A Comment on Jesus’ Teaching on the nature of the Kingdom of God, with particular reference to Matthew 13:1-52 and Matthew 5-7. A Study by Blair Humphreys.

 

1) Introduction

Throughout the New Testament, especially the Synoptic Gospels * The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, there are numerous references to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven, which *1 “ is generally considered to be the central theme of Jesus’ Teaching.

“ Although spoken to mainly Jewish Audience, some 2,000 years ago, in a province of the Roman Empire, it is still the same Life Changing and Revolutionary message today as it was then. *2 “ Jesus preached the Kingdom of God. We preach Jesus. In Him and through the power of His Message the Kingdom  *1 is available to us, but can we preach Jesus or even understand Him, without understanding God’s Kingly Rule, the central note in all His Teaching.”

*1 Encyclopaedia Britannica Article The Kingdom of God.

*2 Understanding the Kingdom of God, by Georgina Harkness, Chapter 1, Where We

Stand

It is my objective, through my own personal study of the above Scriptures and with

reading through the New Testament, especially the Synoptic Gospels, prayer

and reading through relevant articles, books such as Matthew Henry’s commentary ,

and using various translations of the Bible, to gain an understanding of the Lord’s

teaching of the Kingdom of God, and applying that teaching to myself and it’s

relevance for us today in the early part of the 21st Century.

The Kingdom of God/Heaven is the central theme and the essence of Jesus’ message

, when we read through the Gospels, we see how important this message is, there are

so many references to the Kingdom of God throughout the Gospels, (although there

several references to the Kingdom of God in the Old Testament, for example

in Psalm 145:13 Nlt “For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule

throughout all generations, “ although the Old Testament saints, only saw a

glimmer of what was to come, Matt.13:17), we can only come to the conclusion

that if the Kingdom of God is mentioned so many times it must be important.

Indeed in Matthew 6:33, The Lord’s commends us to seek, the Kingdom above all

else, or in some versions “,make the Kingdom of God, your primary concern. “ If

the Kingdom of God was central to our Lord’s Teaching, it must be central to

our Christian Walk, Witness and Lifestyle.

Indeed the Kingdom of God is the Life force of Jesus’ Message, in Matthew Henry’s

Commentary on Matthew 13, it states that “ the word of the Gospel is the word of the

Kingdom. “ Our Message must be the same as Jesus’ Message. In Matt. 13:1-23

, it describes how a farmer when to sow some seed, (the word of God) and the

responses to that word, although Jesus spoke a message that everyone could

relate to, and hopefully understand, he used phrases, terms and illustrations that

people would know, I believe that the four times of soil, can relate to 4 times of

people that hear the Gospel, a) some seed fell on the path, some people hear the

message of the Kingdom, but don’t understand it, b) other seed fell on shallow

ground, some people hear the message gladly, but because of various problems

etc, turn away, c) other seed fell among thorns, some people hear the word, but

their lives become full of other things, turn away and don’t produce a crop, 

and finally d) some seed fell on good soil, and produced a huge harvest, speaks of

those who truly accept God’s message, and see other lives transformed by the

Gospel.

In Matt. 13:9 Jesus says “ Anyone who is willing to hear, should listen and

understand! “ I believe that although, the message of the Kingdom of God

can be easy to understand, not everything who hears it, will accept it .

The Lord only reveals a greater understanding of the Kingdom to those

, who truly accept the message ( I’m not speaking of a type of

special knowledge or revelation that is only available to some sort of

initiate of a secret society or an elite band of people, because that would be

a form of Gnosticism) , in Matthew 13:11f. Jesus tells the Disciples, “That you have

been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, to those who are

open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an

abundance of knowledge. “ although Jesus was speaking to the 12 here, he also

speaks to us, we can’t understand the Kingdom, unless we have a relationship

with the King, I believe because of our relationship with the King, we will have a

fuller understanding of Kingdom, the more time we spend with Him, and as we show

others the truth that we have learned from Him. See Matt 13:52. “, He can bring out

old treasures as well as new treasures from his storehouse.”

I believe that as Jesus was sent by God, to reveal the message of the Kingdom of God

, today we’re sent by Him, to reveal to others the Gospel of the Kingdom, see

Romans 10:14, Mark 3:14 & Matt 9:37-38

The Kingdom of God is not of this world, see John 18:36, although it can be

, seen in the lives of His followers who express every day both the fullness and

revelation of His Kingdom. Indeed, there’s nothing quite like knowing the King and

being part of His Kingdom, see Matt 13:44-46.

In Matthew 5-7, we see practical and everyday Kingdom Teaching, that reaches

, through the pages of our Bibles into our lives, situations and personalities.

