On Earth as it is in Heaven

Throughout the four gospels, especially the Synoptics (the first three), one should notice how central the kingdom of God is to Jesus. He preached it. He told his disciples to preach it. He taught about it in multiple sermons and teachings. He brought about what it was like through his miracles. The kingdom was central to Jesus' life and mission.

In N.T. Wright's book How God Became King, he argues that all four gospel authors are portraying stories of how Jesus became king and how many people have misread the Gospels.

Bold. Very bold argument.

But I believe it now! So that's what this is about. (And shoutout to Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. His book was also monumental in shaping my understanding of Jesus' kingdom and reading the Gospels).

Give me some breathing room as I try to take on this monstrous task in a single blog post. This is a difficult task! It took around 7 parables for Jesus to present his case for what the kingdom of God was like and I'm significantly lesser than Jesus. Significantly.

So, instead of attempting to summarize the whole concept of the kingdom of God, risking making it too shallow, I will take a more pragmatic approach and try to answer the question, How does Jesus' life and teachings reflect the kingdom of God? Here's to the Kingdom!

How God Became King

You might have heard people talk about the "upside-down kingdom" when referring to the kingdom of God. I really like that name. Jesus' kingdom was definitely upside-down if you believe that the kingdoms of this world (ruling by power and force) are right-side-up. The kinds of things Jesus taught and promoted were so controversial at the time that they tried to kill him.

In this politically-charged cultural moment when the Jews were being oppressed by the Romans, many zealous Jews would take matters into their own hands and try to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies (ie. 2 Sam. 7 and Psalm 2) by force. But when Jesus came, the rightful King, he came with a revolutionary gameplan - a culture - that was so subversive and unfamiliar that people doubted he was who he seemed to be claiming he was. (Fun fact about Jesus' gameplan: He literally can't lose. Think resurrection. How can you beat that?) People expected the King to come by force and overthrow the Romans, but Jesus came with a unique pace - a rhythm of peace and love.

Ironically, the only blood that was shed in his story was his own. In this kingdom, the crowning of the king looked like suffering and death on a cross, but then a miraculous and powerful reversal through his resurrection! When we read the story of Jesus' resurrection and ascension we should think, as Kanye did, "Jesus is King!" This is how the Gospel writers framed the story - to highlight how Jesus became king.

Why Did Jesus live?

What a question: Why did Jesus live? This question from How God Became King still sticks with me as I read through the Gospels. It needs to be asked more. Around 80% of the Gospels' narrative is the life of Jesus, but in a lot of Christian circles, so much emphasis is put on the death and resurrection of Jesus (especially during Easter) and the birth of Jesus (especially during Christmas).

Insert important disclaimer here: I am not saying those things are not important! Please don't get me wrong. I actually love it when people emphasize the power and salvation that Jesus' work on the cross brings! Besides, Paul says the resurrection is everything for believers' faith and salvation (1 Cor. 15:14, 17).

I am saying, however, that we are missing something important. We have not fully wrung out the Gospels of its juicy content. As N.T. Wright's analogy goes: there are some speakers in the room that need to be adjusted. Some even need to be turned up from completely silent. We need to answer the question, Why did Jesus live?

In Jesus' famous kingdom culture sermon (some call it the Sermon on the Mount), he says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit", "those who mourn", "the meek", "those who hunger and thirst for righteousness", "the merciful", "the pure in heart", "the peacemakers", "those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake". Theirs is the kingdom of God.

"But that's not how kingdoms work...? Don't we want to pick the best of the best? The strong in spirit? Emotionally stable individuals? People with power? People with a sense of confidence and pride?"

Nope. That's a worldly kingdom and as Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). When John the Baptist was in prison and questioning whether or not Jesus was truly the king that was prophesied about he asked, "Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?" Jesus replied, "...the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them" (Luke 7:22). Apparently Jesus thought that was evidence enough that his unusual, other-worldly kingdom was at hand.

Two main things summarize the life of Jesus. Teachings about the kingdom and demonstrations of who the King was like. His parables and teachings showed his followers what the kingdom was like and how to live in it and his miracles demonstrated the character of the King. His parables and teachings taught, "This is what my kingdom is going to look like and how you can be a part of it!" His miracles screamed, "This is what I'm like! I'm merciful and loving and I love you! I'm a powerful King and I want you to be a part of my kingdom" Jesus lived for those two things and it all culminated in his crowning as king.

Being a Part of the Kingdom

Now, let's talk about those teachings! In this kingdom, one thing is required of you - your heart. Jesus never set a list of rules for you to follow. He just wants your desires and your will to be his desires and his will (See the Lord's Prayer). King Jesus gives us two ways to give him our whole heart and they go hand-in-hand. If we can understand how these two commands are intricately woven together and start living in it, we can experience the kingdom now!

1. Abide (John 15:1-5) and 2. Love God, and love people (Matt. 22:37-40).

It's so easy that sometimes we make it hard. We complicate these two foundational teachings all the time, but the reality is that this is all we have to do. But don't take my word for it! Go check the Gospels and look at how foundational these two teachings are! It's everything. If you abide, you can love God and love people. If you love God and love people, you are abiding. That is life and life to the full.

Friends, Jesus is King and you are invited to be a part of his kingdom.

Practice #1

1. Choose a day where you have about 2 - 3 hours of free time and can guarantee no interruptions.

2. Choose a new environment if you can: A library, a quiet room in your church, a peaceful park.

3. Choose a Gospel: Matthew (28 chapters), Mark (16), Luke (24) or John (21).

4. Get away from your phone and computer and distractions! Please!!!

5. Get a notebook and a pen.

6. Pray the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:9-13).

7. Read through the whole of the gospel, noting the flow between chapters, why certain parts of the story are in certain places, paying attention to the pace of the story and asking, What is this book about?

8. Write down questions you have throughout and any gems you find!

My prayer is that by spending some time reading a Gospel this way you will receive fresh insight into how the Gospels should be read and what message the author is trying to get across. Hint: It has something to do with the kingdom of God, who's the King and where you fit into all of it.

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Next month's (February's) topic is Sabbath.