Matthew 3:1-3 1In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
This is where we will begin to explore the great subject The Kingdom of God. Here we see that the kingdom is referred to as the Kingdom of Heaven. Later on in this teaching of the Kingdom of God, I will show you from the Word that the "Kingdom of Heaven" and the "Kingdom of God" are talking about the same thing.
Here we see that John the Baptist preached calling people to repentance, for the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. John had a relatively short ministry, and one would think that what God had him to preach would be of great importance.
For the most part, in many ministries around the world, the preaching and teaching of the Kingdom of God is causal at best.
Matthew 3:3-6 3For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leather girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. 5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, 6And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
I'd like you to note what the scriptures do not say. Nobody said to John, "Excuse me. What are you talking about? Could you please explain to me what this Kingdom of Heaven is?" I'd also like you to note that the great prophet John the Baptist began his ministry by preaching, declaring that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand! Now this is an interesting point to see.
If John preached and called the people to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand, he must have had knowledge of such a kingdom. Let me ask you a question. If I said to you, "the clock spring is here;" for the most part, I would venture to say that not a one of you could write me back to ask me what I was talking about.
Now some may say, "He's talking about a watch or some kind of gadget, etcetera... The point is, when John said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," not one person is recorded as saying, "What is the Kingdom of Heaven?" Why is that? .Well, you think on that for a while. Let's move on.
Matthew 4:1-17 1Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. 3And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5Then the devil taketh him up, into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge, concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8Again, the devil taketh him up, into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. 12Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali: 14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
These temptations were recorded after John baptized Jesus. I would like you to note that Jesus is not beginning to move on his public ministry. I would also like you to note what topic he decided to present at the onset of his public ministry.
Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Here again we see the topic of the Kingdom of Heaven preached. Jesus not only taught God's people the scriptures, he also preached the Word.
Again, I'd like you to note what the scriptures do not say. Nowhere in the text is there a question as to what the Kingdom of Heaven is. Not one person said, "Master, please tell us what you are talking about. What is this kingdom where of you speak?"
No one said, "What is a clock spring?" Somewhere, somehow they all were taught from the youngest to the elder exactly what this Kingdom of Heaven was.
Jesus himself also knew what this kingdom was. I ask you once again: how did the people know? Who taught them and from where were these teachings recorded?
Who taught Jesus about the kingdom? Where did Jesus get this knowledge?
Whoever and wherever this teaching came from, one thing is certain. John, Jesus, and the common people had access to the knowledge of the kingdom teaching.
This brings up another interesting point. At this time in history, the only scriptures that were available to learn such knowledge from were the Old Testament.
Matthew 4:17-23 17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 18And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. 21And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. 22And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. 23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Jesus continues to move ahead in his ministry and he continues to preach the good news about the kingdom.
Matthew 4:24-25 24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.Matthew 5:1-3 1And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Once again, you see Jesus making reference to the kingdom teaching.
Matthew 5:4-10 4Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Many preachers commonly teach this section of scripture known as the beatitudes. However, without the understanding of the Kingdom of God, they cannot see the greater truths that Jesus was presenting to the people. Some preachers teach these scriptures as if they were available to the church today. These scriptures partly are a prophecy and promises to God's people of all times of a future kingdom that will come to earth where all these promises will become reality.
There are millions of people that mourn, both in the time of Jesus, and now, and are not comforted … and never will be at this time here on earth.
To be continued …ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NLT indicates the New Living Translation, NAS indicates the New American Standard version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, NJB means the New Jerusalem Bible, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.