SERMON: Seeking the Kingdom of God | Mark 8:38–9:1
Seeking the Kingdom of God | Mark 8:38–9:1
Shaun Marksbury | Grace Bible Church
Sunday Morning Service | January 7, 2018
It was right and proper for the disciples to be expecting an earthly kingdom. What wasn’t right or proper was their resistance to God’s use of suffering to build the kingdom. They believed that they should have an easy path now that the Messiah has arrived, and they certainly had no room for a crucified Jesus. However, as Jesus explains in these verses, there is a near and far element to the kingdom, an already and not-yet fulfillment that alters how they follow Him. So, in these verses, we can also see how we are to seek the King’s business in our lives as kingdom citizens.
Video:
I.
Introduction
II.
First, recognize that the
kingdom of God has a future of power (8:38)
III.
The kingdom of God has a
present of power (9:1).
IV.
Final Thoughts
Shaun Marksbury | Grace Bible Church
Sunday Morning Service | January 7, 2018
Audio:
Video:
Manuscript:
I.
Introduction
Sometimes, chapter
breaks are helpful. They’re not part of
the inspired text. They were simply added
to the Bible in the Middle Ages to help readers easily navigate Scripture. Sometimes, though, it’s tough to tell if
whether those breaks occur in the best places.
In this case, it seems that this text focuses on aspects of the kingdom
and should be read as one unit.
Let’s consider that
unit. If you’ve been tracking what’s
been happening in chapter eight, then you know that Jesus has been preparing
them to understand that He is the Messiah.
However, when He gets to explaining His mission, He encounters resistance
from His disciples. You might ask why
the disciples expected something so different from the kingdom of God.
First, keep in mind
that they were right to be expecting the kingdom. Without a doubt, the kingdom of God is the
theme that unifies Scripture. It’s
mentioned in nearly all of the Old Testament books, and that trend continues
through the New Testament. One systematic theology text notes, “All in all,
fifty-seven of the sixty-six canonical books include the kingdom theme (86
percent).”[1]
The first mention
of a kingdom in Scripture is in Genesis 10:9–12, where an earthly kingdom
opposes the work of God. The last
mention of the kingdom reign is in Revelation 22:5, where we read, “And night
will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will
be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rv 22:5). That reminds us of Genesis 1, where light
first appears, apart from the sun (vv. 3, 14).
The kingdom is everlasting (Ps 145:11–13),
meaning that the rule of God is the overarching narrative of Scripture—and He
establishes His King on Zion (Ps 2:6).
The disciples’ problem
stems from having too narrow a view of the kingdom of God, leading ancient
Israel to miss key aspects of what God wanted to accomplish by focusing on only
some of the temporal benefits of the kingdom.
Again, MacArthur and Mayhue’s Biblical
Doctrine reads,
All kingdom of God passages can be
summarized by recognizing several broad aspects. First is the universal kingdom, which
includes the rule of God that has been, is, and forever will be overall that
exists in time and space. Second is
God’s mediatorial kingdom, in which he rules on earth through divinely
chosen human representatives. Third is
the spiritual or redemptive aspect of God’s kingdom, which
uniquely deals with a person’s salvation and personal relationship with God
through Christ. When Scripture uses the
word “kingdom” to refer to God’s kingdom, it could point to any one aspect of
the kingdom or several of its parts together.
Careful interpretation in context will determine the particulars for a
given biblical text.[2]
The disciples would
understand that God is King over creation in Genesis, and He creates Adam and
Eve to be citizens of His kingdom. He
establishes the rules of kingdom in what some theologians refer to as a
covenant with Adam (I won’t go into the merits or demerits of that today). Adam was to exercise a mediatorial dominion
or “rule” over the earth (Gn 1:26). However, in Genesis 3, they sin and are
expelled from the garden.
