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Author Topic: Jesus' Mystery Kingdom
Carol Swenson
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Colossians 1:9-14 (NASB)

9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.

13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.


We could not deliver ourselves from the guilt and penalty of sin, but Jesus could and did deliver us. We were in danger of spending eternity apart from God. The sword of God's judgment was hanging over our heads! But this deliverance involved something else: we were delivered from the authority of Satan and the powers of darkness. Jesus Christ did not release us from bondage, only to have us wander aimlessly.

He moved us into His own kingdom of light and made us victors over Satan's kingdom of darkness.

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Carol Swenson
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There is no salvation in goat's milk.

[Bible] [Bible] [Bible]

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
(Mk 1:15)

But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Lk 11:20)

The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, "Look, here it is!" or "There!" for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. (Lk 17:20-21)

From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence plunder it. (Mt 11:12)

Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. (Lk 9:60)

If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Mt 5:39b-41

For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. (Mk 8:35)

How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! . . . it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Mk 10:23b, 25)

But many that are first will be last, and the last first (Mk 10:31)

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Lk 14:11)

He who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God. (Lk 9:62)

There is nothing outside a person, which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a person are what defile him. (Mk 7:15)

Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child cannot enter it. (Lk 10:15)

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . . (Mt 5:44f)

Swear not at all, let your yes be yes, your no be no . . . (Mt 5:34f)

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? (Mt 23:33)

You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world. . . (Mt 5:13-14)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Mt 5:17)

And more [Smile]

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Eden
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Carol Swenson wrote to Eden and also to anyone
quote:
Anyone can read his Bible and see that Jesus did not always use parables.
Of course, Jesus also spoke normally just like we do, saying things like, "let's go now to Jerusalem", which of course is NOT a parable.

But when it came to TEACHING the multitude regarding the mystery of the coming kingdom of God, THEN He only TAUGHT the multitude in PARABLES:

Matthew 13
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

11 He said to them, "Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

So in v.11 we see that when Jesus TAUGHT the multitude about the mysteries of the coming kingdom of God, He ALWAYS TAUGHT them in parables.

But of course, when it was time to get some goat's milk, Jesus would just say, "we need some goat's milk".

So yes, Carol Swenson,
quote:
Anyone can read his Bible and see that Jesus did not always use parables.
love, Eden
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Carol Swenson
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Anyone can read the Bible and see that Jesus did not always use parables.

He did on the Matthew 13 occasion to fulfill prophecy...

PROPHECY: “I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old.” Psalm 78:2
"You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive." Isaiah 6:9, Matthew 13:14

FULFILLMENT: “All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them.” Matthew 13:34


People's New Testament

Matthew 13:34 Without a parable spake he not.
On that occasion. His whole discourse to the multitude was made up of parables.
-------------------------------------------------

Wesley's Notes

Matthew 13:34 Without a parable spake he not unto them.
That is, not at that time; at other times he did.
-------------------------------------------------

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Matthew 13:34. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.
That is, on this occasion; refraining not only from all naked discourse, but even from all interpretation of these parables to the mixed multitude.

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Eden
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The article posted by Carol Swenson said
quote:
Thus when Jesus taught about the kingdom He was about to initiate, His words created doubt rather than faith. Ultimately Jesus resorted to parables to describe a kingdom that would exist in secret.
Regarding the bolded part, actually Jesus did not ULTIMATELY resort to parables but Jesus ALWAYS SPOKE IN PARABLES:

Matthew 13:10
And the disciples came and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?

Matthew 13:13
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand.

Matthew 13:34
All these things spoke Jesus to the multitude in parables; and WITHOUT A PARABLE SPOKE HE NOT TO THEM.

Matthew 13:35
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Jesus did NOT ULTIMATELY RESORT to parables; Jesus NEVER TAUGHT THEM about the "secrets" WITHOUT A PARABLE.

Matthew 13:34
All these things spoke Jesus to the multitude in parables; and WITHOUT A PARABLE SPOKE HE NOT TO THEM.

love, Eden

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MentorsRiddle
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Amen, Carol! [clap2]

--------------------
With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.

