The Promised Revival: God’s Mission
Completed
Stephen Terry
Commentary for the September 28, 2013
Sabbath School Lesson
“A jar of wine vinegar was there, so
they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and
lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is
finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” John 19:29-30,
NIV
For three
and a half years, Jesus and his disciples had been announcing the Kingdom of
God.[i]
Little wonder then that people began to expect that kingdom to be unveiled at
any moment.[ii]
Because of the miracles He performed, many shared the expectation that Jesus
would be king of that kingdom and even wished to compel Him to make that
happen.[iii]
But instead of entering the palace and assuming His place on the throne, He was
put to an inglorious death on a cross. As life oozed from His wounds, so did
hope from the hearts of His followers. Were they wrong to trust this Man? Was
he just another want-to-be messiah whose charismatic personality enabled Him to
deceive many into following Him?
Occupied by
Roman armies, the Jews knew how dangerous life could be for those who followed
anyone who proclaimed any rule but that of Rome. Even at Jesus’ trial, the
religious leaders were careful to proclaim their loyalty to Rome rather than
Jesus.[iv]
Perhaps now that Jesus had been dealt with, the Romans would come after His
followers with similar intent. Not sure what to do next, they huddled, hidden
away in a locked room, fearful of those that might arrest them.[v]
Maybe they felt foolish for having proclaimed a kingdom that was not realized.
How were they to make sense of the dramatic events of the last few days? What
did Jesus mean when He announced on the cross, “It is finished?” Was the kingdom
He promised destroyed when He died? Or was He simply announcing the moment of His
death? Maybe He was even announcing the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem.
After all, the curtain between the holy place and the most holy place had been
torn at the moment of His death, but no further destruction had ensued. What
should they make of it all? No one seemed to have an answer.
At this
moment, the Bible tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples and encouraged
them.[vi]
Then strangely, He disappeared for a week. One disciple, Thomas, who was not
present to see Him appear, remained skeptical. However, at the end of the week,
He reappeared and this time Thomas was present. Overwhelmed with joy, he
recommitted himself to Jesus. Nonetheless, Jesus chided him for his lack of
faith. Sometime later He also appeared to seven of the disciples and hosted a
fish fry on the beach of the Sea of Galilee.[vii]
At this meeting he reaffirmed Peter, who had previously denied any relationship
with Jesus to the authorities. Peter would never do that again, even though it
meant he also would later be crucified.
But what of
this Kingdom of God? What happened to it? Christians rarely speak of it, today.
Instead they often speak of “going to heaven.” Some believe that they will do
this when they die.[viii]
Others believe that they will only get there after sleeping in their graves for
a while.[ix]
Some hope to be alive to see Jesus return and be taken to heaven without seeing
death as happened to Elijah.[x]
Has our focus changed from the Kingdom of God to heaven? Jesus also spoke of
the Kingdom of Heaven. Are the two synonymous?
It seems
that the Kingdom of God was already possessed by the Jews for Jesus told them
that it would be taken from them and given to those who would produce proper
fruit.[xi]
One cannot take something from someone who does not have it. Perhaps then there
is a progressive aspect to the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. It
could be that originally they were intended to be synonymous and a heavenly
Kingdom of God was to be established on the earth but mankind fell far short of
that goal. Instead man seems to have been more intent to create a paradise for
a very few and a hell on earth for everyone else. When we look at the wealth
and resources available on our planet, there appears to be enough for all if
shared equally, but a few with the means and the power choose to accumulate
many magnitudes more than is needed in order to satisfy a voracious greed,
leaving many to go begging.
Greedy
desire has been a problem throughout history. Jacob’s greed caused him to steal
his brother, Esau’s, birthright and patriarchal blessing.[xii]
Later, Jacob’s sons’ greed and jealousy caused them to turn on their brother,
Joseph, and sell him into slavery in Egypt.[xiii]
By the time of Isaiah, the prophet, greed and oppression had become so endemic
that people thought nothing of worshipping God on the one hand and grinding
down their fellow man on the other.[xiv]
The chosen people had caused the whole idea of a Kingdom of God to become a
stench in the nostrils of everyone. Even the heathen were shocked at the
actions of the supposedly “godly” nation of Israel.[xv]
The Jewish nation even went further. Although no other nation would tolerate
such a thing, they turned their back on their God.[xvi]
Yet in spite of all of this, the Kingdom of God in the person of Jesus came
among them,[xvii]
and they rejected Him. But Jesus opened a doorway to heaven on the cross that
would never be closed. When the curtain was torn between the holy and most holy
rooms of the temple, it augured access directly to God by His people.
No longer
would a priestly caste need to intercede for God’s people. Each man and woman
would be a priest in their own right after the Order of Melchizedek,[xviii]
with Jesus as high priest at the right hand of the Father in heaven. The
Aaronic priesthood which could never cleanse the people had become corrupt and
even descended to the point of actually murdering the Son sent into this earthly
vineyard by His Father.[xix]
The Kingdom
of God was taken from those who used it to feed their greed and power and is
now given to others who will faithfully care for the vineyard, tending its
vines and caring for the sheep that shelter in its shade. We have the ability
to make the Kingdom of God like the Kingdom of Heaven if we live in Christ and
His character. We need not wait for the Parousia for Jesus to come. In as much
as we live out His compassion and grace in our lives, He comes into the lives
of each person we meet. His love will flow from our hearts, softening our
voices and our eyes to our brothers and sisters.
What the Law
could not do because it is external and only brings condemnation, we are able
to discover inwardly through the Holy Spirit which is a guide written in our
hearts. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is given to lead us into all truth,[xx]
and since Jesus is the Truth, [xxi]
The Spirit can only lead us to Jesus, not away from Him. This is why those who
have no knowledge of the Law handed down on Mount Sinai can still be saved. The
Holy Spirit fills that void.[xxii]
The Spirit allows us to share in the promise of Christ’s inheritance,[xxiii]
so that Jesus may come one day and take us to share in its reality.
Perhaps when
He said, “It is finished,” on the cross, it was simply a sealing of the last
will and testament that guaranteed that inheritance. Surely no one can now take
it from us without our assent. For every power that might prevail against us was
cast down at Calvary. Like Peter on the troubled waters[xxiv]
we need only keep our eyes on Christ, and even if we do look away and feel
ourselves falling, we need only cry as Peter did, “Lord, save me!” When we do,
Jesus will reach out and take our hand to sustain us and take us to the other
shore. Even when we forget to cry out to Jesus, as long as we remain in the
Spirit, He will save us, for that Spirit cries out to Jesus on our behalf.[xxv]
Like Enoch
of old,[xxvi]
we must walk with God faithfully and one day we, too, may find ourselves
walking right into heaven because heaven has already entered into us. Like an
old married couple that grows to think more and more alike, our relationship
with God brings us more and more into the beautiful mind of Christ.[xxvii]
