Signs of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matthew 9:35)

The ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was to preach the “gospel of the kingdom,” the good news that he kingdom of heaven was now present on earth. He not only preached this, He also demonstrated it by healing every sickness and disease that was brought before Him. The kingdom of God was breaking into the world, but Jesus greatly desired to accelerate it:

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:36-38)

The kingdom of Heaven on Earth is a kingdom of harvest. In the very next verse we see the Lord of the Harvest sending forth His laborers to do exactly what He Himself had been doing:

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease ... These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:1, 5-8)

Just as Jesus went about announcing the kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and displaying the signs of the kingdom, He chose His disciples and sent them out to do the same. He gave them power and authority to expel demonic spirits, heal all kinds of sickness and disease, even to raise the dead. For the kingdom of Heaven on Earth is a kingdom of life and wholeness and freedom. These are the signs that the kingdom of heaven truly is present on earth. They have all been performed many times over in the history of the Church, and are coming forth with even greater frequency today.

The Lord Jesus gives power and authority to the disciples of His kingdom to bring forth the signs of His kingdom and gather in the harvest.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

A Kingdom of Faith

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.”

And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour. (Matthew 8:5-13)

This account of Jesus healing the centurion’s servant has many things to teach us, about healing, about authority, about the dynamics of faith. But is also has something very important to teach us about the kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

First, notice that this man who came to Jesus was a Roman soldier. In fact, he was a commander over many Roman soldiers. In other words, he was not of Israel, not of those who were given promise of the divine kingdom. However, he was a man who recognized and understood authority. More than that, he was a man who understood faith, and he put his faith in Jesus. In fact, Jesus described it as “great faith,” greater than any He had found in Israel. And that is the remarkable thing: though this man was not of Israel, he had greater faith than those who were of Israel.

That leads to the second important point. After commending this Roman centurion for his great faith, Jesus immediately uses it to make a powerful declaration about the kingdom of heaven: “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of heaven will include those who will come from the east and west, that is, those who are not of Israel. They will “sit down” (the Greek word means to recline at table, as at a banquet) with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In other words, they will have an equal share in the kingdom.

Then Jesus adds this surprising statement: “But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The “sons of the kingdom” refers to those who by natural birth belong to those to whom the kingdom was promised. However, when the promise is not received by faith it has no power. As the author of Hebrews notes concerning those Israelites who were delivered in the Exodus, but later died in the wilderness instead of entering into the Promised Land, “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Then he applies it to the unbelieving Jews of his own day: “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it” (Hebrews 4:2).

The “sons of the kingdom” thought that the kingdom of heaven automatically belonged to them because of who they were, that they were of Israel. But the surprising turnabout is that, although many non-Israelites will enter into the kingdom, there will also be many Israelites who will be cast out.

The difference is all about faith. Those who, like the Roman centurion, recognize the authority of King Jesus and believe in Him, regardless of their ethnicity, will be received into full fellowship in His kingdom. Those who do not believe, but who reject the King, will have no place in His kingdom. For the kingdom of heaven is not received by rights of natural birth, but by faith.

The kingdom of Heaven on Earth is a kingdom of faith.

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

Forcefully Laying Hold

And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12)

The NIV has it this way: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it."

• It is like Jacob wrestling with the angel of the LORD: "I will not let You go until You bless me" (Genesis 32:26).
• It is like the man who stumbled upon a rich treasure in a field, then he went and sold all that he had to buy that field, and so possess that treasure (Matthew 13:44).
• It is a bulldog tenacity.
• It is seeking first the kingdom of God and letting God take care of everything else.
• It is asking until you receive, seeking until you find, and knocking until the door is opened unto you.

Years ago, Phil Driscoll had a song high on the Christian charts called “Comin’ On Strong.” I always think of that whenever I read Matthew 11:12. The kingdom of God is coming on strong, and those who are coming on strong in response to it are the ones who are laying hold of it.

Ever since the days of John the Baptist, the kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing, and tenacious men have indeed been laying hold of it. When we are fully focused on God's kingdom, we will see it manifest in a very powerful. But if we hold it lightly, we will hardly recognize it. How serious are you about it?

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The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth
Keys to the Kingdom of God
in the Gospel of Matthew
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

The Kingdom of God is Now Here

From the very beginning, and throughout His ministry, Jesus preached about the kingdom of God, that it was now present. After His baptism, and the temptation in the wilderness, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). In Mark’s Gospel, we read:

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)

To say that the kingdom is “at hand” is to say that it is now here. The appropriate response it to repent and believe, to receive it by faith. This was the message He was sent to preach. “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:43).

When Jesus sent His disciples out, He sent them out to heal sicknesses, cast out demons, and to preach. What were they to preach? The kingdom of God:

Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” (Luke 10:8-10).

The miracles and acts of deliverance were signs that the kingdom of God was present in their midst. Later in Luke’s Gospel, when He was accused of casting demons by the power of the devil, Jesus replied, “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).

Jesus described the kingdom of God as a seed:

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the lest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in the branches. (Matthew 13:31-32)

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. (Matthew 13:33)

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. (Mark 4:26-27)

To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is small than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade. (Mark 4:30-32)

The kingdom of God starts out as a seed that is sown, then it takes root and begins to grow, continually expanding. It becomes a tree shooting out large branches and starts to bear fruit. The fruit ripens and is harvested. That is how it is with the kingdom of God, and with everything that is sown into the kingdom. In another place, Jesus said,

Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not received a hundredfold now in this time — houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions — and in the age to come, eternal life. (Mark 10:29-30)

Jesus is describing an exponential growth of the kingdom of God. Notice that it is “now in this time,” as well as in the life to come. Surprisingly, many Christians overlook the magnificent expansion of the kingdom “now in this time” and see only the persecutions.

