Has the Kingdom of God already come?
Has the Kingdom of God already come?
When will God’s country (aka the kingdom) come? That was and is the big question. The Messiah (the Anointed One) would usher it in.
It has already happened, Jesus declared. Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah. Jesus came to us over 2,000 years ago. He established God’s country. I am a citizen of God’s country right now. Nothing to look forward to from that point of view.
Is Jesus the King of the Jews?
God’s plan was moving along on schedule. Jesus had been arrested and was now on trial. It was a little confusing. First to Pilate, then to Herod and then back to Pilate. Jesus was going to die and shed his blood for us. That was God’s plan and it was going to happen. Nothing could stop it.
Then they all took Jesus to Pilate and began to bring up charges against him. They said, “We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King.” Pilate asked him, “Is this true that you’re ‘King of the Jews’?” “Those are your words, not mine,” Jesus replied. | Source: Luke 23:1-2 (The Message)
Who is the King of Glory?
Who is the King of Glory? King David is a warrior King. He spent much of his life fighting to secure Israel and establish God’s rule there. David, while an earthly King, knows who the real King is. Jesus is the King of Glory! Now that is some good news!
Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. | Psalm 24:7-8
News alert!
We serve a beautiful, majestic, and amazing King!
Good news. Jesus is the King of Glory!
Who is in the drivers seat?
Jesus challenges us to live life with Him in charge. Now that is tough because we all like to be in control.
We may pretend we don’t but we know it is true. Jesus knows it is true. This is a very big thing. Will we let Jesus be the Master of our lives? Will we become a slave? Will we acknowledge that Jesus is King of God’s country.
Jesus is waiting for an answer.
We can’t fake it with Him. Jesus knows us down to our core.
So … Jesus looks us in the eye, pauses and says …
“You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” ~Jesus
Luke 9:24 The Message
This is the main thing about the main thing. Following Jesus means letting Jesus drive the car. Jesus gets to go where He wants to go. We must stop when Jesus stops and go when Jesus goes.
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God has a plan. He uses it for His glory. He uses it for our redemption.
Jesus was performing many signs and wonders. The raising of Lazarus from the dead capped it off. That had everyone talking. Hopes of the Messiah were running deep in the crowds.
Six days before Passover Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey with a massive crowd putting palm branches on the ground and hailing him as King of Israel. This sent the religious leaders over the edge. They were going to do something about Jesus. They would kill him. That would take care of it they reasoned. Little did they know.
Jesus is King (i.e., He is in control of God’s government and God’s world). The people recognized it. They shouted it out at the top of their lungs. The leaders wanted him dead. We know who got their way in the short run.
God has a plan. He uses if for His glory. He uses it for our redemption. Now that is some good news. No longer are we slaves to missing God’s goal for our lives. Jesus has set us free.
God had a plan to bring us to Him even though we miss His goal (sin) for our life. He still does. Jesus would die to reconcile the difference between our missing God’s goal and living out His plan.
- Jesus died for us.
- Jesus was resurrected.
- Jesus ascended into heaven where He is now King (in charge of God’s government).
The next day the huge crowd that had arrived for the Feast heard that Jesus was entering Jerusalem. They broke off palm branches and went out to meet him. And they cheered: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God’s name! Yes! The King of Israel!
Jesus got a young donkey and rode it, just as the Scripture has it: No fear, Daughter Zion: See how your king comes, riding a donkey’s colt.
The disciples didn’t notice the fulfillment of many Scriptures at the time, but after Jesus was glorified, they remembered that what was written about him matched what was done to him.
The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, was there giving eyewitness accounts. It was because they had spread the word of this latest God-sign that the crowd swelled to a welcoming parade. The Pharisees took one look and threw up their hands: “It’s out of control. The world’s in a stampede after him.” | via John 12:12-19 (The Message Bible)
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“All hail the power of Jesus’ name, let angels prostrate fall!” ~ Edward Perronet
I love this song. I think it is my all time favorite. I grew up hearing it in church and then sang it in choir. It gets me going for King Jesus.
I woke up singing it this morning. Now that is the start of a wonderful day in paradise.
The hymn is often called the “National Anthem of Christendom”. The lyrics, written by Edward Perronet while he served as a missionary in India, first appeared in the November, 1779 issue of the Gospel Magazine, which was edited by the author of “Rock of Ages”, Augustus Toplady.
What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of Man?
Jesus is referred to as the “Son of Man” 88 times in the New Testament. That is a lot so clearly this is a title to pay attention to. So … what does it mean?
A first meaning of the phrase “Son of Man” is as a reference to the prophecy of Daniel 7:13-14,
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
This is so very powerful. Jesus is King of God’s country. God has given all power and authority to him.
The description “Son of Man” was a Messianic title. Jesus is the One who was given dominion and glory and a kingdom. When Jesus used this phrase, He was assigning the Son of Man prophecy to Himself. The Jews of that era would have been intimately familiar with the phrase and to whom it referred. Jesus was proclaiming Himself as the Messiah.
A second meaning of the phrase “Son of Man” is that Jesus was truly a human being. God called the prophet Ezekiel “son of man” 93 times.
God was simply calling Ezekiel a human being. A son of a man is a man. Jesus was fully God, but He was also a human being.
First John 4:2 tells us,
“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.”
Yes, Jesus was the Son of God—He was in His essence God. Yes, Jesus was also the Son of Man—He was in His essence a human being.
In summary, the phrase “Son of Man” indicates that Jesus is the Messiah and that He is truly a human being.
Source: Gotquestions.com