Advent: The Boy Who Would Be King
Luke 1:30-33
Fourth in our Advent series, this sermon was preached by Rev. Chris Roberts during the morning service on Sunday, December 20, 2009.
Luke 1:30-33
We stand at the threshold of Christmas. The celebration is almost upon us and we rejoice in the mercy of God that in the fullness of time he sent his Son into the world.
As we have moved through the Advent season we have looked at different aspects of Christmas: why it is needed; when it was promised; and last week, who it brought to us. This week we will look at a part of Christmas that sometimes goes overlooked: what it begins.
Looking at Jesus’ ministry, we can identify at least six things Jesus came to do: (1) To demonstrate the love of God; (2) To reveal the glory of the Father; (3) To redeem his people from their sins; (4) To defeat death; (5) To show us how we ought to live; (6) and sixth, to inaugurate and rule over the kingdom of God.
As we will be taking the Lord’s Supper this morning, our time is even more limited than usual so we will barely skim the surface of the kingdom of God. But if you are joining with us in the evenings where we are looking at the Sermon on the Mount, you will be familiar with some of this. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a magnificent exposition on what it means to live in the kingdom of God.
There are four questions I want to address about the kingdom. First, Why is the kingdom of God important? Second, What is the kingdom of God? Third, How do we become part of the kingdom of God? And fourth, How are we to live in the kingdom of God?
We find the answer to the first question from the very announcement of his birth. In the passage we read earlier, Luke 1:32-33, the angel declares that this child will [receive] the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. For the Jews, this sort of announcement would grab their attention. It fulfills hundreds of years of Old Testament promise of a coming king to rule over the people of God and establish peace in the earth.
We also see the significance of the kingdom in the words of Jesus. Matthew 4:23 tells us that Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. The gospel we proclaim is the gospel of the kingdom of God. It was the content of the message Jesus came to preach. In Mark 1:15 Jesus begins his public ministry with the words, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. Jesus proclaimed the kingdom and Jesus brought the kingdom.
Many of Jesus’ parables tell us about the kingdom. This includes just about all the parables of Matthew 13, and in Matthew 13:44-46 he describes the value of the kingdom: The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Whatever this kingdom is all about, it is more precious than anything else on earth. It is worth casting aside all earthly possessions. It changes our priorities and agendas so that rather than building kingdoms for ourselves on the earth, we labor for the kingdom of God.
The second and third questions we can answer together. What is this kingdom? And how can someone become part of it? The Bible gives a few names to the kingdom – the kingdom of God, the kingdom of Heaven, the kingdom of Christ.
Simply put, the kingdom of God is the rule of Christ in the hearts of his people. We see a hint of this in Luke 17:20 where Jesus tells the Pharisees, behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. It was not found in mighty signs or the strong edifice of a castle, it was found in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ brings the kingdom into the world and the kingdom grows as it spreads into the hearts of new believers.
So the kingdom is the rule of Christ in his people. We know that God is sovereign over all creation. Nothing escapes his authority. But not everyone is a citizen of his kingdom. Everyone is under his rule but he only brings into his kingdom those who are in Christ.
In Mark 10:24-25 Jesus tells people just how difficult it is to enter this kingdom: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples are not quite sure what to do with this and they respond in verse 26, then who can be saved? In verse 27 Jesus points them to the author of salvation: With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.
So no man can bring himself into the kingdom but God must do something. What does God do? First, he sent his Son. Then, in the words of Acts 11:18 and 2 Timothy 2:25 he grants repentance.
When Jesus came, and when John the Baptist prepared the way, one common theme was the need for repentance. The kingdom is at hand, now repent! Preparation for the kingdom is not accomplished by raising an army or stirring opposition to kings and presidents but by having one’s heart made right with God. Repentance is an act which combines confession of sin with turning from sin and embracing God’s commands for his creatures. It is through repentance and faith in Christ that we become part of the kingdom of God.
For those now in the kingdom, while we wait for the second coming of Christ, the kingdom of God continues to exist alongside the kingdom of this world, ruled by Satan, who is described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4 as the god of this world, not because he has God’s power or position but because the world follows Satan as though he were god. But Revelation 11:15 gives us the promise that one day God’s kingdom will fill creation: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.
Jesus Christ will return with power and authority and will overthrow every evil power, every sinful heart. He will go through the world and accomplish Matthew 13:49-50: So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those who do not belong to his kingdom will be removed and thrown into the furnace whose fire is never put out.
But that day has not yet come. We await the return of our Lord and the deliverance he will bring to his children. While we wait we must live as strangers in a strange land, members of the kingdom of God yet dwelling among the kingdom of the world. Which leads to our final question – how are we to live in the kingdom of God?
The answer is found throughout Scripture. We are to follow the commands of God as revealed in the Bible. Jesus gets explicit with kingdom expectations in the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5-7. This sermon does not tell us what we must do to get inside the kingdom, it tells us how we should live if we are part of the kingdom.
Christian, you claim to have gone to Christ in repentance. You claim to have confessed your sins and sought forgiveness. You claim to have put your sins behind you while clinging to Christ in faith. So here is what God now expects of you: obedience. If we have been granted repentance and have received his life and have held to him by faith, we will not live as dual citizens of the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. You can have but one allegiance. Choose this day who you will serve.
Two thousand years ago a little boy was born. Of humble beginnings, it might not have seemed that his life would be anything significant. But this was the boy who would be king. Jesus Christ, established as Lord and King over all his people and the one who would defeat everyone outside of his kingdom. He came into this world to accomplish salvation. And at this time we will move to the table of the Lord, to proclaim his work for us.