DAY 70 - THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND
KEATON TUCKER, YA GROUPS TEAM LEAD
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being the governor of Judea, and Herod being the tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John in the wilderness.” Luke 3:1-2
Where are you going with this Keaton… Great question! I have been drawn to Luke’s Gospel a lot lately. These two verses have always been verses I skipped over because who really cares all that much who was in power at the time when Jesus started his ministry? Right?
But it matters.
A quick study of history during the first century would show you why these verses are important. Luke, at the beginning of his Gospel account, tells us exactly who was in power at the time of Jesus’ first Kingdom announcement. The history is not good. Israel was held captive under Roman rule, the line of broken kings within Israel had been replaced by Herod the great and then his sons who had basically given up their role as kings in Israel to serve Rome instead, and so had the priesthood. The priesthood (of what we might call church today) had bowed their knee to Rome. Things were not going well for the people of Israel.
It was during this time, Jesus shows up on the scene announcing the Kingdom of God and it’s availability to anyone who would trust in him. The persecution of Rome didn’t stop and the corruption of power eventually put Jesus on the cross as they tried to extinguish his proclamation. And then he rose from the dead.
Persecution continued. Rome destroyed the Temple 40 years later and ruined the Jewish way of life and a short time after, Rome itself was destroyed.
Yet the Gospel of the Kingdom and of Jesus himself expanded and grew to other nations and is still being proclaimed today.
Here’s why those verses up top are so important: civil unrest and corruption within governmental systems have happened before. Whether you are left-leaning or right-leaning, independent, or whatever, this matters. It takes about 5 minutes of watching the news to see things are not so great right now.
It’s when things are not so great that the Kingdom of God flourishes. It is when governmental systems begin to break down that the Kingdom grows. Even during this time, the Kingdom of God and Jesus himself as King is still the hope of the world and I have great hope that everything will be okay.
All of our friends out in the world are seeking after the Kingdom and looking for it in the wrong place. We have all done it. You, my friends, have the good news of the Kingdom of God available to all people who trust in Jesus.
Want to make a difference in the lives of people right now? Tell them about the Kingdom of God. It is at hand right now, available to all.