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Carol Swenson
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He did bring to light their true evil, like you said. He is the real thing, but they were just phonies.

The living Word still brings to light the truth, whether it is good or evil.

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MentorsRiddle
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So basically he stood for everything they were against.

And he brought to light their true evil within.

--------------------
With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.

Posts: 1337 | From: Arkansas | Registered: Sep 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Carol Swenson
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quote:
I think they thought that Jesus was going to save them from Rome and deliver them from bondage, so to speak
I agree. The Jews had been oppressed for centuries under one Gentile ruler after another. In the scriptures they looked with longing at only the prophecies of the glorious appearing of Christ, and did not understand the suffering servant prophecies. Remember how on the road to Emmaus Jesus "opened their eyes" to the scriptures concerning Him?

Here's some food for thought...

Denunciation of the Pharisees (Matt. 23:13-36)

We must not read this series of denunciations with the idea that Jesus lost His temper and was bitterly angry. Certainly He was angry at their sins, and what those sins were doing to the people. But His attitude was one of painful sorrow that the Pharisees were blinded to God’s truth and to their own sins.

Perhaps the best way to deal with these eight “woes” is to contrast them with the eight beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord described true righteousness; here He described a false righteousness.

Entering the kingdom—shutting up the kingdom (v. 13; 5:3).

The poor in spirit enter the kingdom, but the proud in spirit keep themselves out and even keep others out. The Greek verb indicates people trying to get in who cannot. It is bad enough to keep yourself out of the kingdom, but worse when you stand in the way of others. By teaching man-made traditions instead of God’s truth, they “took away the key of knowledge” and closed the door to salvation (Luke 11:52).


Mourners comforted—destroyers condemned (v. 14; 5:4).

While this verse is not in some manuscripts of Matthew, it is found in Mark 12:40 and Luke 20:47. Instead of mourning over their own sins, and mourning with needy widows, the Pharisees took advantage of people in order to rob them. They used their religion as a “cloak of covetousness” (1 Thes. 2:5).


Meek inherit the earth—proud send souls to hell (v. 15; 5:5).

A proselyte is a convert to a cause. The Pharisees were out to win others to their legalistic system, yet they could not introduce these people to the living God. Instead of saving souls, the Pharisees were condemning souls!

A “child of hell” is the equivalent of “child of the devil,” which is what Jesus called the Pharisees (Matt. 12:34; 23:33; John 8:44). A “child of the devil” is a person who has rejected God’s way of salvation (righteousness through faith in Christ). This person parades his own self-righteousness through whatever religious system he belongs to. The convert usually shows more zeal than his leader, and this “double devotion” only produces double condemnation. How tragic that people can think they are going to heaven, when actually they are going to hell!


Hungering for holiness—greedy for gain (vv. 16-22; 5:6).

“Blind guides” is a perfect description, one that must have brought a smile to the lips of the listeners. Jesus had used it before (Matt. 15:14). The Pharisees were blind to the true values of life. Their priorities were confused. They would take an oath and use some sacred object to substantiate that oath—the gold in the temple, for example, or the gift on the altar. But they would not swear by the temple itself or the altar. It was the temple that sanctified the gold and the altar that sanctified the gift. They were leaving God out of their priorities.

Jesus knew that the Pharisees wanted both the gold and the gifts on the altar. This is why the Pharisees practiced “Corban”—anything dedicated to God could not be used for others (Matt. 15:1-9; Mark 7:10-13). These men were not seeking for the righteousness of God; they were greedy for gain. They worked out a “religious system” that permitted them to rob God and others and still maintain their reputations.


Obtaining mercy—rejecting mercy (vv. 23-24; 5:7).

The Pharisees majored on minors. They had rules for every minute area of life, while at the same time they forgot about the important things. It is usually the case that legalists are sticklers for details, but blind to great principles. This crowd thought nothing of condemning an innocent man, yet they were afraid to enter Pilate’s judgment hall lest they be defiled (John 18:28).

