The Kingdom of Heaven

We’re starting a youth group series on the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). Before the sermon begins, we hear these important words from Matthew:

Matthew 4:17;23-25
From that time on Jesus began to announce, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” … Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. 

That word “kingdom” has gotten popular again recently in churches, and for good reason. It’s a central concept in the Christian story. But many questioning teenagers (like I was) might be wondering what exactly we’re talking about. Just because “kingdom” might be a familiar term doesn’t mean it can’t drift into cliche, and then become unfamiliar altogether. What is this kingdom Jesus talks about? Is it here? Is it waiting for us? Do we build it? 

If we study the places Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven (also known as the kingdom of God), we would begin to notice that this phrase is somewhat veiled in mystery. With that being the case, it might be better to talk about what the kingdom is NOT before we clarify what it is. Below are three popular views, each with its half-truths and misconceptions.

#1. The kingdom when we die

This one is by far the most popular. It’s on our lips whenever we talk about heaven. “When we go to heaven…” The assumption in this view is that Jesus is announcing the way to “go to heaven when we die.” The only thing this view gets right is the fact that there is an element of the kingdom that is forthcoming and entered upon death (think of the man next to Jesus on the cross who was promised to enter paradise that day). Part of this confusion is in the name, the kingdom of heaven. But that word heaven is tricky. 

At its most basic meaning, heaven is the word for that which is above, even literally “the sky.” However, within the biblical story, 'heaven' can refer to God’s space, which is not limited to the destination of post-death existence. However, so often heaven is thought of in a disembodied way. Souls floating off to an airy, spiritual realm. The kingdom is from heaven, not heaven in and of itself. Heaven on its own is not our ultimate hope, since it must incorporate resurrected bodies and a renewed earth. This brings us to the next related view.

#2. The ‘apocalyptic’ kingdom

Popular among a large number of biblical scholars, some view that when Jesus announced the kingdom, he was announcing the end of the world. There’s a phrase loaded with meaning. By ‘end of the world’, it is usually meant the destruction of the world in ‘apocalyptic’ fashion. Many Christians have their own version of this view. It’s as if when Jesus is telling people to repent for the sake of the kingdom, he’s warning them about his second coming (when the end of the world will take place). But that’s strange. The implicit assumption here is that Jesus came simply to warn of his return, a view many Christian cults have latched onto.

Some would rightfully notice that Jesus taught about the kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. However, so often interpreters have taken what Jesus says to be an unattainable ideal—something not possible in this life. While this teaching is guised in humility, it completely misses the end of the sermon where Jesus expects his listeners to take his teachings and “put them into practice” (Matt. 7:24).

The only aspect the not-yet view gets right about the kingdom is that, like the previous view, the kingdom is not yet here in its fullness. That brings us to the options that swing the opposite direction.

#3. The kingdom we build

It’s become rampant in churches to speak of being “kingdom builders”. But what is meant by such a phrase? Popular in evangelical protestantism (and beyond), building the kingdom often means giving to the church or growing a church numerically. Either way, it’s usually about the numbers, the quantitative growth. In one case I witnessed, congregants who gave a certain amount of money to this church were termed “kingdom builders”, as if the church had various subscription levels.

For all it misses, the kingdom-building view at least affirms it being something that’s already here on earth, and that we even have a hand in seeing it through. The question is how. Do we build it? Or does God? What is our role? Before we attempt to come up with our own ideas about the kingdom, we should carefully study the words of Jesus.

Here’s what he says about the kingdom in Matthew’s Gospel.

It’s here (Matt. 4:17)
It’s not yet (Matt. 8:11)
It’s for the poor and persecuted (Matt. 5:3,10)
It can be on earth just like it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10)
It’s been subject to violence (Matt. 11:12)
It grows like a mustard seed and spreads like yeast (Matt. 13:31-33)
It’s a merchant looking for pearls (Matt. 13:45)
It’s like a net that catches many (Matt. 13:47)
It will be seen by his disciples before they taste death (Matt. 16:28)
It’s for those who become like children (Matt. 18:3)
It’s difficult for the rich to enter (Matt. 19:23)
It’s been since the creation of the world (Matt. 25:34)

From John’s Gospel:

It’s invisible to those who aren’t born again (John 3:3)
It’s not of this world (John 18:36)

Probably my favorite from Luke 17:20-21:

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in within you.”

