Jesus’ #1 topic
The most common topic in Jesus’ preaching was the Kingdom of God. Oddly, I’ve also found that Jesus’ #1 topic is something that few preachers, and therefore, fewer believers understand. That may be because so few preachers ask themselves what they want their audience to take away from their messages. (It’s a simple question that Jesus obviously understood, and the reason His messaging was so clear.
It seems to me that all biblical preaching explains The Kingdom of God, and therefore, if preaching points at a different kingdom, it’s misaligned. If it’s misaligned, it’s powerless to make disciples of anything but the world, which is a polite way of saying that non-biblical preaching develops children of hell. And now we understand how the impotent Western churches got the way they are as well as how the ones with Holy Spirit’s power got that way!
When our Pastor mentioned last week that, “Some people see [Jesus] from afar and find Him fascinating,” I believe he found the right note. He was telling us that what some people have learned about the Kingdom and its King is nothing more than what one might learn about the internal combustion engine from watching F1 races. The watcher thinks he knows, but when he speaks he proves his ignorance while the one who really knows is down in the pits getting his hands dirty. You may remember Dr. Packer’s retelling of the analogy of spectators on the balcony and travelers on the road, (Knowing God, 1973, 5-6). While the spectator knows about God, the traveler knows God. (The original analogy is found here and worth reading as is the entire book, which is a classic for good reason.)
Perhaps the most difficult thing a Pastor does is craft words that draw the prideful man and woman down off their balcony and onto the road. They must set down their wine glasses! They literally have to lower themselves as Jesus did. They are challenged to trade luxury and accommodation for sweat and suffering—who wants that without knowing something greater than the luxurious balcony lies ahead? The one-in-ten who hunger for God despite the cost and trust Him to have built a better Kingdom, that’s who.
If you’d like to understand the Kingdom of God more clearly, read what life is like when it descends upon us in Matthew 5-7. The passage that you will recognize as “The Sermon on the Mount” contains the moral teaching of Jesus to be sure, but also how to get to that high moral state. Matthew 4:23 prefaces the reader to understand that Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom, and chapters five through seven list His content. Let’s look at what He’s offering.
The Kingdom is first on the list!
Comfort
Inheritance of the entire earth
The same fullness promised in Psalm 23—a filling to “running over”
Mercy (any takers?)
A vision of God Himself! (Can it get any better than that?)
Sonship (see “inheritance”)
The Kingdom again.
A great reward, not unlike the reward the prophets received.
I’m a quarter way through chapter five, more or less one-twelfth through the sermon and already Jesus has promised enough to get me off the fancy balcony. No wonder, He preached about the Kingdom. What wonder that so few travel the road with Him. Perhaps we can pray that they sober up. Perhaps we can pray first that we become more attractive travelers.