There is no question that the Old Testament Law required tithing (Lev. 27:30; Deut. 14:22ff). Abraham had practiced tithing long before the Law was given (Gen. 14:20), and Jacob followed his grandfather’s example (Gen. 28:20-22). The principles of Christian giving under grace are given in 2 Corinthians 8-9. We are not content simply to give a tithe (10 percent), but we also want to bring offerings to the Lord out of hearts filled with love.

Justice, mercy, and faithfulness are the important qualities God is seeking. Obeying the rules is no substitute. While it is good to pay attention to details, we must never lose our sense of priorities in spiritual matters. Jesus did not condemn the practice of tithing. But He did condemn those who allowed their legalistic scruples to keep them from developing true Christian character.


Pure in heart—defiled in heart (vv. 25-28; 5:8).

Jesus used two illustrations: the cup and platter, and the sepulcher. They both stated the same truth: it is possible to be clean on the outside and at the same time defiled on the inside. Imagine using dishes that were defiled! Whatever you put into the dish or cup would also become defiled. The Pharisees were careful to keep the outside very clean, because that was the part that men would see; and they wanted the praise of men. But God sees the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). When God looked within, He saw “greed and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25, niv).

Jewish people were careful not to touch dead bodies or anything relating to the dead, because this would make them ceremonially unclean (Num. 19:11ff). They would whitewash the tombs lest someone accidentally get defiled, and this was done especially at Passover season. What a graphic picture of the hypocrite: white on the outside, but filled with defilement and death on the inside!

“Blessed are the pure in heart,” was our Lord’s promise. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23, nasb). D.L. Moody used to say, “If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself.” The Pharisees lived for reputation, not character.


Peacemakers and persecuted are God’s children—persecutors are the devil’s children (vv. 29-33; 5:9-12).

When Jesus called the Pharisees “serpents … generation of vipers,” He was identifying them with Satan who is the serpent (Gen. 3:1ff). In His Parable of the Tares, Jesus made it clear that Satan has a family (Matt. 13:38). Satan is a murderer and a liar (John 8:44), and his children follow his example. The Pharisees were liars (Matt. 23:30) and murderers (Matt. 23:34).

It was traditional for the Pharisees to build, improve, and embellish the tombs of the martyrs. But it was “their fathers” who killed the martyrs! Not their biological fathers, of course, but their “spiritual fathers”—the hypocrites of the past ages.

There have always been counterfeit believers in the world, starting with Cain (Gen. 4:1-15; 1 John 3:10-15). The Pharisees and their kind are guilty of all the righteous blood shed in the name of “religion.” The first martyr recorded in Old Testament Scripture was Abel (Gen. 4), and the last one recorded was the Prophet Zechariah (2 Chron. 24:20-22—the Hebrew Bible ends with 2 Chronicles, not Malachi).

What will be the result of this long history of murders? Terrible judgment! “This generation” (the “generation of vipers,” Matt. 23:33) would taste the wrath of God when the cup of iniquity was full (Gen. 15:16; Matt. 23:32). Some of this judgment came when Jerusalem was destroyed, and the rest will be meted out in eternity.

As we review these tragic woes from the lips of our Lord, we can see why the Pharisees were His enemies. He emphasized the inner man; they were concerned with externals. He taught a spiritual life based on principles, while the Pharisees majored on rules and regulations. Jesus measured spirituality in terms of character, while the Pharisees measured it in terms of religious activities and conformity to external laws. Jesus taught humility and sacrificial service; but the Pharisees were proud and used people to accomplish their own purposes. The holy life of Jesus exposed their artificial piety and shallow religion. Instead of coming out of the darkness, the Pharisees tried to put out the Light; and they failed.

(Wiersbe)

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MentorsRiddle
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I think so too.

I just also think that the Jews wanted a different type of savior than Jesus.

I think they thought that Jesus was going to save them from Rome and deliver them from bondage, so to speak.

Maybe they did what they did trying to force Jesus's hand into action, like Judas tried.

I can't beleive that they didn't beleive in him and who he was after all that he did.

