Yesterday we started to look into our Identity in the Kingdom of God; who we are because we belong to Christ, including rescue from darkness, adoption, citizenship and our identity in Christ.
If you have studied what happened between when Israel asked for a king and the time of Christ’s ministry, you would have discovered that most of the time people can desire God’s kingdom while still having their own idea of what God’s kingdom should look like.
That is exactly what happened when Jesus came. They were expecting a Messiah who would establish the kind of earthly kingdom they understood. Jesus came announcing the kingdom, but he came in a way they did not recognise. Human beings have a tendency to define kingdom, authority, power and success according to human reality. God operates according to his own understanding and purpose.
This substantially determines what happens when we belong to God’s kingdom but continues to think according to the values and expectations of earthly kingdoms.
When Jesus’s disciples argued over who would be the greatest in his Kingdom, in their minds, “kingdom” meant dominance, higher rank, and elevated status, which is the exact model of human rule. Jesus reminded they what they have learnt through the generations of slavery and serving under human dominion. He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25–28
“Not so with you.” That is a kingdom statement. Jesus was showing them that the values of his kingdom are different from the values of earthly kingdoms. So when we come into God’s kingdom, our thinking has to change. We cannot belong to one kingdom while continuing to measure everything according to the values of another.
Jesus began to teach his disciples how people who belong to his kingdom should live in the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus taught his disciples to be merciful, pure in heart and peacemakers. He taught them to forgive, to pursue reconciliation, to love their enemies and to pray for those who persecute them.
He taught them to give without seeking recognition, to pray without performing for others and to trust their Father rather than allowing money and possessions to become their security. All these are not the priciples of the eartly kingdoms.
Jesus says: “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’”
This age says: “Say whatever gets the result” or “say what they expect to hear.”
Jesus: “Love your enemies.”
This age: “Get even.”
Jesus: “Do not judge.”
This age: “Call them out.”
Jesus: Give without seeking recognition.
This age: “Make sure people see what you have done.”
Jesus: Pray to your Father in secret.
This age: “Build your image.”
Jesus: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.”
This age: “Build your security.”
Jesus: “Do not worry.”
This age: “Look after yourself because nobody else will.”
Jesus: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
This age: “Cancel them.”
Jesus: Reconcile with your brother.
This age: “Cut them off.”
