A few weeks ago, NBC’s Matt Lauer got the first-ever American interview with Prince William and Prince Harry of Great Britain. The occasion was the approaching 10th anniversary of their mother’s death, Princess Diana.
A few weeks ago, NBC’s Matt Lauer got the first-ever American interview with Prince William and Prince Harry of Great Britain. The occasion was the approaching 10th anniversary of their mother’s death, Princess Diana.
The British community is fascinated with their royalty, even though for centuries the royal family has not ruled the nation. Not only are the British people fascinated with royalty, but Americans are too. There is something about it that attracts us; so there was great interest in this interview. Prince William must become accustomed to the press. If normal life spans prevail, he will be the King of England one day. Everyone wants to know what kind of king he is going to be.
This fascination with royalty also accompanied the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. When he was born, the maniacal Herod the Great was so bothered by the prophesies about this coming new king that he instigated a campaign of infanticide trying to stop the new movement before it ever got started.
And just before he consented to the crucifixion, Governor Pilate asked Jesus if he was a king and what kind of kingdom he was going to have. The religious establishment was threatened, and the man on the street was thrilled, because Jesus of Nazareth came preaching the kingdom of God.
The subject of the kingdom shaped his whole life. The central message of the Lord Jesus and, therefore, the central message of Christianity is “the kingdom of God is at hand.” Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to announce a regime change and the world has never been the same. What kind of kingdom is it going to be?
A few months ago, we launched an emphasis with Louisiana Baptist churches called “Empowering Kingdom Growth: A Call to the Kingdom of God.”
Our first task, as we pursue this initiative, is to understand exactly what Jesus meant when he said, “The kingdom of God is among you.” In order to see what he taught and what he thought, we must look at the parables – his preferred method of conveying his message.
I’ll not address here the debate about when the parables hide the secret of the kingdom versus when they reveal the secrets of the kingdom. But, in large measure, Jesus did want to reveal his knowledge of the kingdom of God and he did so through parables.
Some people think that every parable Jesus taught had something to do with the message about the kingdom of God.
Whether this is true about every parable, there are some in particular that declare their intent. Eleven parables in the Gospel of Matthew begin with the particular formula, “The kingdom of Heaven is like. . .” Then Jesus tells a story or illustration from common life that explains a facet of the kingdom of Heaven. These particular 11 parables are pointedly painting a picture of the kingdom of God.
When I was a little boy, my brothers and I liked to play baseball all summer. We hardly ever got to go down to the park where they had real ball fields, where there was symmetry, with the bases lined up straight and the distances between the bases the same, and everything was regulation.
We just played in the front yard where we simply declared the rules and the boundaries. In front of the steps was home plate, and over at the cedar tree was first base, and out at the Chinaberry tree would be second base, and that stump at the old red oak tree that would be third base.
If you ever hit the ball hard enough to land in the street on the fly, it would be a home run. And my youngest brother got four strikes instead of three because he was smaller than everyone else – and because he was a crybaby.
What Jesus is doing when he gives parables is describing the playing field of the kingdom of God – not so much in propositional statements or legal language, but in these pithy, graphic descriptions we call parables. Do you want to understand the length and breadth, the nature, the character of the kingdom of God? Examine the parables! They tell us what it is like.
May God teach us the truth of his everlasting kingdom.