The greatest in the kingdom, are those who know and follow Christ. It is those who follow Christ that witness the kingdom’s reality. There is more to the kingdom than just believing……we must follow and do. God’s wisdom is seen in Jesus’ deeds and His teaching. Matthew 11:11-12 are part of the story of John the Baptist sending a messenger to Jesus. In order to understand these verses we must look at them in context. Read More | Comments
- Kingdom of Heaven
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May31st
2 CommentsThe Kingdom of Heaven: Matthew 11:11-12 / Luke 7:28, “John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus”
Posted in: Kingdom of Heaven
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April20th
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When I began this journey, I wanted to put these two phrases that were the core of Jesus’ teaching in a box. I soon started to see that this would not be so easy a journey, but that it would be a journey that led from one place to another. The journey of understanding “the kingdom of heaven/Kingdom of God” really starts with what this phrase would mean to the average “Jew or Hebrew on the street”…..and it ends with Jesus.Let’s take a look at what these words, this thought, this phrase– “kingdom of Heaven/kingdom of God” –would mean to the average Jew when they heard it. Why the Jews? Because Jesus and His disciples were Jews. Because God clearly chose Israel to carry His message. Context is always important. Read More | Comments
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March29th
1 CommentThe Kingdom of Heaven: Matthew 13:11/Mark 4:11/Luke 8:10, “The Purpose of Parables”
Posted in: Kingdom of Heaven
Here we have three Scriptures of the same scene, the scene of Jesus telling the disciples the purpose of parables. As I would expect, Matthew uses “the kingdom of heaven” language and both Mark and Luke use “the kingdom of God”. Again, pointing to the fact that both the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are one and the same.Let’s look closer at Jesus teaching the disciples the purpose of parables. In context, we will be looking at the following Scriptures: Matthew 13:10-17, Mark 4:10-12 and Luke 8:9-10. Read More | Comments
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March26th
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As we continue on in our study look at the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God we come to the story of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples in the Gospel of Matthew 10:1-15. We find this same story recounted also in the Gospels of Mark (Mark 6:7-13) and Luke (Luke 9:1-6). Read More | Comments -
February16th
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The next place that Jesus teaches and mentions the kingdom of heaven/kingdom of God is in the Gospel of Matthew 8:11. He also speaks of the kingdom in a parallel verses in the Gospel of Luke 13:28-29. This again is a clue that the two kingdom phrases are synonymous. We will look at this closer later, right now let’s look at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 8, verse 11 in context, we will look at verses 5 through 13 as Jesus tells us about the faith of the Roman centurion:Mathew 8:5-13: Read More | Comments
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January23rd
No CommentsThe Kingdom of Heaven: Matthew 7:21 “The Tree and its Fruit”
Posted in: Kingdom of Heaven, Sermon On The Mount
“The Tree and its Fruit”
Jesus warns us against false teachers. There are many people who claim to speak for God’s only to be seeking money for themselves, or power or prestige. There are others who claim to speak for God who’s methods are of violence and hate. Jesus tells us that we can discern the false prophets by the “fruit” of their labor. Read More | Comments -
January22nd
No CommentsThe Kingdom of Heaven: Matthew 5:19 and 5:20 “Christ Fulfills the Law”
Posted in: Kingdom of Heaven, Sermon On The Mount
“Christ Fulfills the Law”
Jesus taught His followers and disciples about the Law. Next we will look in context at His teaching concerning the kingdom of heaven in the Gospel of Matthew 5:17-20.
God communicated moral and ceremonial law to the Israelites so that they would come closer to Him, know Him, and love Him. He imparted this wisdom about life (after all, He created life so He should know), so that we, as people, could live fulfilled lives. But, what happened, and what I believe often continues to happen even today, is that we take this wisdom that God shared with us and we “legalize” it. The Pharisees and religious leaders of the day took the law and often misquoted and misapplied it. Many religious leaders today do the same. Read More | Comments
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January4th
No CommentsThe Kingdom of Heaven: Matthew 5:3 and 5:10 “The Beatitudes”
Posted in: Kingdom of Heaven, Sermon On The Mount
Next in this study is Matthew 5:3 and Matthew 5:10. In Context we will look at this well known Scripture known as the Beatitudes found in the Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12. I would note that in the Beatitudes, as recounted by Luke in his Gospel, chapter 6, verse 20, we see the “kingdom of God used”. This again, is a clue that the kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are one and the same. We will look at the Beatitudes in Luke later in our study.To many, these Scriptures are very familiar. Let’s look at them from the “Kingdom” standpoint. Again, remember that John the Baptist announced a new age dawning in which the kingdom of heaven was near. Jesus, in the beginning of His preaching ministry announces the same thing, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”. Now, a short time later the apostle Matthew relates to us the first record in his Gospel of Jesus Words explaining the kingdom of heaven. We commonly call this teaching the “Sermon on the Mount”. It takes place near Capernum. The first part of this teaching is the Beatitudes. I would note that the Scripture tells us that when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountainside and sat down and that His disciples came to Him to learn. A disciple is a follower. I believe that He was primarily speaking to the chosen twelve, however, the crowds were present and listening. We should be listening also and have that opportunity through the Gospel of Matthew. Read More | Comments
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December14th
No Comments“Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry”
Let’s look at the Gospel of Matthew 4:17In context, we will look at Matthew 4:12-17:
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. 13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali– 14 to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles– 16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (emphasis added)
We should also look at this parallel story told by the apostle Peter’s disciple Mark in his Gospel, Mark 1: 14-15:
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”This is the beginning of Jesus Galilean preaching ministry as it is relayed by the apostle Matthew. Read More | Comments
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December13th
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As we have seen, The “kingdom of heaven” is mentioned 30-32 times in the Bible, all in the Gospel of Matthew. The “kingdom of God” is mentioned 65-69 times in the Bible, all in the New Testament and of these, 4-5 times in the Gospel of Matthew. So, what, if any, is the difference between the meaning of the two phrases? Having not completed this study, I am not prepared to give what I would consider is a definitive answer. However, I have found some clues:– The Gospel of Matthew was primarily written for a Jewish audience. In writing to a predominantly Jewish audience, he used language that they would most likely understand, that would bring out the full meaning to his readers. The “kingdom of heaven” was typical Jewish terminology.
– Secondly, out of reverence, Mathew may have used the “kingdom of heaven” rather than the “kingdom of God”. I notice that my Jewish readers today on my blogs often will not type the name of God, rather they use G*d or similar substitution. Read More | Comments
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