Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

Matthew

Matthew 
Day 
Day 275

The Concept of the Kingdom of God

Text: Matthew 21 : 23 - 46

When God created Israel, He had very clear ideas about what He was going to do. Moses took great pains to explain to ancient Israel how the nation was to relate to God. What he wrote down became known as Torah, or The Law. Let us consider some of the things that Moses wrote.

“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God;
the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself,
a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.”
DEUTERONOMY 7:6 (Cf. DEUTERONOMY 14:2)

What was required of Israel as they became “a holy people to the Lord”? Let us ponder these words written in the same book.

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you,
but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways
and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord
and His statutes which I command you today for your good?”
DEUTERONOMY 10:12-13

1. A Physical Heritage

The earlier concept included the land of Israel. This may be traced to the promise that God made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-9; 13:14-17).

2. A Spiritual Heritage

The history of Israel was rich with stories of God’s deliverances of the nation. Many were the prophets whose lives and writings enriched and ennobled the soul of the nation.

Israel was truly blessed by the Lord with many privileges. Yet sadly, the nation bore little or no fruits at all! Did they realize the implications of being an unfruitful nation? Did they consider what they were doing when they were resisting the ministry of Jesus?

GRAVE DANGERS THAT MUST BE SPELT OUT

Jesus felt that He had to spell out certain dangers that would befall the nation if they carried on sinning against God with such impunity!

1. “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you…”

What solemn words these are! This threat had a double-pronged meaning in this context.

a) A veiled warning of disaster that would happen to Israel (physical dimension).

b) A veiled warning that the spiritual benefits they enjoyed would be given to Gentiles (spiritual dimension).

2. Involving the Judgment of God

God has the prerogative to judge or to withhold judgment. Jesus warned that God would exercise that right and discipline Israel – once again! The history of the nation of Israel had been a checkered one. Time and again, the nation suffered terribly when its people turned their backs to God! The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and now the Romans had in turn devastated the land. Yet, Israel remained recalcitrant!

3. Another “nation” that will bear fruit

This was an intolerable thought to the chief priests and the elders! How could Jesus come up with such a preposterous idea! Did God have any other plan for any other “nation” other than Israel?

What “nation” was Jesus talking about? If the Jews were thinking that Jesus was speaking about the creation of another political nation, then they would have misunderstood Him altogether. What then did He mean? Let us consider the following thoughts:-

a) Equating “nation” with “kingdom of God”

Let us look at the following text even more carefully. If we can understand this text correctly, we would be able to understand what Jesus meant.

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken
from you, and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”
MATTHEW 21:43

b) The word “nation” is equated with the idea of “The Church”

It is interesting to note how the Apostle Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians these words.

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God…”
EPHESIANS 2:19

Let us note the “political” intonations of the words “strangers and foreigners”. These words would be used to describe “non-citizens” of a nation. Note again how Paul described believers. They are called “fellow-citizens”. The context is peculiar! They are called “fellow-citizens…of the household of God”- that is the Church!

4. The Rejection of Jesus

Did the chief priest and elders think that they could easily dismiss Jesus? They had better think again! There was grave danger of rejecting Him. Jesus warned that there would be grave penalty meted out against those who resisted and rejected Him. The very stone they rejected would fall on them and crush them to death!