BibleProject - The Kingdom of God Part 3: God Vs. Kings

Episode Date: November 15, 2015

In this episode, the guys wrap up their discussion on the Kingdom of God. The biblical story ultimately becomes a clash between God’s Kingdom and human kingdoms. God responds to this rebellion throughout the Old Testament, but the good news of Jesus is that he came to bring the Kingdom again. What does this mean for us as followers of Jesus? In the first part of the episode (02:36-16:40), Tim and Jon talk about Jesus as King. What does it look like for Jesus to invite his followers to live under his reign in the upside-down Kingdom? In the last part of the episode (16:55-22:48), the guys continue to unpack this idea of the “now and not yet” Kingdom they introduced last time. There is incredible hope in the reality of God’s Kingdom. Death, injustice, and human failure are not the way the story ends! But joining in God’s Kingdom means resisting the kingdoms of the world and allowing Jesus to fully reign. Video: This episode is designed to accompany our video called, “Gospel of the Kingdom." You can view it on our youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmFPS0f-kzs Book References: How God Became King by N.T. Wright Simply Christian by N.T. Wright Show Music: Defender Instrumental by Rosasharn Music Blue Skies by Unwritten Stories Flooded Meadows by Unwritten Stories

Hey, this is Cooper at Bible Project. I produce the podcast in Classroom. We've been exploring a theme called the City, and it's a pretty big theme. So we decided to do two separate Q and R episodes about it. We're currently taking questions for the second Q and R and we'd love to hear from you. Just record your question by July 21st

and send it to us at infoatbiboproject.com. Let us know your name and where you're from, try to keep your question to about 20 seconds and please transcribe your question when you email it. That's a huge help to our team. We're excited to hear from you. Here's the episode.

We're finishing up our series on the Kingdom of God. If you haven't listened to part one and two, I'd recommend that you go back and do that. In the last episode, we looked at how the theme of the Kingdom of God begins on page 1 of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, God creates humans in his image, which means we are to represent his reign on earth. That's how the story begins. Full of potential, humans have this amazingly elevated, royal, sacred task of embodying God's rule. We talked about how humans create their own alternative kingdom, which culminates in

the city of Babylon, and then also is typified in Pharaoh's Egypt. So then the story of the Bible becomes the story of the clash of kingdoms, of God constantly trying to invade our kingdom and save us from ourselves and not constantly wanting to push God out of the equation. We talk about God's response to this alternate kingdom. Well, he's gonna choose a family of Abraham and liberate them from the world, the age of sin and death, from the kingdom, which in the story takes the form of the Exodus. When he liberates his people out of that oppressive evil into a new freedom,

and then he invites them to live under his reign. We looked at how ancient Israel was unable to live up to the task of being the image of God, to reign on God's behalf over earth, but that Jesus, a new prophet on the scene, talks about the kingdom coming in a fresh way. So the good news is that the kingdom of God has arrived in Jesus, which means that he is the truly human one. So the narrative of the Bible then is God so closely binds himself to humans in the incarnation of Jesus, that he becomes the human that we're made to be, and then through him we become the humans that we are made to be. In this final episode, we're going to be looking closer at Jesus, how he thinks of himself

as bringing the kingdom of God, then we're going to rest a little bit about what this would mean for us as Jesus followers. I say I said Yahweh himself would return design as and ruled as king. And so for Jesus to show up and say, hey look at me, the kingdom of God, the rule in the reign of God is here. So he presents himself as a king by saying the kingdom of God is here. So he presents himself as a king by saying the Kingdom of God is here. The first thing he does is go form a nucleus of 12 disciples, this symbol of renewing the covenant people of God, renewing Israel, and then he invites them to live under his reign to be the alternative kingdom. And so that's why the sermon on

them out is so powerful because it's a Torah. It's a new Torah teaching from the hillside as the Numosus. It's, you know, the summary of Jesus's upside down kingdom. And what it means to live under the rule and reign of God. And it's not disconnected from this narrative of Genesis 1 of these laws of the kingdom and deuteronomy. Yeah. Yeah. And Jesus says, actually, this is how the Torah from Sinai meets its fulfillment, he says. So my teaching isn't reversing the laws of the Torah.

