Mat 6:10; The Reason We Reject the Kingdom of God.

Class Outline:

Wednesday August 14, 2024

Rejection of the kingdom and reasons for it - Mat 12. 

 

Attachment to temporal powers and influencers (world and flesh).

 

See no need to be saved from it.

 

MAT 12:1 Love of formalism rather than the heart of the law of God.

 

MAT 12:10 Not wanting Jesus as Lord. He is Lord of the Sabbath. Rest and joy; meaning and fulfillment are in Him alone. Rulers of any age hold on to power at all costs (MAT 23:2). What are the rulers in the kingdom of heaven? Servants. 

 

MAT 12:16 Love of being exalted and glorified. The kingdom of heaven does not advertise in order to gain members. That would go against its foundation and reality. ISA 42:1-4 - the leader is the Servant. Washing the disciple’s feet. He would suffer greatly, beyond our ability to understand, in order to conquer the world and sin the way that He did (Isa 45:3-4, 10)

 

MAT 12:25, Love of division. If there is no division the lovers of the world cannot be better than and above others. Jesus said, however, that a divided kingdom cannot stand. 

 

The lovers of earthly kingdoms will go to all lengths to protect the power they have. The religious leaders dig deep into the pit of depravity and accuse Him of gaining His authority and power over demons by the ruler of the demons. Early example of the ruling class trying to destroy their enemy with propaganda. 

 

This shows us that no person can have an indifferent attitude towards Jesus if they know what He said and did. He is either a raving lunatic (a demon) or the Son of God incarnate (12:30, He who is not with Me is against Me.). 

 

The kingdom of heaven is united. The Lord Jesus’ task was to make God’s enemies into servants who fully desired all of God’s will. ISA 11:1-10; 65:24-25. 

 

MAT 12:46-50, the lovers of the earthly kingdoms will not bow to the Lord Jesus in order to enter His. Jesus’ family are not evil, but seem to not, as of yet, seen their need to be born again. They are related by blood to Jesus, but not by Spirit, JOH 3:3. Members of the kingdom are not born into it, they must be born again into it by faith. 

 

Mat 13, the Mystery kingdom. 

 

The unforgivable sin, the last straw of rejection, was to accuse Jesus of receiving His power and authority from Satan and his kingdom of darkness.

 

Mystery kingdom is the age of postponement, which includes the church age and the tribulation. 

 

Mat 13 is our Lord’s teaching in view of His final rejection by that generation of Israel. In this teaching He is preparing His disciples for His rejection and the intercalated time between His death and His return from heaven to establish His kingdom, which He will then establish by His own will. 

 

The mystery is the time between His death and second coming, which was not revealed in the OT prophecy. 

 

This does not make the church the kingdom of God. It is not. The church is a time in which members of the kingdom who are blessed with certain of the kingdom’s spiritual heritage, live amongst the old, earthly kingdoms. 

 

The church exists in an interim period that awaits the kingdom of heaven, and hence we long for it and pray for it to come. 

 

Why we pray, “Your kingdom come.” 

 

Simply, we want it to come. 

 

We realize and are reminded of our obligation to its way, truth, and life as its members (COL 1:13; 3:1-4, 10-25). 

 

We realize and remember our commission to the world (MAT 28:18-20). 

 

We realize and remember to seek the Person of the King, to know the King, and what it took for Him to conquer, how He conquered, and how He rules. 

 

We realize and remember that this world is a shadow of the kingdom to come, a temporary failure of kingdom building. 

 

We realize and remember that life in this world is very temporary (PSA 73:3, 17; PSA 90:3-4; ROM 8:18 f.).