Kingdom of Heaven

Let her be coming, the kingdom of you, let it being become, the will of you as in heaven also on the earth (Matthew 6:10).

Jesus walked among the religious leaders of his day and warned the people not to do as they do. "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" (Matthew 5:21). The Pharisees were self-righteous, they followed the rules, every 903 they had established. They had become good at following rules but in their hearts were all kinds of uncleanliness. Jesus points them back to their hearts; if you hate your brother or sister then you are in judgement and have committed murder, if you lust after a woman in your heart then you have commited adultery. He then tells them how to be perfect as the Father, "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (Matthew 5:38-48). 

Jesus broke the tradition of the elders and the Pharasaic interpretation of scripture often. The Pharisees would follow him around so they could record him breaking their laws. Jesus tells them what the kingdom of heaven is really like. Like a son who leaves his father's house and squanders his inheritance on wasteful extravagance and after expending everything he comes to him self and returns home, the father immediately welcomes him back. It is like a father who gives commandments to two sons, "Son, go, work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” (Matthew 21:28-30). The one who has and does His will. Jesus said to the chief priests and Pharisees, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:2831). The religious leaders had become like the wicked vine dressers, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance’, v.32, they refused to enter into the kingdom of heaven, unlike the "sinners".

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday" (Isaiah 58:6-14). The older son in the prodigal son story, found his righteousness in obeying the law, "these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time" (Luke 15:29). Paul when he was Saul thought he was serving God, until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21-24). It is those who keep Jesus's sayings and do them which are likened to a wise man who builds his house on a rock.

Righteousness is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.[1] We as sons of God are not suppose to practice sin but to practice righteousness. We must understand what righteousness is, we must be "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:11). Following rules is not equivalent to  righteousness, "for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:4). God looks at the heart. Jesus tries to teach this principle to the people. Who was more righteous of the two sons whom the father commanded? Not the son who obeyed the command but did not do the objective of the command, but it was the son who dis-obeyed but did it. Who is more righteous? The older son who always obeyed his fathers's commandments? no it was the son who squandered his inheritance, once he was lost but now he is found the father said, he was righteous and the older son did not understand. God's ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts ours.

Abel's sacrifice was regarded by God and Cain's was not, so Cain became angry. "Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you furious? And why are you downcast? If you do right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it" (Genesis 4:3-8). Cain did not master sin, he let anger rule his heart and Cain killed Abel because his sacrifice was acceptable to God, he committed murder. David committed adultery and murder, but he was a man after God's own heart, God "raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will'" (Acts 13:22). David did not always follow the commandments but he loved God and did His will. Martha who was serving was upset with Mary who was at Jesus's feet, Jesus said Mary had chose the good part. God asked the prophet Hosea to marry a harlot, God wanted to show him how his people had left their first love, an adulterous nation they had become, nonetheless he commands him to marry her. He did and loved her. "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment" (1 John 3:23).

The Greek word for commands used in the New Testament is entolé, it is a very interesting word. Properly it means, "in the end" focusing on the end result (objective) of a command, it highlights the nature of a specific order, its in context objective.[2] What is the end result of a commandment? What is the objective of God's commands?  Is it not to have a relationship with him? Is it not to do his will? Jesus was here to do the will of the Father, the objective of the Father for Jesus is that none will be lost. Through His Amazing Grace they will be found. If you love me you will do my objective, and the greatest of these is to love God with all your heart, and there is one like it, to love your neighbor. He gives a new objective love each other as he has loved us. Jesus was righteous, he gives us our righteousness, we love him because he first loved us, his love was so great he laid down his life for us, we do his will because we know him and knowing is loving, God is love. The Pharisee's did not understand this principle, their righteousness was in the law, in following their traditions and rules, they did not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranges a marriage for his son and invites many guests but they do not come. "The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests" (Matthew 22:1-14).

This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham