At the heart of the message Jesus taught while on earth, was that God’s rule and reign has come. We read in Mark 1 :14 & 15 that Jesus said: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news”. The priests murdered him for this. They wanted to hold on to their privilege and control – and Jesus led his church to become part of God’s rule and reign. Thus Jesus died as a result of announcing the Kingdom of God and then he inaugurated it through his cross and resurrection.
If Jesus came to establish the reign of God on earth, if he proclaimed this message in words and works, and if, in the end, this message led him to the cross, how does his Gospel impact on what we believe and how we follow him today?
1. We should live every moment realizing that he made us part of the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15). This call is still applicable today. When we accept God’s rule, we also accept his values. His priorities, so radically different from what the world aspires to, I need to make my own, because if I am in the kingdom of God, I should live accordingly.
2. Jesus came to change the world and redeem the lost. Like Jesus, we too should seek the kingdom of God. We should proclaim that when we are part of his kingdom, we are both redeemed and changed to become people under God’s reign. We then live to heal both people and our world, to love our enemies, heal the sick and rehabilitate the paradise, our planet, which God gave us to enjoy and protect. This we do by living faithfully as an active member of the community of Jesus.
3. We who live in the community of Jesus must not want to lord over others, but to serve our King in serving our fellow believers. We do not live to build our own kingdoms anymore, but we live to the glory of the great and almighty King.
4. In the kingdom of God we live in the power and hope of the resurrection. The message, miracles and cross of Jesus would have been long forgotten if he did not rise from the grave and is now alive to exercise his royal authority. We put our trust in Jesus today, and we too die at the cross, in order to live, through the Holy Spirit, in the glorious kingdom that Jesus came to announce and establish. This hope sustains us as continue to live in the “already and not yet” of the kingdom of God. And we know that one day the kingdom of God will come in full power and the victory of God will be complete.
The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever. Amen!
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