It's actually fulfilling them. So it's through Jesus' teachings, he claims, that Israel will truly be the contrast kingdom it was called to be. And by doing that, it becomes the model of what human kingdoms living under the reign of God, ruling themselves under the reign of God, were to be like. And then everything that Jesus talks about in the sermon on the mount, he lives out. How does Jesus become king? First of all, he teaches and announces a kingdom, then he confronts evil, specifically by reaching out to the most hurting broken people. Because, you know, for somebody to show up on the scene and say, hey, I'm bringing God's rule over the whole world

You know, there's a few other people on the contemporary world scene right now making that claim and it's a nightmare Are you referring to someone who's taking that? I really don't know. I mean, so you know, ISIS Oh, they claim to be bringing God's rule over humanity and it involves murdering anybody who doesn't doesn't believe recognize the rule of all of So we're we're leery of people making claims to impose and bring God's rule And so there is this element of the way what does it look like when God becomes king in Jesus? It looks like a leper being healed and the bleeding woman being healed

and people, tax collectors being invited and it looks like Jesus' stuff, you know? So something rad about Jesus' embodied the reign of God in his disciple movement. And then too, the way Jesus, his enthroned as king, is through his trial and execution. And there's all of these deep ironies in the Passion narrative,

because he's, the first time he has acknowledged, we're called as Messiah, is that his trial, and he gets the crown, he also gets the robe, and he also gets exalted and lifted up. And there's an irony of, in the Gospel, according to John, Jesus constantly talks about how the Son of man will be lifted up, and all men will be drawn to him. It's an enthromant language to be highly exalted. Which is such an upside down moment. Yes, and then that's the moment of the crucifixion is Jesus' enthromant.

I think that's the claim all of the gospels are making, is that Jesus, that God became king and inaugurated, fully inaugurated God's rule in the moment of the cross. Because all the gospels lead up to it and present it as the moment of His enthronement. And then the resurrection which should be that moment where God has arrived to be king on earth. Yes, yeah. And so what? And so the God's arrival is an act of sacrificial self-giving love to die on behalf, to take

death into himself on behalf of those of Rebellt against his reign. And then even more as a statement of his love and commitment to his good world and to humans, made in God's image, he defeats death in the ruin that we've caused in the resurrection, which is the vindication of Jesus as king. And then there, then we're into new creation where the kingdom has truly arrived in the death and resurrection of Jesus, but it is not fully recognized or implemented. We're we're back to the same problem. It's arrived here. It's here.

God does reign. And now through Jesus, he's shown that reign in a surprising way. Yeah. But it's still not recognized. It's still not fully recognized. And so, and this is where the whole thing about sharing good news is. And the people recognize it.

It would be like, dude, Jesus is alive from the dead, which means that God is King, and that you, your humanity can be restored as you give your faith and allegiance to the King. So that's where I end with these three little italic statements. This is why Jesus is right here. This is why Jesus' resurrection is viewed as God's triumph over sin and death. Jesus is continuing to birth his kingdom and the new world right here in the midst of the old one, giving my allegiance to King Jesus and trusting that he knows how to be human more than I do. So I'm going to trust, I'm going to live under his reign

and let him define good and evil for me, because I'm not very good at it. Yeah. And it's about joining the community of his disciples who are being transformed or empowered by the spirit. And that's where the image of God, this is where the image of God language comes in. Oh no, no, no, this is more about the church as the witness to the kingdom. So the church is not the kingdom, the church is a group of people who come around Jesus and are invited to enter the kingdom and experience it and to live under Jesus's rain. And then together, we form a contrast community and share that to the world through our words and actions. So there's a personal transformation, which is about my old humanity becoming new, the image of God being restored in me. The way that Jesus and the gospel's tie the story back up isn't through through the phrase image of God. They do it through the

kingdom theme. But then Paul brings it. Paul is the one who ties, so it's already a coherent story. Yeah. But Paul picks up the phrase image of God and uses it to tell the same story but with the image of God theme as a part of it. The good news is so tied into this. Yes. Because we don't have a video, and we talked about the video, what's the last one? This is the first time we've really talked about that phrase. Yeah, the phrase good news in the New Testament

is always tied to kingdom. It's a kingdom word about Jesus announcing the kingdom Jesus becoming king. So let's, I mean, let's just for the sake of that was a long, a lot of rabbit trails. But so here's the arc. The kingdom of God is here. That's the summary of Jesus' message. Everything was about the kingdom, kingdom, and loving your neighbor and treating people with love and respect and loving your enemy is a response to the fact that the kingdom of God is here. Otherwise, it's pretty poor advice sometimes.

