The Season of The Kingdom

Rev. Richard A. Bolland

(Sermon Transcript 1/26/03)

Mark 1:14-20

        We have been called by mercy and restored by His love. His Son has died for us. He has suffered the penalty for our sin. He has indeed given us the victory over sin, and death, and the grave. And through Christ and through His grace we stand acquitted of all charges that sin has against us.

        And the crooked finger of Satan who wags at us, who is known in the Greek as the accusing one, has no accusations to throw at us any more.

        Earthly kingdoms rise, and they fall. Kings are made and they are unmade. And what is more, they have a time of power, and it lasts for a while, and predictably, it is gone. And so we might say that when Jesus comes and He proclaims that the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven is near, that some may be unimpressed.

        But I have news for you. The fact that they are not impressed does not mean that they should be. And what is more, it is a kingdom that some might say, "We’ve seen kingdoms come and we’ve seen kingdoms go", and so this claim is of no real import in the eyes of most of the world.

        But I am here to tell you, that they would be absolutely, dead wrong on this count. The kingdom Jesus now announces is unlike any kingdom that has ever existed on the face of the earth, or ever will, except for His own. His kingdom will not be filled with subjects and one king, as we explained to the children. Indeed, we find in the scriptures that all of us will share with Christ in His reign, that we will be kings and priests unto God. He is indeed the King of kings. And indeed we are Christ-ruled, but we are a kingdom of kings.

        The kingdom of God comes near to the earth in the passing of a season. As I was rumbling through the Greek text on this particular sermon text, I found an interesting word. The word in the Greek that describes the word we translate "time", in verse 15, "the time is come", is the Greek word kairoV. We do not have an equivalent for it in the English language. As is oftentimes the case with other languages, things don’t always translate one word for one word.

        And so is the case with this. KairoV carries with it the understanding that it is not time as we understand it, as events passing moment by moment, day to day. But rather this is a very specific allotment of time which has a very special fulfillment. It is a time that grants the ending of something and the beginning of something else. And we read that this kairoV is a brief period of time in a very special way indeed.

        The arrival of the kingdom of heaven is what John the Baptist had urged his people to prepare for. It was not yet the time. Then it was still time to prepare. And the fitting preparation was, of course, repentance, and baptism. That is what John called people to be, and to do. And so they did.

        And so, finally, now comes Christ. And we find a rather interesting beginning to the text. The text begins, After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

        Once again, forgive me. A bit of a Greek lesson. The "good news" is a Greek word, euaggelion, from which we get the word evangelist, or evangelism. It is, literally, the "good news". And so Jesus comes preaching the good news of God, and He says, "The time has now come."

        We might understand it perhaps on this super bowl Sunday this way. That tomorrow, January 27, we will have understood that the season has been fulfilled. It is over. It is done.

        Let it be known, that that is exactly the meaning of this text when Jesus says, "The kingdom of God is near and its time has been fulfilled. The time has come".

        Well, the time for what? In actuality the arrival of the kingdom of God in the person of Jesus Christ is in fact the supreme concept of all of the entire new testament.

        Let me explain. The prayers of the ages have finally been answered. The Messiah, long promised since the first days in the garden of Eden. The One, the seed of the woman who will finally come and crush the head of the serpent has arrived, and He is now ready to do what He has come to do, and that is to offer Himself as a living sacrifice for the sins of humanity. To fulfill the law that we can’t fulfill on our behalf. And to grant us a righteousness that is not our own, but rather is the righteousness, the sinlessness of His son.

        The pleas of countless generations, that God would deliver us from our self-made distress called sin, is in fact, finally at hand. As the season has been fulfilled and the kingdom of heaven has come to men.

        What then is the nature of this kingdom that is announced.? This kingdom which is now with us? This kingdom of which all who bear the name of Jesus Christ are now citizens, you and I

        Well, a lot of people have a lot of ideas about what the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God (which are synonymous) would be. You see, the kingdom of heaven is not like any other kingdom on the face of the earth. And part of the problem was people were expecting something like already existed on the face of the earth

        Indeed, a group of Jews at that time, called the Zealots, were certain that the kingdom, the Messianic kingdom, was going to be a military kingdom. A throwing off of the shackles of Roman oppression. And oppression it was. Iron booted soldiers crucifying those that misbehaved, at the side of the road, with impunity, by the thousands. But that was not what it was.

        And what’s more, others expected a kingdom much like that, but a bit different. A kingdom like that of King David, or King Solomon, in the glory days of Old Testament Israel, where once again a great empire would be fashioned, and the Messiah would reign in David’s place.

        Well, they were only partly right. The Messiah did come in the lineage of David, and He does rule in David’s place, but it is not a kingdom of this world.

        Indeed we find an interesting and ironic revelation of Christ. And that is when He finally reveals His kingdom in its completeness, it is not to His apostles. It is not even to the people of Israel, but rather to a Roman governor by the name of Pontius Pilate. In John 18, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."  "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

        And on the basis of this testimony, we find Pilate three times standing before the accusing Jews and saying, "I find no evidence that makes this man worthy of death." And then finally, subverting the system of Roman justice he was sworn to uphold, he turns Christ over to the mob for execution.

