Things to know:
The Gospels use three terms to describe the kingdom of God: “the kingdom of God, “the kingdom of [the] Heaven[s]” and the "the kingdom”. All these terms mean the same thing.
The word "Kingdom" doesn’t refer to a place as much as it refers to the "Reign" or "Rule" of God.
Jesus makes clear that the Kingdom of God is already here..but it is not yet fully experienced on this earth..therefore we live in tension and joyful expectation until Christ comes again.
Jesus used parables to help “insiders” get a better understanding of what God is doing. See Matthew 13:10-11.
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» Have you ever been frustrated when someone wouldn’t tell you what you really needed to know? In what ways does being "out of the loop" make this world a frustrating, scary, or even dangerous place? What is it like for you to know a secret? Read Matthew 13:10-11. What difference does it make for to you to "be in the know"?
» Have you ever noticed that your life ..and even your church..is filled with sinners? How strongly do you believe that the Church should be a place of tranquility or prosperity? How does this effect how you relate to your brothers and sister in Christ? What are some examples (personally or from history) you can give of times when people have brought false teachings about God or destructive practices into the body of Christ? Read 1 Corinthians 2:19; Matthew 10:34-39, Matthew 13:24-30, and Matthew 13:36-43. How does God’s word effect your thinking about the presence of upheaval in our world and churches?
Read Matthew 7:1-5. When Jesus tells us how to confront a brother or sister who is in sin where does he want us to begin?
Click HERE to read the short sermon entitled The Wheat & The Tares by Martin Luther (1483-1546). Here is an excerpt:
3. Now this Gospel teaches us how the kingdom of God or Christianity fares in the world, especially on account of its teaching, namely, that we are not to think that only true Christians and the pure doctrine of God are to dwell upon the earth; but that there must be also false Christians and heretics in order that the true Christians may be approved, as St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:19. For this parable treats not of false Christians, who are so only outwardly in their lives, but of those who are unchristian in their doctrine and faith under the name Christian, who beautifully play the hypocrite and work harm. It is a matter of the conscience and not of the hand. And they must be very spiritual servants to be able to identify the tares among the wheat. And the sum of all is that we should not marvel nor be terrified if there spring up among us many different false teachings and false faiths. Satan is constantly among the children of God. (Job 1:6).
4. Again this Gospel teaches how we should conduct ourselves toward these heretics and false teachers. We are not to uproot nor destroy them. Here he says publicly let both grow together. We have to do here with God’s Word alone; for in this matter he who errs today may find the truth tomorrow. Who knows when the Word of God may touch his heart? But if he be burned at the stake, or otherwise destroyed, it is thereby assured that he can never find the truth; and thus the Word of God is snatched from him, and he must be lost, who otherwise might have been saved. Hence the Lord says here, that the wheat also will be uprooted if we weed out the tares. That is something awful in the eyes of God and never to be justified.
» In our culture we often assume "Bigger is Better" and that appearances can tell you something about what something is "really" like. How have you been influenced by these cultural assumptions? Read Matthew 13:31-32 and Matthew 13:33. In what ways does Jesus challenge these assumptions?
» What is most precious to you? What brings you delight? How would someone else recognize that something was precious to you? Read Matthew 6:19-21 and Matthew 13:44-46. Where does your heart and minds dwell? Who or what gets the lion’s share of your time and energy? How does it fit into our Lord’s vision of where true delight can be found?
» What kinds of thoughts and feelings come to mind when you think about Judgement Day? Do you even think out it? Read Matthew 13:47-50. What effect does this have on you right NOW?
As you consider what it means to face divine judgement remember that we are always called to flee to Jesus Christ. Consider these words from a sermon by Martin Luther:
After man has thus become aware of his sin and is terrified in his heart, he must watch that sin does not remain in his conscience, for this would lead to sheer despair. Just as [our knowledge of] sin flowed from Christ and was acknowledged by us, so we must pour this sin back on him and free our conscience of it. Therefore beware, lest you do as those perverse people who torture their hearts with their sins and strive to do the impossible, namely, get rid of their sins by running from one good work or penance to another, or by working their way out of this by means of indulgences. Unfortunately such false confidence in penance and pilgrimages is widespread.
You throw your sins from yourself and onto Christ when you firmly believe that his wounds and sufferings are your sins, to be borne and paid for by him, as we read in Isaiah 53:6, “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” St. Peter says, “in his body has he borne our sins on the wood of the cross” [1 Peter 2:24]. St. Paul says, “God has made him a sinner for us, so that through him we would be made just” [2 Corinthians 5:21]. You must stake everything on these and similar verses. The more your conscience torments you, the more tenaciously must you cling to them. If you do not do that, but presume to still your conscience with your contrition and penance, you will never obtain peace of mind, but will have to despair in the end. If we allow sin to remain in our conscience and try to deal with it there, or if we look at sin in our heart, it will be much too strong for us and will live on forever. But if we behold it resting on Christ and [see it] overcome by his resurrection, and then boldly believe this, even it is dead and nullified. Sin cannot remain on Christ, since it is swallowed up by his resurrection. Now you see no wounds, no pain in him, and no sign of sin. Thus St. Paul declares that “Christ died for our sin and rose for our justification” [Romans 4:25]. That is to say, in his suffering Christ makes our sin known and thus destroys it, but through his resurrection he justifies us and delivers us from all sin, if we believe this.
Martin Luther, A MEDITATION ON CHRIST’S PASSION -1519, Luther’s Works, Vol. 42 : Devotional Writings I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald and Helmut T. Lehmann, Luther’s Works (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999, c 1969). 42:III-13.
» Read Luke 24:13-27. Here we find out that the only way to make sense of what was going on in Old Testament ..and make sense of what is going on in the world.. is to understand what God accomplished in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Click HERE and download Chapter 4: Christ Has Made Him Known from Graeme Goldsworthy’s book According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible in PDF format. How does Goldsworthy’s presentation help you make sense of the many ways that God’s "new" work in Jesus Christ can make sense of God’s "old" work of blessing the world through creation and nurturing the people of Israel?