Yeah. So what does he mean by kingdom? Well, here's something. Kingdom and the Bible means an action, ruling and reigning. Jesus is saying the reign of God is here. What does that even mean? Well, we have to go back to the story of the Bible. The first time rule of reign appears in the Bible.

Genesis 1, it's humans doing it. As God's image, bearers, God's reign is mediated and embodied in his world. This is how the story of the Bible begins. God wants to rule the world through humans ruling on his behalf. And the second time we were when they got those, that all goes horribly wrong. Okay. Humans distrust, they built an alternate kingdom, an alternate city that leads to Babylon. God chooses the family of Abraham and liberates them from the kingdom of this world,

which is embodied in Pharaoh. So that means confronting and defeating evil in the form of Pharaoh, baby, killing, slave driving kingdom, and then redeeming his people. And that, incidentally, is the first time God has called the king, is after his defeat of evil, he frees the people and invites them to live under his reign as their king. Israel does a piss-poor job of that, in fact they install kings of their own, and they become the kingdom of Egypt. Israel becomes Egypt and they do the whole rebellion thing. But that doesn't mean that God's reign over the world is over.

The poets and the prophets kept a hope that God is still king, even if the world doesn't recognize it, even if Israel doesn't recognize it, and that God would come back one day personally to assert his reign and rule over his people and the world. As it saw in 96, as they have 52, this was the hope and the story that Jesus saw himself bringing to light. He's presenting himself as a king in his announcement of the reign of God. First thing he does is form a people and invite them to live under his reign. Now we might get suspicious and say Jesus came claiming saying I'm here to rule the world on God's behalf.

Because he doesn't actually say that. Well he says the kingdom of God has arrived repent and follow me. Yeah, okay. I mean follow me. It's not quite how we would say it, but that's what he means Follow me because I'm gonna show you the kingdom or follow me because I'm the king. Hmm you will an appropriate response to God's kingdom arriving in me is to repent, stop everything you're doing and come follow me. And if you don't listen to my words, you're a fool, building your life on sand. But if you come and live under my reign, it's like a wise person who, you know, builds

us out on a rock. So I think you use reigning language under my reign, or do you just say come and follow me? I mean, because you make the case and then he says if you follow me If we've come a part of my disciples the kingdom is yours blessed is blessed or the poor or blessed are you the kingdom is yours? So I'm bringing the kingdom I'm bringing the kingdom He never comes out and says it the way we want him to say it just say it because But he is saying it. He's just saying it the way a Jewish person who's steeped in the scriptures

Would say it and who's trying to avoid getting killed Trying to avoid being killed. Yeah, cuz this load is all loaded political language. Yeah, he lasted for three years You made it three years under the radar and anytime people set out loud You're the Messiah he told them to be quiet. Yeah Yeah, so I mean it's I mean it how how long will you last in America if you start a significant movement, declaring yourself to be the president? Really think like how long would that last? How significant would it have to get? Yes, that's the question. Right. Because Jesus is ministry, I didn't get that significant.

Like, there wasn't. I don't know, yep. Oh, there's a big crowd. Yeah, big crowds in the Pharisees were on him. In pretty good. What, uh, yeah, what would be the, if you had a small militia, you'd probably get shut down. You know what, the disciples want to do that.

Right? You're the Messiah, Jesus. So therefore I'm going to go to Jerusalem and die. Wait, no, no, no, no. Peter, no, actually I was going to lay down my life for you. You're ready to fight. Yeah, we're ready to fight. And so they don't grasp that upside down nature as a kingdom.