If the tactile and practical part of your brain is frustrated at these riddles, that’s to be expected. But I invite you to open yourself to the spiritual and relational reality of God’s kingdom. The kingdom is not something we can grasp, while at the same time, it’s closer to us than we could imagine. It’s more real than buildings of brick—and it will be there long after them, too.

When Jesus announced the arrival of the kingdom, he was also announcing the end of Israel’s exile (not the end of the world). This was the long-awaited hope of Israel. But since the close of the Hebrew Bible and the Maccabean revolt, many kingdom alternatives had emerged in the 1st century.

The aristocratic compromisers, primarily Sadducees, had been set up by Rome in Jerusalem. As far as they were concerned, they were the leaders of their own kingdom project of grabbing for power and influence in Jerusalem. They saw no need for the arrival of another kingdom “not of this world.” In their eyes, they were its architects, builders, and maintainers.

Among the many critics of the Jerusalem establishment were the Pharisees, who worked from within to bring about a Torah and purity revolution for Israel. If covenant appearances were maintained (purity laws, traditions, Sabbath teachings, circumcision, etc.), then God would bring about his kingdom (like the post-millennialists), exulting those who intensified Torah and its surrounding traditions.

Others, like the Essenes, rejected the whole current Jerusalem establishment wholesale until God would purge the ‘sons of darkness’ from Zion. That meant waiting in the desert for Yahweh’s return to vindicate them and punish the nations and those compromisers in Jerusalem (Pharisees included). To the Essenes, the kingdom could only be otherworldly until it destroyed the current fallen world.

Lastly, there were the Zealots. They saw the kingdom as hijacked by Rome (and those who partnered with them), which needed to be retaken by force. In their eyes, as long as Rome loomed, there could be no victory.

In this mixture of kingdom hopes, there was Jesus–announcing a new world breaking into the present. It’s a world where his wise rule reigns, where his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. It’s wherever God’s image is put on display. It’s begun in Jesus. And it will come in full on the appointed day. It’s already. It’s not yet.

We don’t build the kingdom. If we did, we would try to make it look like us. Instead, it is animated by the Spirit who “blows where it pleases. It makes a sound, but you do not know where it came from or where it is going” (Jn. 3:8). This may upset some of us. “So the kingdom is just airy and spiritual?” some may ask. Depends on what you mean by that slippery term ‘spiritual’. It is spiritual in the sense that it is governed by Holy Spirit-infused people–meaning the kingdom is in every sense embodied.

Toward this end, we display the kingdom by practicing the way of Jesus—doing as he said, praying as he prayed, and loving as he loved. To sum it up, look to the Sermon on the Mount to see what it looks like to embody the kingdom of heaven.

Once we can see this, we realize something important. The kingdom is a relational reality. It’s a people. We call it the Church. In the Church, God’s new reality shines forth when people are living in restored relationships with God and one another. Wherever the true Church is, there are the people who go the extra mile, who turn the cheek, who don’t use religion for recognition, who fulfill the law by their love, who illuminate the world with Christ’s love. Wherever human beings are restored to their God-given role, there, right there, is a small glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.

And so between one another, and yes, within our very selves, we experience the beautiful mystery that is the kingdom of heaven. Through this way of understanding the kingdom, we can approach Jesus’ most central sermon with open eyes and let it change us, restoring us to our place as beaming images of God.

Father, thank you for giving us the gift of your kingdom in your Son. Jesus, teach us to be spotless images of your glory, reflecting the light of new creation into the world. Spirit, draw more and more people into the Church where we can be sanctified by the Word. May our whole lives be of repentance, turning away from false ways, and turning towards you, God. Amen.