The Story of the Bible - Part 6: The Kingdom Society of Jesus

Last week we talked about the restoration of Israel. And that's a concept that we find in a lot of Old Testament passages. For instance, Amos 9:11-15, where God talks about a day when he “will restore the fallen tent of David.” He says, “I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” And again, language like this is all through the prophets. And I want to suggest that the restoration of Israel is linked to Jesus’ announcement that the Kingdom of God has come.

On today's episode, we're going to look at Luke 4:16ff, when Jesus comes to his hometown (Nazareth) and begins his public ministry. And I want us to look at this passage, because this is a passage that is often held up as a classic passage announcing Jesus’ Kingdom vision. So Jesus goes into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, they give him a scroll of Isaiah, and he unrolls it to the place he wants to read from, which as it turns out is Isa. 61:1-2, and he begins to read. And when he finishes reading from Isa. 61, we’re told that “He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” And the people respond, we're told, by speaking well of him "and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Now, Isaiah is writing in his day about the future return from Babylon and a rebuilding of the ancient ruins of the cities that had been destroyed. And from Israel’s perspective, they were being held as prisoners in a foreign land by people the psalmist refers to as “captors” and “tormenters” (Ps. 137:3). So Isaiah speaks in Isaiah 61 to these downcast, captive people, and he says everything we just heard Jesus quote in Luke 4. Now here’s the important part here: In the context of Isa. 61 that Jesus quotes, who are the captives? The captives are the Israelites, and the promise is that they’re gonna return from Babylon and the Lord’s gonna rebuild.

The Lord is once again going to show favor on Israel. He’ll “give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called righteous trees, planted by the LORD to glorify him. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations” (Isa. 61:3).

Now, in Luke 4, as Jesus stands in the synagogue and reads this passage, the message that anyone present that day would have heard Jesus saying is that God’s finally gonna restore Israel and things are gonna be good again. Okay? And part of what they’d be thinking — probably — is that Rome will be overthrown. So when Jesus says, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled,” they’re pretty excited about this. And they’re saying good things about him and about “the gracious words that are falling from his lips.”

But Jesus isn’t done talking. And what he’s about to say isn’t going to be nearly as well received. In vv. 23-27 of Luke 4, Jesus is going to shift focus and talk about God’s interest in the Gentiles (which hearkens back to Genesis 12). But this is not new stuff. This is in the Bible, according to Jesus. And he reminds them of two stories from the Old Testament that show God’s interest in outsiders: The story of Elijah & the widow of Zerephath (1 Kings 17:8-24); and the story of Elisha & Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:1-19).

So the point Jesus is making in Luke 4 is that God has always been interested in non-Jews. BUT in making that point, Jesus implies that when God was helping the non-elect, He was ignoring the elect. And that is what they can’t tolerate. When you’re in the elect (and this is sadly sometimes true of Christians also), one of the strange ideas that pop into your head sometimes is that God is only involved with you. But see, election is not about you having a claim on God, which is what we sometimes think, but about God having a claim on you! Anyway, in Luke 4, Jesus says, “The restoration of Israel is here, but it’s going to include the Gentiles. And at this, they want to kill Him.

We cannot forget what God’s doing here. So in the restoration of Israel, God is re-creating Israel as she was always supposed to be — a kingdom that is all-inclusive. Those already in Israel who want to stay with God’s program and accept Jesus as their King are welcome, but he’s inviting Gentiles in as well. And they will all collectively be called Israel. The restored Israel. The new Israel. Think of it this way: Israel is being given a new King. Now, some Jews will accept and follow this new King Jesus. But some Jews will not accept the new King. And those Israelites who do not accept Israel’s new King don’t get to be part of Israel anymore. 

And of course, that makes sense, right? This new King is chosen by God himself. And in fact, this new King IS GOD HIMSELF! And if you’re unwilling to submit to the rule of Israel’s King, you don’t get be part of Israel anymore. Because again, God is trying to build this beautiful, loving, holy community through which he can share his love with people. But in order for that to work, everyone’s got to be on the same page. You can’t build a community of peace and love when the folks in the community don’t accept the one in charge.

