Kingdom of God: Go? or Make? Mark 1:14-15; Luke 11:20

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1 Sunday Worship Service July 9, 2017 Rev. YoungMin Kim Kingdom of God: Go? or Make? Mark 1:14-15; Luke 11:20 (1) Last Sunday, I told you that I would be satisfied if you understand my English sermon just 50 percent, and I will do my best to increase 1 percent every Sunday. After the worship service, some members came to me and said, I understood your sermon 70 percent, 80 percent, and more than 50 percent today. Hallelujah! I will humbly do my best every moment. Today, my goal is 51 percent. During the last sermon, I shared UMC s vision: Let us be disciples of Jesus Christ, forming, deepening, and maturing our Christian faith, and transforming our community and the world into the Kingdom of God by practicing and realizing Jesus teaching. This vision will follow us in every Sunday worship service with the sermon, every program that we promote, and every ministry that we provide. In the Synoptic Gospels, known as the four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John the Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of Heaven) was mentioned frequently: 33 times in Matthew, 14 times in Mark, 32 times in Luke, and twice in John. Thus, we can assume that the Kingdom of God is the core of Jesus teaching. However, the Kingdom of God mentioned in the four gospels is divided into two different 1

2 understandings. Therefore, today, I d like to share two different understandings of the Kingdom of God and how the Kingdom of God is closely related to our vision. (2) Today s first Scripture is Mark 1:14-15: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, the time has come, he said, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news. Here is the first understanding of the Kingdom of God: The Kingdom of God has come near! We call this the eschatological Kingdom of God, or, simply, the Future Kingdom of God. For a deeper understanding of the Future Kingdom of God, we need to know about the background of the Gospel of Mark. It is known that Gospel of Mark was written between A.D. 60 and A.D. 70 to Roman Christians during the time of the great persecution in Rome (Mark 10:30). Believers in Rome had to endure severe persecution and many of them were martyred. For the Christian survivors, strong faith and hope were undoubtedly required. In this situation, the author of Mark was not able to afford the time and space in his writing to explain the genealogy of Jesus like the Gospel of Matthew or the Annunciation and birth of Jesus like the Gospel of Luke. The author of Mark jumped directly into Jesus ministry in Galilee and stated Jesus radical and dramatic proclamation, The Kingdom of God has come near. Thus, the Future Kingdom of God delivered a message to Roman Christians that if you remain steadfast in your faith, Jesus will come again soon, and your severe persecution, unbearable pain, and the fear of death will disappear. 2

3 The Future Kingdom of God explains that it will be established in the near future, and it will be totally different from the present world. The kingdom will be established over all people of the earth when Jesus second coming is realized. The day cannot be predicted. First Thessalonians 5:2 says, the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. We cannot move up nor delay the day. We can only wait for the day. The Kingdom of God is holy, and the present world is sinful, so that when the kingdom comes, the sinful world will be overwhelmed and disappear. The Future Kingdom of God encourages the Roman believers in the 1 st century and UMC members in the 21 st century to live holy lives with strong faith as people of God. This Future Kingdom of God will be given by the grace of God if we repent and believe in the good news Jesus Christ as our Lord. Today, if anyone attending today s worship service repents of your sins and believes that Jesus Christ is your Lord who was crucified on the cross for your sins, the Future Kingdom of God is yours. If we keep focusing on the first part of our vision forming, deepening, and maturing our Christian faith we will abide in the kingdom with our Lord, Jesus Christ in the near future. (3) Here is another understanding of the Kingdom of God. Today s second Scripture is Luke 11:20. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. Here is the second understanding of the 3

4 Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has come to you! We call this the noneschatological Kingdom of God, or, simply, the Present Kingdom of God. Again, for a deeper understanding of the Present Kingdom of God, we also need to know about the background of the Gospel of Luke. It is known that Gospel of Luke was written between A.D. 70 and A.D. 80 when the great persecution and martyrdom had almost ended. Thus, believers didn t have to risk their lives for their faith. They didn t need urgent and dramatic faith and hope. Instead, they started to focus on how to live in the present day as Christians. Thus, the author of Luke paid attention to the moment that Jesus healed a person who suffered from a demon that was mute. And then Jesus said, if it (healing) is by the finger (refers to hand or power) of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. If not only healing but also other ministries such as feeding, teaching, befriending the isolated and neglected are performed by the hand of God, the Kingdom of God has already come to you, us, and that place. The Present Kingdom of God explains that it has already started when Jesus came to earth. God governs the present world, so believers should establish the Kingdom of God by practicing Jesus teaching here and now. The kingdom can be realized in church and the world. Matthew 25:40 says, Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me. The Present Kingdom of God encourages the early church believers in the 1 st century and UMC member in the 21 st century to practice and realize 4

5 Jesus teaching. This Present Kingdom of God will be established by believers (or disciples) by fulfilling Jesus teaching. If we keep focusing on the second part of our vision practicing and realizing Jesus teaching in our community if we perform a food pantry ministry by the hand of God, and develop our sustainable ministries toward our community in the name of God, we will be able to experience the Kingdom of God here and now. (4) However, each understanding of the Kingdom of God has fatal risks. On the one hand, the Future Kingdom of God separates the holy Kingdom of God and the sinful present world, and makes believers avoid the responsibilities as people of God in the present world. Do you believe that the world is full of sin? Do you believe the world where we live right now is the place where we stay for a moment and go to our eternal home? Do you believe that personal salvation is the most important experience to go to heaven? On the other hand, the Present Kingdom of God makes believers ignore the hope of the Kingdom of God in the near future and confuses the Jesus teaching and moral righteousness. Are you interested in social justice? Do you like helping people in need and providing good will? Does your participation, helping people, and good will include the love of God and the name of God or your righteousness? (5) 5

6 So far, I have explained two different understandings of the Kingdom of God: The Future Kingdom of God and the Present Kingdom of God. Let me ask you a question. Which Kingdom of God have you had in your Christian background? Which Kingdom of God have you been educated about in church? Which Kingdom of God have you emphasized? Are you familiar with either one, both, or neither? As you may already realize, this is not a matter of choice because the Future and the Present Kingdom of God complement each other. Just as the formation of faith and the transformation of the world must go together, so the Future and the Present Kingdom of God must also. While focusing on the first part of our vision forming Christian Faith for ours is the Future Kingdom of God. While focusing on the second part of our vision transforming our community by practice of Jesus Christ for ours is the Present Kingdom of God. I pray that all UMC members will experience both the Future and Present Kingdom of God together by participating and fulfilling our vision. Amen. 6