Just like Solomon didn't or any of the kings of Israel. Yeah. This is a great story. Yeah, totally. didn't or any of the kings of Israel. Yeah. This is a great story. It's really. Yeah, totally. Anyway, so what does it look like when Jesus reigns as king, healing the sick, you know, moving towards the broken and the poor, and it all comes together in the moment of the clash of kingdoms,

where Jesus rides into Jerusalem, asserts his authority over the temple. That's king. Throws down. Throws down. And they ask him, or use a Messiah, you say that I am. He's given a crown, a robe, he's exalted and lifted up. Mm-hmm. He's called the king of Jews.

And so the story right there is asking us to see God's reign and rule being inaugurated and Jesus and Throne in the moment that he gives his life as a loving sacrifice for the sin and the death that are kingdoms that caused him. What an exchange there it is. And Jesus is acting up the plot line that is Isaiah. That's why Isaiah is so crucial, because it's Isaiah 52 and 53. And then from there you go to Paul who talks about. And then from there it's, so now we're in the era of the now and not yet, where people

are called to acknowledge, not everyone acknowledges the reign of Jesus. Oh right, so then there's the good news part. It's like, so at this point, what's good news? We'll tell people Jesus is King. Yeah. Let them share. Showing and inviting people to beautiful or the feet of those things. Right. It's like the human condition. Yeah. Just like waiting for that. Waiting for something that says that death and injustice and human failure isn't the way the story ends. Yeah. And so he's like, yes, the watchman comes, good news, God is King. He's laid bare his arm for all the nations to see.

And you're like, yes, yes, yes, what is it going to be like? Yeah. It's the suffering servant. And it's, yeah, and it's laid down your life. And then if you want to follow this King, you need to resist the kingdoms of this world that say save your life and you give your life in self-giving love in hopes of the resurrection that out of all of this death and

tragedy that God will bring about is actually it's through the self-giving love and sacrifice that the new creation is birthed. It's the Christian story, man. The Kingdom of God, it's really, it's very powerful. And yeah, yeah, it's very, it's very startling and but oddly inspiring, you know? So this is for the video, but I'm curious, who would you recommend to read, who then kind of teases this out for

how to live under other kingdoms? So I just feel like when you're like, oh cool, that makes sense. Also now you're like Shane Clayborn and you're running around, like living with the homeless, and that makes sense as a reaction, but that's 0.001%. You know, like everyone else is going, okay, cool, I saw this job, or I still have this, responsibility, I'm still living in this country, I'm still whatever, I'm trying to balance this all out.

Man, I think the most enjoyable to read author who's put feet to all this is in NT right. So yeah, theological summary of all this is how God became King, which is big influence, how I framed the video. But then also his book, Simply Christian, which is his attempt to redo mere Christianity. Yes, Lewis is mere Christianity. And it's a very, it's very practical. It's a new visioning of practical Christian life in light of the kingdom come narrative. It's cool. But even there, you know, so his things were justice, beauty. I mean, he threw himself into the house of lords as he was the Bishop

of Durham. Yeah. Which is a part of the power. So you gave seven years of his life to speaking into British parliament, as a response to this. Yeah. So you didn't go the route of... He didn't go the Shanklaborin route. Even though Shanklaborin is there... Living the Desert by his writings. A great popular level author. It's actually a pastor, a campus pastor. His name's Alan Waka-Bayashi. Wrote a great pastoral reflection on this thing of the kingdom is now not yet, and so on. But it's more trying to piece it together, seeologically, with some practical implications. So, I'm excited about this video, I think it really.

Yeah, let's be fueling. Beepie. So this video on the kingdom of God is coming out in January. I think in a previous episode I said we're hoping to have it done by December. That turned out to be false. It's January 2016. Maybe early February at the worst case. It's actually gonna be called the gospel of the kingdom. After this dialogue, we did some writing

and we decided the whole kingdom of God as a theme was little too much to bite off in one five minute animation. So we're just focusing the video on the gospel, the good news, the messenger running, Jesus seeing himself as that messenger and how the message is that the kingdom of God Jesus seeing himself as that messenger and how the message is that the kingdom of God has come, this upside down kingdom. Stay up to date on what's coming out, what's going on through our newsletter.

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