Succintly - part 2
| "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark1:15) |
"The kingdom of God is near..." There is a lot that can be written about the Kingdom of God. In General Terms, the Kingdom is more than the Church - it is where God is King in the hearts of those who have placed their allegiance with Him. Whatever they do according to His Will and in His name is an extension of the Kingdom of God - the place where God is King.
In this context, however, I believe that Jesus is being quite specific. The Jews had hoped for a political kingdom. Jesus is the ultimate embodiment of the Kingdom - He did not try to grasp power from God the Father or compete with Him - He submitted to the Father's Will. It is in the absolute obedience of the Son in coming to Earth and going to the Cross that ultimately embodies the Kingdom.
Jesus was saying, "Because I am near, the Kingdom of God is near." What was once far away has now been brought near. While we could not come to Him, He came to us.
The absolute obedience and submission of Jesus to the Father is the foundation of the Kingdom of God. Jesus didn't have to do the "strip off your power and glory and enter a human womb and live the limited life of humanity" thing - He did it out of love and obedience.
He brought the kingdom near simply by doing what His Father wanted.
When we submit to God, when we place Jesus in the driving seat of our lives then the Kingdom of God is near! The kingdom is in the hearts of those who let God be the King of their lives.
