The Kingdom of Heaven

This is amazing! I don’t know how I will ever be able to remember all of this to tell my sisters. He speaks with such authority, and yet I can see his lessons in my mind, and understand his words – well, at least mostly, though they are so very different from what we have heard before.

Earlier today we heard that Jochanan the Baptizer had been arrested. He is a good man. We went down to the Jordan a few months ago to hear him and see what was happening there. His clothes were camel hair, and he wore a leather belt. They say he lives on locust and wild honey. He said that people needed to be cleansed from their sins. I had not given that much thought. My husband is a pretty good man. I am blessed to have him. But there are some things… of course I am not suggesting that I always get it right either… not that we would talk about such things in our community.

Everyone we know tries to look like they are pure, but many of them don’t act like it. Most of us seemed to think that if we could do enough good things, that would outweigh the bad things, and make us acceptable to God. But Jochanan said

       “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Many confessed their sins and he baptized them in the Jordan River. They were not mocked or shamed. They seemed to be more joyful after their confessions than before. Now that was hard to imagine. At least until we too were baptized. Since then I have noticed that I am spending more time forgiving others than raling against them. And I have also noticed others who seem to thrive on raling against others.

Some Pharisees and Sadducees came to watch Jochanan. That did not seem to worry him one bit. He said to them:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“What should we do then?” many in the crowd asked.

He answered “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

Some of those awful tax collectors came to be baptized and asked:

“Teacher, what should we do?”

“Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

He seemed to be more welcoming of them than our religious leaders!

When some soldiers asked, He replied,

“Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

Now we know that they are paid VERY little, even as some of us. If they can follow that teaching, surely we should be able to also.

Some of us got to talking, quietly of course, and wondering in our hearts if he might possibly be the Messiah. Some priests and Levites must have wondered too, because they asked him who he was. He answered:

“I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him:

        “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said “I am not.”

        “Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

Finally they said:

“Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

He answered “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

…just like Isaiah wrote. Make straight the way! What does that mean, really? Jochanan clearly thinks that repenting and being baptized is a key part of preparation.

Some Pharisees asked him:

“Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Some are saying that he was arrested simply because he rebuked Herod the tetrarch for his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he has done.

After word came about Jochanan’s arrest, my husband and I saw a large crowd gathering, following this man named Yeshua. So, we followed too.  He led us to this mountainside, and he has been teaching us pretty much all day.

He started by saying some marvelous but difficult things:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

I cannot recall ever hearing anyone talk like this!

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

“Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Not only did he affirm the law, he seemed to make it even harder. He said that just being angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement, just like murder. And he said that if a man simply looks lustfully at a woman, he has already committed adultery. He said it was better to remove the temptation, even your own eye or hand, than to burn in hell. Then he said it was better to turn the other cheek than to demand justice, better to give more than people demand of you. He even said that we should love our enemies and pray for them. Then he said words that are so clear in my memory, even though they seem impossible:

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

How very difficult! And yet when he says it, it sounds so right.

The crowd is now very quiet as he continues:

 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, Holy is your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

It almost sounds like he thinks that the heavenly Father visits with individuals, not only with priests who then pass on the messages to all of us. And he seems to suggest that we should not make it obvious when we are serving our Lord. I suppose that serving where everyone can see does bring a type of reward to those who make a big show of acting piously.

 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

There is no light that comes from our eyes. That is why we carry lamps at night. What type of light does he mean? Now, the heart being where our treasures are – that makes sense. I wish I understood more about how we can build up treasures in heaven. Still, I don’t think we can have enough treasure to buy our forgiveness.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Don’t worry?! I can’t imagine what that would be like. There’s food and clothing and personal safety and oppression and wars. It is not in the least difficult to find things to worry about. Still, I want to seek the Father’s Kingdom and his righteousness first. For what benefit is there to meet our other needs if we are distant from Him?

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

I am not even allowed to judge anyone! But sometimes I do have thoughts about what people say, do and don’t do. Could he mean even that? Will I be judged in the same way that I think about what others do? What a terrible thought…

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Of course I would help my brother remove a speck of sawdust! But if there were a beam in my own eye, I would probably hurt him more than help until I was seeing clearly again.

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

So, all I have to do is ask, and my LORD would hear me and answer? What kind of answer?  Would he ever say ‘no’?

Forgive others… Don’t worry – seek first His kingdom… Remove the plank from your own eye… I have never heard anyone teach like this before!

 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

People have fruit? I have not seen that!  Oh.. maybe I have… Not grapes, but sometimes I see in people’s faces what might be bad fruit. I wish I saw the good fruit more often.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Oh my! People who THINK they are part of The Father’s people might not be!? And it is not about race. He says they may be evildoers – people who seemed to do miracles in the name of the LORD!

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

It appears that he is finished for today. He speaks with such authority! Not like our usual teachers. How can he know all these things?

I want us to build on the rock! I don’t want everything I have and am to be washed away! I want to do what he says! But how foreign it all sounds. Can I be a member of THIS community and still behave THAT way? And how will we know if we are doing the things he says when we face situations of many kinds? We need to listen more to him in coming days! And we need to ask our Father of heaven for his wisdom!

This seems scary, but I think I can do this, and I will try not to worry. It also sounds exciting to live this way.  I long to be part of this Kingdom of Heaven, both later and here on earth, both as Jochanan talked about it and as Yeshua does. There seems to be so much richness of life in living like this. I suppose we will find out once we get back to our home, ask the Father for help, and see how it goes!

 

(C) 2018 Chuck Curtiss

To read other similar stories in this series see The Witness List.

Based on Matthew 3, 5-7

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