And so going forward, all those who call themselves Israel are the ones who agree with and align themselves with what God is doing in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the new King of Israel. It’s no longer based on DNA. And in fact, it never was, as we talked about last time. And Paul will say in Rom. 9:6 that “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” And Jesus will call this people The Kingdom of God.

So to bring all this together, when Jesus arrives, the Jews are expecting a messiah and a messianic kingdom that would restore Israel to what she was supposed to be. Now, to some extent, they had lost sight of what Israel was supposed to be, which is in part why they didn’t recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

In the person of Jesus, God will reveal himself to earth. The Law instructed Israel about God, and about what loving God and loving neighbor was. Jesus demonstrated God to Israel, and he showed them how to love God and love others. And here’s the thing — God had never given up on the idea of blessing the nations and bringing all mankind into his fold. Because remember, that’s why he created us all in the first place! AND, he had never given up on Israel. Israel was always part of God’s plan. They were always going to be “the apple of his eye” (Zech. 2:8). They were always going to be “a people for his own possession” (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; Ex. 19:5). They were always going to be a “kingdom of priests” (Ex. 19:6).

But in the New Testament Kingdom of Jesus, some of those people would be ethnic Jews who accept and swear allegiance to Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, but some would also be Gentiles, who also accept and swear allegiance to Israel’s Messiah. And together they comprise the Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). And that's you, and that’s me. The children of Jesus, the Messiah King are the continuation, the fulfillment of Israel — God’s chosen people, a royal priesthood, a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet. 2:9).

Okay, so, what is this Kingdom of God as envisioned by Jesus. What’s it supposed to look like? Why is this declaration such good news? Because it affects people in the here and now.

See — and we really need to come to grips with this — Jesus didn’t just come so we could all go to heaven when we die. He cares very much about what’s going on in the world today! Jesus’ prayer in Matt. 6 that we call “The Lord’s Prayer” is significant in that it grounds his hopes on the earth — “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Jesus really sees the Kingdom as a new society in the land. A Jesus Society!! And this new kingdom society will be marked by the way its citizens are to live and interact with one another and with the world.

And see, this is what God has always wanted — a people for his own possession that will finally function as agents of blessing and compassion and redemption in the world. So the Kingdom of God is God’s dream for this world come true! So in Luke chapter 7, John the Baptist is in prison; Jesus is free. And John sends two disciples basically to ask Jesus if he really is the One they were all expecting. Was he really the Messiah? Jesus doesn’t answer his question directly, but what he says is revealing, particularly the last line. Jesus says to John’s disciples in Luke 7:22-23, “(22) Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news, (23) and blessed is the one who isn’t offended by me.”

So again, the things he points out that he wants John to see as proof that he is the one he claimed to be are the very things he announced in Luke 4: the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf here, and the poor hear the good news.

So when Jesus said “kingdom” he envisioned a society characterized by a people who would live with God and with others in a way that embodied the will of God in a new kind of society. And one of the places where the rubber met the road was in how we treat one another and how we care for one another, especially the most vulnerable among us. And that’s why, in Matt. 25:31-46, when Jesus talks about his return, he’ll talk about separating the sheep from the goats. He’ll put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. And Jesus’ litmus test in this passage for who will inherit the Kingdom and who won’t are things like feeding the hungry, quenching the thirst of the thirsty, taking care of strangers, clothing the naked, tending the sick, and visiting those in prison.

So what is the Kingdom of God? Kingdom, in Jesus’ view, is a society empowered by love. It is a society that cares for others. It is a society shaped by justice. It is a society dwelling in peace. It is a society flowing with wisdom. And it is a society that follows its King (Jesus).

In the Kingdom, we build relationships that create family — God’s family. We teach virtues that prevent poverty and heartache. We provide care and relief for the world. We rescue those in trouble. We provide soul care — healing and hope for fractured souls and fractured relationships.

Everywhere God’s people go, things are supposed to get better. More peace. More hope. More love. More freedom. THAT is the Jesus Society!