I think they did think that he was the son of God, but tried to manipulate him into serving their wants and needs.

I think they thought if they turned him over to death that he would react and punish Rome for trying to kill him, etc.

But, their idea of God and who they wanted God to be are two different things.

Your thoughts?

--------------------
With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.

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Carol Swenson
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Hi MentorsRiddle

That's a very good question. I think during Jesus' earthly ministry, more than pride was involved. Jesus was understanding about simple human failings and weaknesses. The Beatitudes, and other teachings, tell us that. But to the Jewish leaders He said:

Matthew 23:33 (NLT)
Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?

I believe God appointed them to be there at that time and to be instrumental in the murder of Christ.

Today the Lord is gathering both Jews and Gentiles into His church, but there is a lot of prophecy concerning just the Jews - promises that God will fulfill in time.

Let's do some study and see what we come up with.

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MentorsRiddle
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Carol, do you think it was mainly pride that set the Jews against Jesus?

Maybe it's still pride that seperates them from God today?

--------------------
With you I rise,
In you I sleep,
kneeling down I kiss your feet,
Grace abounds upon me now,
I once was lost
but now I'm found.
The gift of God dwells within,
To this love I now give in.

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Carol Swenson
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You're right. It would be better stated that many people doubted when they heard His words. But the fault was in them, not His Word.
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Thunderz7
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Colossians 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

One comment of the writer that I had strong disagreement with =
quote:
when Jesus taught about the kingdom He was about to initiate, His words created doubt rather than faith.
Jesus is the WORD,
The WORD doesn't create negative/doubt.
The WORD creates hope, and faith is the substance of things hoped for.
Any doubt or lack of faith is in/on the part fo the hearer, not the WORD.
Doubt from the imagination of hearts not turned to GOD.

T7

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Carol Swenson
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Paul’s responsibility (Colossians 1:25-27)

Had Paul compromised with the Jews and stopped ministering to the Gentiles, he could have been spared a great deal of suffering. But he could not abandon his calling just for personal safety and comfort. He had been made a minister by God; he had been given a “stewardship” (dispensation) and he had to be faithful to his calling (1 Cor. 4:2). It was not a matter of choice: he was called to fulfill the Word of God. This can mean, “I must preach the Word fully and not compromise any truth.” It can also mean, “I am commissioned by God’s Word and I must be faithful to discharge my office.”

Paul’s special message regarding the Gentiles had to do with what he called the mystery. To us today, a mystery is something eerie and perhaps frightening; but this was not the way the word was defined in Paul’s day. The false teachers used this word to describe the inner secrets of their religions. A mystery is a “sacred secret,” hidden in the past and now revealed by the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 3:1-13).

God called the nation of Israel to be His people, He gave them His Law (including the priesthood and sacrifices), and He gave them a wonderful land. He promised them a King who would one day establish a glorious kingdom and fulfill the many promises made to Abraham and David. The Old Testament prophets wrote about a Messiah who would suffer, and a Messiah who would reign. They could not explain the seeming contradiction (see 1 Peter 1:9-12). They did not understand that the Messiah first had to suffer before He could enter into glory (Luke 24:13-27).

Jesus Christ came to earth, was rejected by His people, and was crucified. He arose again and returned to heaven. Did this mean that God’s promised kingdom for Israel was now abandoned? No, because God had initiated a new program—His mystery—that was not explained by the Old Testament prophets. The mystery is that today God is uniting Jews and Gentiles in the church (Eph. 2:11-22). When the church is completed, then Jesus Christ will return and take His people to heaven (1 Thes. 4:13-18). Then He will again deal with Israel as a nation and establish the promised kingdom (Acts 15:12-18).

Imagine what this message meant to the Gentiles. They were no longer excluded from the glory and riches of God’s grace! During the Old Testament dispensation, a Gentile had to become a Jewish proselyte in order to share in the blessings of Israel. But in the new dispensation, Jews and Gentiles alike are saved by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:12-13). No wonder the Jewish false teachers opposed Paul. He dared to say, “There is no difference!”

