Looking back...looking ahead...and considering where we are in this Kingdom of God thing, it would do us all good to remind ourselves that we have turned the corner. I think we forget this. And what would this turning point be: the resurrection of Jesus.
Some of you may be thinking...it's not Easter so why write on the resurrection? Well, when you think about it, it's the resurrection that gives us our private hope in life and more importantly it provides the mission of the church.
We have been taught one primary thing about the resurrection and it always seems to get stuck on the significance of what it means for our own eternal life. This is all true. I often tell people that because Jesus was raised...I will be raised. This is so true.
But the gospel of Mark has a different sort of emphasis. He, the first gospel writer, is telling his readers that "Jesus has been raised so it would be in your best interest to go and see him for your own eyes. You can find him in Galilee. He told you this would happen and all that he said about himself and the coming Kingdom of God has been found true. God's Kingdom has now been established on earth as it is in heaven. So go! You'll find out for yourself that this is less about you and more about the mission that is ahead."
And Matthew...well he expanded on what Mark said and put it something like this. "So now you are convinced that Jesus was raised in full body and was fully restored. What do you think this means for everyone? If he was a mere spirit raised from the dead then you would have no real hope or at least you would never be certain of all the things in which he spoke. There is a great purpose ahead. And it's not going to revolve around you own private spiritualilty. Again, if Jesus was raised as spirit, then you may have a case. But Jesus was raised in restored flesh, bones, and blood. And now the person of Jesus is enthroned as the Lord of heaven and earth. The future Kingdom that you have read about so much is now here. That's right...it is here among all of you. And the way in which you are being called to participate in it is to put it into practice by pledging your allegiance to him and seeking the welfare of others. God is with us is now Jesus with us and it will be so until the transforming work in this world has been completed. The resurrection is a far cry from a sentimental happy ending to a bad day. Rather, it is the turning point for everything else. Now go and reread the Hebrew scriptures and you'll see that it all makes sense. There you will find a beautiful story of suffering and vindication...of exile and restoration...and a further vindication of not only Israel but of the entire world. I urge to complete the ongoing dangerous and difficult task of being followers of Christ our Lord. See...we have turned the corner...this is a new world that must be seen in a new light."
May we as believers see ourselves as people on a mission to transform the world!
1 comment:
Ahhh. I have fond memories of Dr Greene stressing the importance of preaching on the Kingdom of God. It was very important to Jesus, it should be important to us. The Sunday School class I teach is lokking at Matthew's Kingdom Parables. We just looked at the dragnet one. It's one of the apocoltptic ones that begins all sweet and nice and ends with gnashing of teeth. The most interesting thing about that parable is that the dragnet is like the Kingdom which gathers the good fish and the garbage fish. So, sinners and saints are a part of the Kingdom at hand. The separation comes later and is done with those gathered w/i the Kingdom. Interesting. Not sure I can totally wrap my head around it all.
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