Still, it pleased
God to provide them a covering, and He continued to build a people for
Himself. Starting with Abraham, He
promises a land for the people who would bless the other nations (Gn 12:2–3). In
the Book of Exodus, He gathers Israel from Egypt as a kingdom (Ex 19:6) and makes His dwelling among them. In 2 Samuel 7:10–17,
the eternal kingdom is promised specifically to the land of Israel, with
David’s Son on the throne, and we later read that the Lord reigns in Jerusalem (Isaiah 24:23).
We’re in error to think
that the people of Jesus’ day were wrong for expecting an earthly kingdom! They were never chastised for it. Moreover, Jesus Himself taught that the
kingdom was at hand (Mk 1:14), and we’ve seen
repeatedly that His miracles were intended to prove that He was the promised
Messiah ushering in the kingdom (cf. Isa 35).
He said that there would be thrones for both He and His disciples from
which to rule (Mt 19:28). It’s expected, then, that they would
eventually ask Him, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the
sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Mt 24:3).
II.
First, recognize that the
kingdom of God has a future of power (8:38)
“For
whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful
generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the
glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
We had talked last
time about how much shame factors into our unwillingness to be about kingdom
business. Jesus uses the word “ashamed”
to speak of our possible interaction with Him and Scripture because unwillingness
to give over our lives to Him stems from shame.
This is a disposition of the heart—and yes, what
we feel inside can be sinful. When
we don’t confess and repent of sinful affections, they turn into sinful
actions.
In this case, it’s a sin of omission. A Christian won’t carry his cross publicly
(v. 34). It’s also a sin of
commission. He decides that the fear of
man has more personal impact than a fear of God. So, knowing how the lost world scorns the
Bible, a Christian blunts the edge of Scripture, dulling the sword from the
Lord’s mouth, or perhaps hides it altogether.
Now, Jesus
acknowledges that this is, indeed, an “adulterous and sinful generation.” This was true of Israel; the Lord says, “And
I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to
them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the Lord” (Hos 2:13).
We live in an age when people have “exchanged
the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator” (Rm 1:25). But, the state
of our sinful world is no justification for being ashamed and denying Him.
However, His own disciples are, in essence,
expressing an unwillingness to follow Jesus to the cross. However, this is the exact path they need to
tread. They need to trust Him as the
Christ to lead the way. It's His
kingdom, after all.
They need to be prepared, and so do we. Jesus must die for the sins of the
people (cf. Is 53). Moreover, when the
disciples are brought before the chief priests and kings, they must not reject
Him like the Sanhedrin has. We may be
called upon to confess Him and His work before a skeptical and spiteful
audience.
This is
discouraging if you were expecting the fullness of the kingdom right away. The disciples are scratching their heads—the
Christ is in the form of a servant, He’s still unknown as “the Messiah” to much
of Israel, and He’s despised and rejected by the Sanhedrin. And every time Jesus says something
hard-to-accept, many disciples outside the twelve flee. They may wonder what justification there
might be for continuing such a difficult path.
Well, despite the
current state of our Lord, the disciples dare not think that there isn’t a
glory to come. There approaches a day of
terror for all those who have opposed the kingdom purposes, when Jesus comes not
meek and lowly, but when God’s wrath is mete out by His holy angels. As Jesus said in Matthew
25:31–32, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people
one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
This fact is
revealed in a week’s time at the Transfiguration. For now, it’s vital that the disciples hear
this warning. Those who call themselves
disciples today finding themselves ashamed of Christ and His Word will be
associated with unbelievers.
Keep the gospel in
mind with this. We are not saved by our
ability to follow Christ through the midst of tribulation. Peter denied Him and was restored. We also need to keep in mind that there is a
power that comes today, a kind of glory now, even though the
kingdom is yet unrealized.
III.
The kingdom of God has a
present of power (9:1).
And
he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will
not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with
power.”
There is
considerable question as to what event Jesus had in mind here. Some take this verse to mean that Jesus
expected to return in His lifetime. Since
He obviously did not return, this verse becomes a favorite verse for skeptics
seeking to prove that the Bible is wrong.
Let’s take a moment
to think about that, though. First, Jesus
will specifically say that He doesn’t know the day or the hour of His return (Mk 13:32; Mt 24:36).