Now, the gospel Jesus is talking about is the gospel of the kingdom of God, for that is the gospel He preached:

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. (Matthew 4:23)

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. (Matthew 9:35)

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

The kingdom of God has been growing and expanding ever since Jesus came into the world. Jesus said,

Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:11-12)

The NIV has this as, “The kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it.” The kingdom of God is not in retreat; it is forcefully advancing, moving forward in a powerful way, becoming more and more what Jesus often described it as becoming.

The kingdom of God is here and now and is continually growing and expanding. We lay hold of this kingdom by faith in Jesus Christ, who has “delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:13). The old kingdom of the present age, and the god of this age are passing way. The new kingdom, the kingdom of God, is advancing and increasing. The apostle John said, “Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8).

This forcefully advancing kingdom is present within everyone who believes in Jesus Christ: “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:2-21).

It does not come militarily or politically. It is not marked on a map; nor can it be geographically contained. The kingdom of God is much more pervasive than that. It is within the people of God, and everywhere they go, that is where the kingdom is. Wherever Jesus is preached and the works of Jesus are being done, the kingdom is in manifestation. God is bringing it forth through His people.

The kingdom of God is not a symbolic kingdom, or a figurative one. It is a real kingdom — the dominion of the King, the rule and reign of God. It is here in this world and now in this time. It has not yet become all that it is going to become, but it has already begun. The seed has been planted and has been growing for two thousand years.

The Seed of the Kingdom

Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32)

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It starts out very small; it grows up and becomes huge, offering refuge for all who would come under its shade. The life of the kingdom and the entire pattern of its development is all within the seed at the very beginning. When it hits the soil, it goes to work and begins to emerge.

Jesus also talked about faith as a mustard seed:

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)

It is not the size of the seed that matters, but what you do with it. It must be planted, then it can bring about amazing, seemingly impossible results. The way you plant faith as a mustard seed is by what you say. Jesus said, “If you have faith … you can say” (see also Mark 11:22-23, below).

In the same way, the kingdom of God is planted by words. In the parable of the sower, earlier in Mark 4, Jesus identifies the seed as the word (v. 14). In Matthew it is called the “word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19). Luke’s account identifies it very plainly: “The seed is the Word of God” (Luke 8:11).

When the seed hits the soil, it immediately goes to work and starts to grow. Likewise, when the Word of God, the word of the kingdom, comes into the world, it immediately goes to work and begins to grow. For the world was created by the Word of God in the first place(Hebrews 11:3), therefore it must always respond to it.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

(Isaiah 55:10-11)

It is by the Word of God that the kingdom comes forth and flourishes. It does not matter whether that Word is in God’s mouth or ours, it will always produce when it is spoken in faith. For Jesus has given all those who believe in Him the authority to speak the Word of God and call forth the kingdom of God upon the earth. He taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven!” (Matthew 6:10).

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:22-23)

The Word of God, whether in His mouth or in ours, is the seed that brings forth the kingdom of God on the earth.

Small Things Change the World

Do not despise these small beginnings. (Zechariah 4:10 NLT)

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven. (Matthew 13:33)

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move form here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible. (Matthew 17:20)

This is how the world works. Everything begins as a seed, a bit of leaven, seemingly small and insignificant. Consider the Creation, for example: God spoke a little word and the worlds were framed.

Mathematicians have developed an explanation to address how the world hinges on small beginnings. It is called Chaos Theory, “sensitive dependence upon initial conditions.” The classic paradigm is that the beating of a butterfly’s wings in Beijing can affect the weather patterns over Central Park in New York.

Bankers and investment counselors expound on the miracles of compound interest, the snowballing effect of a little bit of interest accumulating over time.

In the beginning, God created a man and a woman and gave them this amazing assignment: “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion” (Genesis 1:28). Quite a job description for the very first couple, and yet eminently doable in the providence of God.

Jesus said “The kingdom of God is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened” (Matthew 13:33). The leaven, though very small, eventually works throughout all the dough. The kingdom of God works in the same way.

Jesus also compared the kingdom to a mustard seed, “which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches” (Matthews 13:31-32).

Faith, too, is like a mustard seed, He said. A little bit goes a long way — if you plant it. Mountains move. In fact, Jesus made a statement so startling that we gloss over it as hyperbole, but it is not. He said, “Nothing will be impossible!”

We don’t really need to understand how it happens, we just need to know that it happens. Jesus said,

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come. (Mark 4:26-29)

Have you ever noticed in a vegetable garden, how a gardener will often take the empty seed packet and put it on a stake at the end of the row? Carrots, cabbage, peas. Why does he do that? It is not for the benefit of the seed, but simply to help him keep track of what is planted where. The seed already knows what it is, and that is how it will come up, regardless of how the rows are marked.

The seed carries its destiny within itself, and the soil knows what to do with it. Our job is simply to be faithful — full of faith — to sow the seed. In its proper time, it will begin to breakthrough the soil, to grow and develop, to bud and blossom and bring forth fruit. When the fruit ripens, there is harvest — much greater than the seed that was sown.

Start small, finish big. Take your faith and plant it. Speak the Word of God over you life, over your world. Believe the leaven and watch it work. Scatter your seed freely. The world waits in sensitive dependence upon the initial conditions of your heart, so turn your heart in faith to the Lord, and nothing will be impossible.