        Well, this is not a kingdom that consists of just a king and subjects. Regardless of their grandeur, earthly kingdoms rise and fall. We currently live in the United States of America, and we all hope it will last a good long time. But it has no special guarantee in the halls of history that it shall, and it could pass from this scene. Hopefully not in my lifetime, but it could. And probably will, if God tarries yet.

        And so we see kingdoms and their kings. And sometimes kings are made and kings are unmade (whatever the name the ruler goes by). Sadam Hussein could certainly find that out very shortly. But I must tell you that the kingdom of heaven does not fit this category. For we are not really subjects of the kingdom of heaven. But rather we are the objects of the service of the king. He makes of us those who rule with Him in heaven. Listen to words of St. Paul in First Corinthians and in Peter, Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings-- and that without us!...But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

        A couple of thoughts. The kingdom is not just for the future. The kingdom is now. Jesus wasn’t kidding when He said, "The kingdom is at hand". He said that 2000 years ago, I might add. The kingdom exists, and we are in it. We are in it by God’s grace. We are in it because God has claimed us as His own. We are in it because the power of God’s word has hammered against our stony hearts and broken down the barriers of our sin and our unbelief and brought us kicking and screaming into the faith of God’s gracious kingdom.

        Sometimes that kicking and screaming happens physically. I’ve had a few babies at the baptismal font who demonstrated that with great clarity. They were not happy about this entire situation. I have learned, however, to use warm water. Seems to help.

        Dear friends, all that Christ has accomplished, through His suffering and death, through His breathing His last breath, through the shedding of His blood, through His suffering of our eternal punishment which we deserved, all of that was applied to us in that gracious washing of regeneration which God has conveyed to us. The faith that we have.

        That gracious washing was at the fount of baptism. How do we know it is so? We read the scriptures. St. Peter said, Be baptized, and wash away your sins.

        Now lets see. Let’s think about that. The results of baptism is washing away your sins.

        In Acts chapter 2, verses 38 and 39 we read with clarity where Peter says, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

        Because you see, when we are gathered at the fount Holy Baptism, it is not a replacement for the cross. It is the application of the cross. When we are gathered at the fount of Holy Baptism, it is not a man who baptizes, but rather it is the hand of God that does the baptizing and the washing. How could it be otherwise?

        Oh, there certainly have been voices to the contrary. We see that when Jesus says, "Repent and believe", that in fact we come to think of those as what we do. We repent, and we believe. But it cannot be. For salvation is by grace through faith. And that faith itself is not a work of man, but a work of God. Otherwise salvation is not of grace.

        Listen carefully. St. Paul says that without faith we are dead, blind, enemies of God. Incapable of believing. Not desiring belief. And so how does it happen? It happens because the word is spoken. The word is not dead. It is not inert. It is not lifeless. It does not have a lacking of vitality that is contained within it, but rather the word is exactly what the scriptures say it is, the Word of Life. It is the bread of life. It is that which changes stony hearts and turns unbelief into faith. And at the fount of Holy Baptism, whether a child or and adult, when the words are spoken, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", it is the power of that word, that life-giving word connected with the water, that cleanses us from our sins. It is the hand of God and the word of God that makes it effective. It is not the actions of men.

        And so graciously we have been given the gift of faith. But God is not done. It is not a free ticket punch into heaven. It conveys to us the gift of salvation and grace, but it continues to bless us through the nourishment of His word. As we come each and every Sunday to hear that word being proclaimed. God is at work when His word is preached. God is at work when His word is read. God is at work when we gather at the family table around the word of God. And through that word, these means of grace, He strengthens us and He gives us stronger faith.

        He does not make us more saved, but He strengthens the faith that He gives.

        Dear friends, the thing about God’s grace is that it cannot be attributed to man’s actions. The things about God’s grace, both in the matter of salvation, and in the matter of sanctification, Christian living, God must always, shall have every last bit of the credit. For us to be saved is a measure of His grace and an action of His grace. And for us to live each and every day is His grace, working itself out day by day. And our eyes are finally opened by that grace, to understand the height and depth and breadth of the love of God that He has for us. Not only on the cross, but how that love carries itself out every single day, with every breath that we breathe.

        And so you see all of life becomes absolutely, and utterly, sacred. There is nothing secular about life at all.

        In the scriptures, we are not provided with the thoughts of John the Baptist as he languished in Herod’s prison, awaiting perhaps unknowingly his own execution. But I would like to think that certainly his words would be recalled. His own words concerning the Christ. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, he said of Jesus. The sacrificial lamb who dies for the sins of the world and who rises to life knowing that our victory is sure.

        Surely his words of Jesus echoed and re-echoed in his mind and heart. Words like I must decrease and he must increase. Perhaps the decrease he was experiencing wasn’t exactly what he had expected, but such was the lot of prophets, Old and New Testament. Perhaps John didn’t know everything. But we do know that there were emissaries who went back and forth from prison to Christ. They asked Jesus a question. They asked, Are you the one, or should we seek after another? Jesus did not issue a simple, "Yes, I’m the one", but rather He replied with the words of Isaiah. Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

        And I’m certain without any doubt in my mind, when that message was received by John the Baptist, that there was a smile across his face, that indeed the kingdom of heaven which he had been proclaiming was coming near, had indeed arrived. Thanks be to God it is here this very day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.