We who have grown up in somewhat Christian surroundings have a tendency to take all of this for granted. But think of the excitement this message must have generated in a church composed of new believers who had no background in the church. Once they were outside the covenants of God, but now they were members of His family. Once they were living in spiritual ignorance and death, but now they were alive and sharing in the riches of God’s wisdom in Christ. Once they had no hope, but now they had a glorious hope because Christ now lived within! It would be good for us today to recapture some of that “first love” excitement.

(Wiersbe)

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Carol Swenson
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 - JESUS’ MYSTERY KINGDOM

Much of Jesus’ early teaching ministry focused on a unique expression of the kingdom of God that He would initiate.

The Old Testament portrayed God as sovereign over the whole world and over the flow of history, and thus both the spiritual and material universes as well as time itself constituted His kingdom.

The Old Testament also looked forward to an earthly kingdom to be established by a promised deliverer called the Messiah. The prophets predicted that He would sit on David’s throne in Jerusalem and rule the world. This vision of an earthly kingdom in which the Jewish people were preeminent was especially attractive to first-century Jews, who had for five hundred years been oppressed and governed by Gentiles. At first the masses expected Jesus to establish this earthly kingdom.

But instead Jesus spoke of a very different kind of kingdom of God to be established here on earth.

While the kingdom Jesus had come to initiate was not a subject of Old Testament prophecy, the fact that the promised Messiah would appear to heal, to suffer, and ultimately to die and be resurrected is a theme woven throughout the Old Testament. But the prophecies of suffering and spiritual deliverance were largely ignored, for the image of a worldwide kingdom ruled by the Messiah captured the imagination of all. Thus when Jesus taught about the kingdom He was about to initiate, His words created doubt rather than faith. Ultimately Jesus resorted to parables to describe a kingdom that would exist in secret.

Jesus’ kingdom would be established in the hearts of human beings who would be scattered among the political kingdoms of humankind.

This secret kingdom would not replace the messianic kingdom envisioned by the prophets. But the secret kingdom was the one that Jesus would establish here on earth at His first coming. The kingdom of power and glory would be established only when Jesus returned from heaven.

The fact that God would establish two kingdoms here on earth, one a secret kingdom and the other a visible and glorious kingdom, had not been revealed in the Old Testament. This was in fact a mystery kingdom, a hidden aspect of God’s eternal plan that was unveiled by Jesus as He began to teach. In fact, Jesus’ early ministry focused on teaching about this secret or mystery kingdom. This is something that we need to understand, for today we too live as citizens of a secret or hidden kingdom of Jesus here on earth.

The key to our life as citizens of Jesus’ mystery kingdom is the personal relationship with God as Father which Christ’s death and resurrection enables us to have . The men and women of Jesus’ day focused on externals. They cast relationship with God in the framework of ritual observance and public displays of piety. In contrast Jesus rejected their approach to religion and stressed a focus on our inner spiritual life.

This theme is developed several ways in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes Jesus gives us a picture of the values that are to characterize citizens of the mystery kingdom. Jesus then goes on to point out that the righteousness claimed by the scribes and Pharisees was a works righteousness, rooted in a misunderstanding of God’s Law. Yes, the Law lists right and wrong acts. But God’s intent was not to encourage human beings to try to live up to its standards. God’s intent was that human beings would use the Law as a mirror, and look within to see in their corrupt motives and desires the need of an inner transformation!

That inner transformation can come only through a personal relationship with God as Father, marked by an inner desire to please Him and by such a complete trust in His loving care that we are freed to give priority to His kingdom and to seeking His righteousness.

Today, as in the first century, too many Christians have lost sight of the fact that the very heartbeat of life in Jesus’ kingdom is our in-secret, personal relationship with God. It is only in focusing on loving and trusting Him that we experience that inner transformation that citizenship in Jesus’ kingdom requires.

Those who practice their faith simply by going to church and seeking to live moral lives are as far from experiencing life in Jesus’ kingdom as were the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

(Every Teaching Of Jesus In The Bible by Larry Richards)

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