The Kingdom of God: 5 – Kingdom Events in the Life of Jesus

Jesus did not just speak of the coming Kingdom. He demonstrated it, he demonstrated that in a sense he had already arrived!

1. The Transfiguration, Matthew 16:28-17:5.

“Some” of the disciples (he seems to be addressing the 12 here) will not die until they see Jesus coming “in His Kingdom.” So it is in Mark and Luke, and the next event is the transfiguration. The flow of the text leads us to believe that what Peter, James and John witnessed in amazement was none other than the Christ of the future, the One who will come with the iron rod and will reign in Jerusalem.

The predicted event could not have been Pentecost, because everyone “saw” Jesus in the Spirit there. What else could it be? All the disciples were dead 60 years later and the Millennial Kingdom had not arrived. This was a preview of upcoming events, where Old Testament and New Testament saints will mingle and have fellowship and Jesus will be Lord of all.

Notice the words heard during this event: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Almost a direct quote from Isaiah 42:1, Behold my Servant whom I will uphold, my Chosen in whom my soul delights! That passage from Isaiah goes on to speak of the Justice that Christ will bring to earth, further confirming that this Transfigured Christ is the Reigning Christ to come, and Peter, James, and John were privileged to see it. in his kingdom before they died.

2. The Triumphal Entry, Mark 11:10.

If Jesus did not want to tell us about the coming of the physical kingdom, he should have moved away from the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, where the prophet sees the Messiah entering Jerusalem on a donkey, symbolizing the restoration of the kingdom. , David’s throne in power again. And he could have silenced the people when he shouted Blessed be the Kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna (save now). Well the fullness of him was not to be now. It would be much later. But the statement is clear. His actions, his silence on his conclusions. Remember that this Jesus had spent all these months simply touching the individual lives of people and teaching the ways of the Lord. He suddenly he is marching on the city. The people believed that He was the Messiah. And he went. They did not know that they would allow him to die in a week, and that his death and resurrection would expand the limits of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth.

3. The Paschal Feast (the Lord’s Supper for now) Luke 22:15-18

What made Jesus want this Passover celebration so much? It seems to be pointing to the time when He will eat her again, in his glorified Body, in the Kingdom. Notice that He says that he is going to drink physically, not just be present with us while we drink, which occurs in our simple communion services. You see Jesus eating bread and fish in the resurrection stories, but never again sitting down at the Passover table. That will be, I suppose, in the great “wedding feast” still in our future. (Revelation 19:7-9)

4. The Transfer of the Kingdom, Luke 22:29-30.

Whether this happened at the time or is prophetic, we know that this action of giving the Kingdom to His disciples fulfills the promise to religious Jews that He would take the Kingdom from them and give it to a “nation,” a people, giving the necessary fruit. The text adds the additional promises to sit at his table and judge the 12 tribes of Israel.

5. The final words: Acts 1:3,6.

After Jesus rose from the dead, the KINGDOM was still in His mind and in the minds of His followers. Not once is he removed for “spiritualizing” him. They knew that He had “given” them the Kingdom, but they had no revelation about the expansion of the Gentiles in the Kingdom. His natural question was, is it NOW that we begin to rule and reign as you promised? You took the Kingdom from the Jewish leadership and gave it to us. Where is? Where is our national treasure? But Jesus, as he did with Daniel, has to keep the disciples away from him, because his timing is not right. No more questions. It’s not time yet. For now, the Spirit comes. A new kind of authority, and the Power is coming. You will no longer be lords, but witnesses. Say what you saw, and I’ll go with you. Nothing military. Still. kingdom business. kingdom authority. kingdom power. But not the Kingdom you expected, not for a while.

6. The church predicted, and the keys of the kingdom!

The Kingdom and the Church meet in Matthew 16, showing us that they are NOT one and the same, but DO overlap in dominion. The Kingdom is in the days of Jesus about to be closed to the Jews, by his own decision. The scribes and Pharisees actually “closed” the Kingdom of heaven from men (Matthew 23:13). Their hypocrisy and legalism turned people away from God and made them disbelieve in the Messiah when he appeared. The Gentiles have not yet had the door open for them. But all this is about to change. The fact that Jesus is the CHRIST, and also the SON of the LIVING GOD, is the foundation of a new institution, which will reach Jews and Gentiles alike, opening the Kingdom of Heaven to whoever he wants. Pedro will be given the keys to this operation. It is interesting that Isaiah 22:22 speaks of the “key” of the House of David, a passage quoted by Jesus to the church of Philadelphia, Revelation 3:7. Jesus has the key that opens and closes the doors of the Kingdom.

It is enough to study the ministry of Peter in Acts to understand that the preaching of the Good News of Jesus also opened the doors wide and consolidated the Church as a builder of the Kingdom. The Church became the Headquarters of the Kingdom of God on earth, raising faith in Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit that resides in it.

It is very important to see that the Kingdom was already here and the Church is the future in Matthew 16. Jesus builds His Church to open the doors of the Kingdom to Jews and Gentiles. When the unsaved enter the Kingdom through this preaching, they are filled with the Spirit and become for now the Church, the so-called outside, The guests. Yes, and the call in, to what? To the Kingdom. to the king. He has not abandoned the Kingdom! do not fear. It is still his wish to give it to us from him! He is simply on the stage of the people of that Kingdom. And the Church is the agent of this task, and this task alone.

rule the kingdoms. The churches don’t. invited churches. The kingdoms demand. The churches humble themselves. The kingdoms take authority. The Church is a lamb, meek and meek. Like Jesus when she was here before. The Kingdom is a lion, like Jesus when he will come with the rod.

The Church has never been called to BE the Kingdom, only to ENTER it, and open its doors to others to do the same. This is the “nation” that has to bear fruit that is pleasing to the Father, an impossible task for those who do not have the Spirit of God. Therefore, Pentecost.

However, it cannot be ignored that the people of the church are also Kingdom people in the making. Glimpses, sometimes more than glimpses, of life to come in the Kingdom are seen in the lives and power of its future citizens.