right-side up” (our way is upside down!)
What is the Message?
Matthew 4:17 - From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
Mark 1:14-15 - After John was put into prison, Jesus went into to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Luke 4:43 - “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
John 18:37 - Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Kingdom of God, truth, good news…
In the book of John, he uses the term “eternal life” more often than “kingdom of God” - giving us another perspective and dimension on what the message of Jesus truly is.
What is the Message?
“The Truth of the Kingdom of God that has come near”
“The Kingdom of God” and “Eternal life” are like overarching themes in the Gospels as we listen to Jesus’ parables describing what life in “the kingdom is like”
What does this message mean and what does it teach us about us and God?
How does it help us to come to know God better?
The Truth
- Jesus is the Truth and He came to testify to the truth
- The Truth is the opposite of a lie - he came to open our eyes to truth
- The Truth about the Kingdom of God
The Kingdom has come near (is at hand in some translations)
- God’s kingdom - his rule; a reality in which God’s rule is number one - it has always existed and always will
- Come near - Jesus has brought a ” present availability” of the Kingdom to everyone
- God’s Kingdom is open and you and I are invited in and the way in is through Jesus.
- We all have our own “little kingdoms” in which our rule is number one (real or perceived), but God is inviting us into His Kingdom - His way of Life
- Jesus lived this Message - He was the ultimate example of life lived totally in God’s Kingdom - life lived in and with God - and that life is available to us if we will follow Him
- It begins in our hearts - but doesn’t stop there. Luke 17:20-21
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near”
The Message at the center of the Kingdom Message
- Matthew 22:36-40 - Love God, Love people
- A relational command
- Not rituals and traditions - but active LOVE of God and people characterize life in God’s Kingdom
- Again, Jesus is the ultimate example of this. And He presented this not as some lofty ideal, but as a reality of what is priority in God’s Kingdom.
- In our “kingdom” it is something drastically different - love myself with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and maybe love those who earn it or those who do what I want.
“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has come near and is bringing with it a new “set of rules” - love God and love people”
Eternal Life
- More than just “life after you die”
- Eternal life begins NOW!
- Luke 10:25-28 “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
- Has to do with relationship
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- John 17:3 - “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
THE MESSAGE
“Repent, the kingdom of God has come near bringing with it a new priority of love and offering eternal life to all its citizens”. This is the message of Jesus. That God desires to restore and redeem and to have us be in relationship with Him - to come and live in His kingdom and experience eternal life now AND then. That is what we are meant for. The message of Jesus is not just eternal life when you die, but eternal life now! Life with God now! “This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Eternal life, kingdom life, is about knowing God - coming into relationship with Him.
The kingdom is open to everyone. But as we live in God’s kingdom there is a process of “undoing” that we must go through. “No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
God’s kingdom is different from ours, but it is the only kingdom that will last forever and it is the kingdom that were meant to live in.
Discussion Questions:
- How has the message of Jesus been misunderstood in current times? How have you misunderstood it?
- What about Jesus message comforts you? What about it challenges you?
- How can we begin to live in God’s Kingdom in this life?
- What does the message of Jesus teach us about God and our relationship with Him?
- Read John 17:3. Have you ever thought about eternal life this way? What does this teach us?
- Read Revelation 21:1-8. What does this teach us about God’s Kingdom? What kind of relationship will we have with God?
Take Home:
Read the Book of Matthew (4 chapters a day and you can read the whole book in one week)
As you read, pay close attention each time Jesus begins a parable by saying, “the kingdom of heaven is like”…
In each set of readings, ask these questions:
- What is being said, who is saying it and who is it being said to?
- What seems to be the message that is being given?
- How did the audience respond?
- How might the message be applied to you?
- How do you respond to the message?
Share your thoughts and interact at quest.calvarydover.org where we’ll discuss 4 chapters each day
4 responses so far
What struck me about the first four chapters in the book of Matthew is its drama. The coming of Christ went back a total of 42 generations to Abraham. When the birth of Jesus was announced, it was difficult to believe. Joseph wanted to quietly end his marriage to Mary, but the Holy Spirit told him not to. The baby in Mary’s womb was the Messiah, the One who would bring salvation to the world.
The wise men calculated where the birth of Jesus would be, and the teachers of the Law of Moses confirmed that calculation. Herod told the wise men he also wanted to worship the baby, but he had other intention. Herod believed Jesus to be a threat to his rule, and had many young babies killed because of his fear. But the plan of God could not be hindered.
John the Baptist also knew the glory and majesty of Jesus by saying he was not fit to carry His sandals. John knew that Jesus carried within Him the greatness and glory of God, for He is God.
When Jesus entered the desert, He met the devil with only the Word of God, which was more than enough. The Word of God sustained Jesus, and it can sustain us through tough times and uncertainity.
When Jesus began to preach, heal and proclaim the Kingdom of God, there was no doubt that He was the Messiah. Today He still proclaims the Kingdom of God, and invites all to come into His kingom. His Kingdom is based on love service and doing the will of the Father. Right now we are part of His Kingdom, which will never end.
I wasn’t able to be there Sunday. Thanks for explaining on the blog that The Kingdom of God was also synonomous with truth and eternal life . The expression itself was the problem or roadblock in me moving on and understanding more. Thanks for writing that the priority was now love in God’s kingdom. thanks.
Steve - I definitely agree; the opening chapters of Matthew give the impression that something history changing is about to happen. You get the sense that this is going to be an epic story! I love that.
Dianne - Glad to have helped clear things up! I think often we misunderstand or slightly miss what the Kingdom is really all about. We are not alone in our misunderstandings either! Even the disciples kept thinking that Jesus was going to set up an actual kingdom (Acts 1:6). Yes, God’s Kingdom when it comes in fullness will be a real kingdom (Revelation 21) but the Kingdom now is one which begins in our hearts and flows out into our lives - as individuals and as a community of like minded followers of Christ.
I was reading in Luke today where Jesus was saying that Kingdom of God was to begin soon and that he would not share another Passover before the new kingdom begain. His resurrection from the dead was the actual beginning of the new Kingdom or the new covenant. Even the verse from the CAG website fits perfectly with what were learning about how the new kingdom would vary from the system of the old covenant or the Old testament law.
Verse of the Day
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 10:11-18 NIV Listen (MP3)