“Lord Jesus, we thank You, that though we are in this terrible state of death, because of our rebellion against You, You did not wash Your hands off us. You came searching for us, to restore us back into the Shalom of God, into life in Your kingdom. We praise You. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”
Acts 3:1-2 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (2) And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple;
We rejected and rebelled against God. We have brought ourselves into this place of sadness in our world. We are to be blamed for our predicament, not God.
Instead of leaving us in our predicament of death, Jesus came searching for us. He came to rescue us and restore us back to the first place of the Shalom of God, which is the life in His kingdom. This is the Gospel of His kingdom. He made this possible through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 1:10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.
Colossians 1:20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Jesus came to give us the Gospel of His kingdom. Luke 4:43-44 but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” (44) And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
We considered, in the previous study, that our Lord Jesus gave us salvation from our sins. This Goodnews of salvation from our sins, leads us to come into the Shalom of God, which is the Goodnews of His kingdom. The salvation from our sin culminates in us experiencing His kingdom.
Here we see a glimpse of life in His kingdom. Isaiah 32:15-17 Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest. (16) Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness remain in the fruitful field. (17) The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
What was the way that the Lord lived His life, in order to bring people into the Gospel of His kingdom?
Luke 4:18-21 “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR; HE HAS SENT ME TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED; (19) TO PROCLAIM THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.” (20) Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (21) And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
This is what the Lord wanted John the Baptist to understand. _Matthew 11:2-6 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples (3) and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (4) Jesus answered and said to them, *”Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: (5) The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (6) And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
John the Baptist expected Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom, by overthrowing Roman rule, which was what all the Jews expected from the Messiah. Whereas, the Lord was bringing about His kingdom, which was far above all other reign and authority.
The Lord saw people as those who were not enjoying life in His kingdom. John 4:34-35 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. (35) Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
What is this harvest that Jesus is talking about, which is the will of God? People are in desperate need, in different ways. People have lost the life of His kingdom and they need to be brought back into His kingdom. This is the harvest.
This does not mean that when we experience the Gospel of His kingdom, all sickness, disease, and troubles, will disappear. Yes, God heals and He does heal people of illnesses but the healing of God is of the heart and the spirit, where we come into the habitat of God and there we are rested and satisfied in Him. Physical healing may take place as well.
One day, when we are in the presence of God, we will enjoy the fullness of His kingdom, where there will be no more sickness and suffering.
Let us, as his church, be fully engaged in reaping the harvest that is around us.