Matthew | Mark | Luke | Acts | King | Ethic | Subjects

Like Paul Harvey, the apostle John tells us “The Rest of the Story.”

I don’t know whether he had access to one or more of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark or Luke) – his closing verses lead me to suspect that – but he seems to concentrate on telling the parts of the story of Jesus that will lead us to believe (John 20:30-32).

So his two references to the kingdom are like bookends, near the beginning and the close of his story:

• Be born again to see and enter it (John 3:3-5)
• Understand that it’s of, and from, another world (John 18:36)

But in those few verses of the very mystical, miraculous, powerful, persuasive gospel of John there are profound truths.

The kingdom is transcendent, more important than fighting to prevent an unjust arrest, leading to a more cosmic judgment.

The kingdom is transformation, from this world to the next.

That transformation is compulsory – “You must be born again.”

And that transformation makes us “The Rest of the Story.”

Okay, Luke’s gospel is where the kingdom rubber meets the worldly road. Literally. Jesus goes on the road; He’s on a mission; and He’s got a deadline.

If I drop out the duplicate references to the kingdom from Matthew and Mark, this is what is left for me to do and be a part of it:

• Preach the good news of it, like Jesus (Luke 4:43)
• Proclaim the good news of it, like Jesus (Luke 8:1)
• Preach the kingdom, like the disciples (Luke 9:2)
• Speak to others about it, like Jesus (Luke 9:11)
• Proclaim it, though grieving (Luke 9:60)
• Go preach, and don’t look back (Luke 9:62)
• Preach it when you’re not welcome (Luke 10:11)
• Seek it (Luke 12:31)
• Receive it (Luke 12:32)
• Preach it, like John (Luke 16:16)
• Recognize it within yourself / among yourselves (Luke 20:17-21)
• Accept it (Luke 22:29)

If I’m not mistaken, that’s more than the number of total citations I found in Mark (12-11). These are all unique to Luke; they don’t even count the duplicates.

Did you sense a recurrent theme? (What’s that “p” word again?)

Can there be any doubt that Luke is the “preach”-quel to Acts?

Matthew | Luke | John | Acts | King | Ethic | Subjects

None of Matthew‘s “kingdom of heaven” euphemisms for young John Mark! He’ll go ahead and risk the wrath of his fellow Jews by calling it what it is: the “kingdom of God.”

But I find his description of Jesus’ words about the kingdom consistent.

To be a part of that kingdom, I must:

• Repent and believe (Mark 1:15)
• Abhor division (Mark 3:24)
• Accept mystery (Mark 4:11)
• Sow seed, anticipate harvest (Mark 4:26-31)
• Connect it with power (Mark 9:1)
• Get my priorities straight (Mark 9:47)
• Cherish innocence (Mark 10:14)
• Eschew wealth (Mark 10:23-25)
• Love God; love others (Mark 12:28-34)
• Look forward to the feast (Mark 14:25)
• Wait for it; ask boldly (Mark 15:43)

People have debated for centuries whether Jesus really intended to found a church, and how much it overlaps His kingdom.

When I looked at Matthew’s references, I took it personally. (Jesse’s mom made an observation that put it in perspective!)

But – without accusing or lauding – I tried to look at Mark’s references for that overlap. Does the church bear out the vision of the kingdom that Jesus describes?

The answer is probably “yes and no.”

I just wonder how I would react if Jesus came like the thief in the Jack Benny sketch and, instead of demanding “Your money or your life!”, asked:

“The kingdom or the church?”

Would I stand there like Jack’s skinflint persona, one hand cradling the elbow attached to the hand where my chin is resting ponderously … finally answering: “I’m thinking it over!”?

I want to object to the question; I want to say there couldn’t be such a choice; it’s not valid to ask. Yet I look over John Mark’s bullet points as I’m pecking away at this keyboard and …

I’m thinking it over.

Mark | Luke | John | Acts | King | Ethic | Subjects

I know that plenty of other and better writers have examined what it means to be a Kingdom Christian, but I’m writing this as an exercise in self-examination as much as anything else.

I thought I’d just go through and list what Jesus said about it, gospel by gospel.

If I aspire to be a Kingdom Christian, I should:

• Repent (Matthew 3:2; 4:17)
• Be poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3)
• Prepare to be persecuted (Matthew 5:10)
• Be careful what I practice and preach (Matthew 5:19)
• Experience surpassing righteousness (Matthew 5:20)
• Pray for God’s will to be done (Matthew 6:10)
• Do, not just say, what I believe (Matthew 7:21)
• Prepare to be in lots of good company (Matthew 8:11)
• Go. Preach. (Matthew 10:7)
• Recognize there will be greater folks than me in the kingdom (Matthew 11:11)
• Be forceful (Matthew 11:12)
• Be a uniter, not a divider (Matthew 12:25)
• Admit I may not know all the secrets (Matthew 13:11)
• Weed the enemy out of my heart (Matthew 13:23-34)
• Understand that a little goes a long way (Matthew 13:31-34)
• Realize the Kingdom is worth everything I have (Matthew 13:44-46)
• Avoid being a smelly, bad fish (Matthew 13:47-50)
• Treasure the old and the new (Matthew 13:52)
• Squelch ambition; value humility (Matthew 18:1-4)
• Accept mercy by showing mercy (Matthew 18:22-34)
• Examine my (gulp!) willingness to accept other things (Matthew 19:12)
• Again, be childlike (Matthew 19:14)
• Again, treasure true wealth (Matthew 19:23-24)
• Accept God’s view of fairness (Matthew 20:1-16)
• Open doors rather than shutting them (Matthew 23:13)
• Keep watch; be prepared (Matthew 25:1-13)
• Invest my talents to yield results (Matthew 25:14-29)
• Anticipate the feast (Matthew 26:29)

Whew! I’m glad I framed this as a list and not a pop quiz.

I’m not sure I’d like my score.