IVP Commentary, Matthew 5-7 Introduction “ The Ethics of God’s Kingdom”

“Jesus summons those who would be his followers to radical devotion and radical

dependence on God. His followers must be meek, must not retaliate, must go beyond

the letter's law to its spirit, must do what is right when only God is looking, must

depend on God for their needs and pursue his interests rather than their own, and must

leave spiritual measurements of others' hearts to God. In short, true people of the

kingdom live for God, not for themselves, “

This Kingdom teaching, starts with what’s commonly referred to as the Beatitudes in

Matt 5:3 Nlt. “ God blesses those who realise their need for Him, for the

Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them, “ we also see the types of people

, that God will bless in Matt 5:4f and basically it includes everyone. Amen

We’re called to be both salt and light in Society, salt purifies and light shows people

, the way to go, see Matt 5:13- 16

In Matthew 6:9f, we see the Lord’s Prayer,

“9 Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth,

as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins,

as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to

temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”

There are so many examples of the nature of Kingdom Living, found in

, these Chapters, Matt 5-7, but what summarises this teaching for me, can be found in

Matt 7:24-27” 24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them

into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came

down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not

fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these

words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his

house on sand.”

James 1:22 “ But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says, “

Matt 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

Blair Humphreys

July 13th 2013

Bibliography

1) Encyclopaedia Britannica Article The Kingdom of God

2) Understanding the Kingdom of God, by Georgina Harkness

3) Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Matthew 13

4) IVP Commentary on Matthew 5-7

A Renewed Thinking

Romans 12 The Message ^1-2   So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:1-2 The Voice Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship. ² Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete.

Romans12:1-2 Niv Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Matthew Henry’s Commentary Romans 12:2

The mind must be renewed for him. This is pressed (Rom. 12:2): “Be you transformed by the renewing of your mind; see to it that there be a saving change wrought in you, and that it be carried on.” Conversion and sanctification are the renewing of the mind, a change not of the substance, but of the qualities of the soul. It is the same with making a new heart and a new spirit—new dispositions and inclinations, new sympathies and antipathies; the understanding enlightened, the conscience softened, the thoughts rectified; the will bowed to the will of God, and the affections made spiritual and heavenly: so that the man is not what he was—old things are passed away, all things are become new; he acts from new principles, by new rules, with new designs. The mind is the acting ruling part of us; so that the renewing of the mind is the renewing of the whole man, for out of it are the issues of life, Prov. 4:23. The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more and living to righteousness more and more, is the carrying on of this renewing work, till it be perfected in glory. This is called the transforming of us; it is like putting on a new shape and figure.

On  Facebook, and when we update our Status on Facebook, it asks its users the question “What’s on your mind?”

In the English Language we have one word for Mind, and that word is Mind, I’m sorry for stating the obvious, The Bible was written in two languages,  the first of these was Hebrew which the Old Testament was originally written in, although it was later translated into languages like Aramaic, Greek and so on. The second language was Greek, which the New Testament was originally written in, although it was again translated into other languages, in many ways for the Roman Empire and other Empires of that time especially in the Eastern Mediterranean area, The Greek Language was the lingua franca, we call the Greek Language used then as Koine Greek.

The users of Koine Greek would have used 3 different words that we today would read in our Bibles as the English word “Mind” these are:-

1.   Sophrono or right mind, Strong’s ref 4993 To be of sound mind, sane, self-controlled, serious, moderate, sober-minded, restrained, disciplined, able to reason. From sozo.” , to save” and phren, “ the mind”  see Mark 5:15

2.   Dianoia or a thinking through Strong’s ref 1271 Dianoia combines nous, “mind” and dia, “through” The word suggests understanding, insight, meditation, reflection, perception, the gift of apprehension, the faculty of thought. When this faculty is renewed by the Holy Spirit, the whole mind-set changes from the fearful negativism of the carnal mind to the vibrant, positive thinking of the quickened spiritual mind see Mark 12:30

3.   Sophronismos or a sound mind Strong’s ref 4995, A combination of sos “safe” and phren, “the mind” hence safe-thinking. The word denotes good judgement, disciplined thought patterns, and the ability to understand and make right decisions. It includes the qualities of self-control and self-discipline see 2 Timothy 1:7

For many of us,  our thought patterns have been influenced by what our society and culture think or indeed think of us!,  the influence or propaganda of a non-Christian world view or group think has had or indeed having an undue influence on the way we think as Christian Believers, it’s time we changed the way we think.

Colossians 3:1-3 Esv

 3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

1 Peter 1:13-15 Esv

13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, [a] and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct

Ephesians 4:17-18 Niv

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Matthew 6 New American Standard Bible (NASB) Giving to the Poor and Prayer : But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honoured by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

7 “And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

9 “Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 ‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.

12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Fasting; The True Treasure; Wealth (Mammon)

16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. 17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face 18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

The Cure for Anxiety

25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 

29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 

31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’

 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.