NEAR TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

He called His twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.”

Matthew 10:1-8a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Prior to Matthew Chapter 10, we have witnessed Jesus call two pairs of fisherman brothers…Peter and Andrew…James and John…as well as the tax collector, Matthew. There has been no mention of any others by name until now.

For as Chapter 10 opens, we learn that Jesus had twelve disciples in His inner circle:

“Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot”.

We read where Jesus gave all these disciples special power…the ”authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness”... and then commanded them to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, (and) drive out demons.”

Note that the disciples were granted the same healing power that Christ had displayed early in His ministry and they were expected to use it to the glory of the Lord. Indeed, Jesus does not empower us without His accompanying expectation that we will use that power to fulfill His will.

Jesus also ordered His disciples to “not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans” but rather to go “to the lost sheep of Israel”. Later as Jesus grants His Great Commission, the disciples will be told to go out to all nations (Matthew 28:19-20) but for the time being, Jesus was most interested in the Israelites.

So the disciples were to…heal the sick…raise the dead…cleanse those with leprosy…and drive out demons…amongst the people of Israel. They were also expected to do one other important thing. For Jesus told His disciples that they were to “preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' “

OK…that sounds good coming out but what exactly does Jesus mean when He speaks about the “kingdom of heaven” being near? Is it still near to us today?

Let’s think about this for a minute and we can easily get to what Jesus meant.

First, if there is a kingdom…any kingdom…then there must be a king over that kingdom. So given this, who would be the king over the kingdom of heaven?

The King of kings, that’s who. And we know the identity of the King of kings. His name is Jesus Christ.

So if the kingdom of heaven is near…it’s because the King of that kingdom is near. And Jesus was indeed near to His disciples in the days of our scripture passage…just as He is to us, His disciples, this very day.

Question: How near do you feel to the kingdom of heaven in your life? Do you feel empowered by the Holy Spirit to go forth and answer Christ’s call, responding in full to His will for your life?

If you are truly near to Jesus then you are in communion and contact with the kingdom of heaven…a kingdom you will be able to reside in one day when this life’s over through your willingness to acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. That’s the good news that buoys us up in eternal hope.

So let us all commit to the following words of the Lord’s prayer each and every day as we get set once again to draw near to the King of the kingdom here on earth…who is as near as your next breath:

Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy kingdom come, they will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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