January 26, 2020 Text: Matthew 4:12-25
Dear Friends in Christ,
What’s
in a kingdom? That is a question we are
going to answer today. Christians may
have a little different distinction on what a kingdom is, especially if they
know their Bible, but the word kingdom does not always bring forth good
thoughts.
Go
back to the Dark Ages, when kings ruled many kingdoms. The common man and woman had no voice in
their government and many times no freedom.
They lived at the whim of their rulers.
It was like living in a dictatorship.
Wouldn’t that be bad news?
For
us, with Jesus as our King, and living in the kingdom of heaven that can’t
really be bad news, can it? This
morning, let’s consider . . .
“WHAT’S
IN A KINGDOM?”
When
Jesus begins preaching and says in our text, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand,” this is good news. The Jews
had a hard time with His words because they were living under an awful kingdom
led by King Herod. Herod had just put
John the Baptist in prison and soon would have his head.
This
is typical of many kingdoms. Power
corrupts. Kings take advantage of their
subjects. Kings can use and abuse and
even execute their victims just to derive some sick pleasure.
On
top of that, even in the best of circumstances, kings can restrict the freedom
of their people. Israel’s kings would
levy taxes and make laws when they felt like it. A king’s word is final. There may be advisors but that is all they
are. People must be willing to do what
the king asks. Absolute loyalty is
required.
We
rebel against that. We all want to be
our own kings. We all have our little
fiefdoms, places and people we want to control.
We don’t even want the best King – God Himself – to rule over us. His royal law describes life at its happiest
and most harmonious, but we would rather go our sinful way and latch on to what
looks good and what feels good. We want
control of our destiny. We live in a
democracy politically and we want that in our spiritual lives.
What’s
In A Kingdom? In the kingdom of heaven
something that is very, very good. The
kingdom of heaven is set apart in every way from the bad kingdoms. Jesus didn’t reign for the glory or pleasure. He didn’t come to sit on a cushy throne in
Jerusalem or Rome. He came to the backwaters
of Galilee.
Jesus
came to bring light to those in darkness.
During the European Dark Ages, those people were literally in the dark
with the feudal system. Everyone was
serving for the benefit of a higher lord.
At the top of the pyramid was the king.
Unlike those kings, Jesus came that the lowest of people, like those in
Galilee, might see God in His true light, as a loving Father.
Jesus
does call us to service, like he did the disciples in our text, but serving Him
is an honor that leads to eternal glory.
Behind the “Follow me” was Gospel, Good News, because Christ was saying,
“I have chosen you to be with me, to be mine.”
Jesus uses His almighty, kingly power not to subdue us, but to conquer
our enemies – diseases, demons, and death.
Isn’t
this better than being our own kings? The
kingdom of heaven is ruled by grace – God gives that which we don’t
deserve. Let’s be honest, we stink at
being our own kings. Our self-rule just
leads to empty lives of broken relationships, climbing and not reaching,
exacerbating our problems. We reach a
dead end when we control our own eternity.
Thankfully we don’t need to.
Jesus fulfilled the law for us His followers and He purchased for us
real freedom by His death on the cross.
What’s
In A Kingdom? A lot more than you
thought. But what a blessing this
kingdom is. This kingdom, we now live
in, is truly heaven!
Amen.