How could He say that there would be some alive, then? It isn’t logical that now He’s
operating with such knowledge and later He’s not so sure.
Moreover, the
participle translated “after it has come” is a perfect active, meaning that
they will witness more than the start of the kingdom; it has already
come. This matches with what Jesus has
been preaching since the beginning—“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of
God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:14).
What’s more, the
Transfiguration (9:2–8) is a sign of the kingdom. With the specifics of the transfiguration, we
see an image of Christ not only in divinity but also royalty. He “dons” white garments, which the people of
His day associated with royalty. All
three synoptic gospels record this promise, and all three follow it with the
Transfiguration.
The fact is that
this verse never bothered Christians. The
only conclusion here is that He is not referring to His Second Coming, but to
the Transfiguration. Even so, the
previous verse indicates that there is a certain, future, eschatological
element to the idea of His Second Coming.
Someone might
counter that, if v. 1 refers to the Transfiguration, then why does Jesus say that
“there are some… who will not taste death?”
Certainly, none of the twelve would have died in the intervening six
days. However, Jesus wasn’t implying
that anyone would die, but only that some (e.g., Peter, James, and John) would
very shortly witness the truth of what He’s been saying.
What’s the point of
proving that v. 1 refers to the Transfiguration? Well, for one, it restores our faith in the
chapter divisions of Scripture—v. 1 should be followed by v. 2! More importantly, though, the disciples of
Christ today may wonder when any kingdom power is to be realized. As Jesus reveals in His transfiguration
(9:2–8), the power of the kingdom is already at hand. God’s universal kingdom is eternal, after all.
One study Bible
expresses this perfectly. “After Jesus predicted His own death, Peter and the other
disciples needed reassurance that Jesus would ultimately triumph. His
prediction that some of them would see the
kingdom of God present with power must have alleviated their fears.”[3]
So, the
Transfiguration, as we will see, proves Christ’s claims to the future aspects
of the kingdom. He definitely proved
it later at His resurrection (cf. Rm 1:4). Because of the resurrection, He gives us
the power to live kingdom principles today and ensures our future citizenship (cf. 1 Cor 6:14; Phil 3:10; Eph 1:19–20).
As one commentary
puts it, “Jesus reassured His disciples that He was not
entirely rejecting Peter’s expectations of a powerful Messiah (8:29–33). Some
of them would experience a foretaste of the glorious revelation of the Son of
Man in their lifetimes, a promise made good to Peter, James, and John
immediately in the transfiguration (vv. 2–8). All further experienced the power
of the kingdom with the coming of the Spirit on Pentecost.”[4]
IV.
Final Thoughts
Since the “kingdom of God” has a redemptive purpose, we
would do well to pay attention to it.
The purpose that God wants to accomplish today is not social reform but
soul reform. He wants to save people
from their sins. While a born-again
Christian may have certain convictions about correcting societal ills, he must
also recognize that this is an “adulterous and sinful age” that requires the
return of Christ in the glory of the Father with His holy angels.
So, what should we be committed to while we await the
consummation of the future kingdom? We
should be about the redemptive work of Christ!
He preached repentance and belief in the gospel because of the nearness
of the kingdom (Mk 1:14–15)—so should we.
We must proclaim the “good news about the kingdom of God and the name of
Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12), and not be ashamed of
Him or His Word.
The power of the kingdom is already present, converting the
soul and empowering the believer. If we
experience suffering in this life for the sake of the kingdom, it’s temporary
and surmountable. Even in death, we have
the power to overcome the temptations and persecutions of this life in the
present power of Christ (cf. 2 Pt 1:3–4). We also know that there fast-approaches a day
when Christ will establish His visible kingdom, which He will eventually turn
over to the Father.
[1] John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, Biblical Doctrine
(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017), 43.
[2] Ibid., 43–44.
[3] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay
Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New
Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers,
1999), 1223.
[4] Ted Cabal et al., The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions,
Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers,
2007), 1483–1485.
