Plant science: tares

The tares of the parable are most likely a species of annual ryegrass: Lolium temulentum, also known as darnel. It is a member of the family of true grasses: Poaceae; ryegrass makes up the genus Lolium. Wheat is also a member of this family, but in a different genus: Triticum.

Both are similar in appearance during growth, but differentiate as they mature. Wheat bears a tufted head of kernals; darnel bears a zigzagged head of smaller seeds. The plants are easily distinguished by their seed heads.

"But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also." Matthew 13:26

Weeds in general look different than wheat from the time they first sprout. Most are broad leafed plants, very different than grasses. Thistles look like thistles from the first true leaf.

But this parable refers to a plant that looks like wheat until it is mature. The picture is not one of obvious good versus obvious bad. Rather it is a picture of similar things that yield differ results.

Ryegrass is a host to a fungal endophyte that is carried on its seeds. It can act as a poison if consumed. The owner's plan to harvest first the tares, keeping them separate, reflects this concern. They understood tares were poisonous.

But darnel is also a competitive weed; it can seriously reduce the yield of wheat. Today, various types of annual ryegrass are a major problem for wheat growers in the US and Australia.

The parable of the tares pictures a spiritual competition in us. Plants compete for light, nutrients, and water. What one plant takes will not be available to the plant next to it. It is the same for us; what is taken by the evil growing in us is being taken away from the good.

This is a picture of the kingdom of God; this is a reality within us. We have the good seed growing within us; we also have tares competing with the wheat. The tares even look like wheat for a time. But the harvest that comes from the tares is poisonous; if mixed with the wheat, the tares will poison the wheat as well.

The clever lies that seem to be good for a time can make us unfruitful in the end. Tares have been sown with the wheat; a spiritual struggle is present within us.

It isn't all good; God did not sow the tares.

Rooted together

The parable of the tares illustrates a significant question: why is there evil in us?

"...And the slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them.'" Matthew 13:28-29

This is not just a question about evil in the world; the question is about our very nature. We try to look at ourselves in terms of a single personality; we try to explain what we do in terms of experience and influence. We interpret the new birth as being a new birth in this single personality. But the reality of what believers do is difficult to explain if this single personality has been completely transformed. We are forced to rely on escape clauses: "they must not have been saved".

The picture that Jesus gives in the parable of the sower is that our human existance is the soil. (Adam was named for the dirt he came from.) Rebirth is spiritual. A spiritual seed, received by the soil, grows into something spiritual. In the parable of the tares, Jesus added another piece. Some evil can grow in the soil as well. Who "I" am is not well expressed by the dirt alone; I am much more than that. I have in me a son of the kingdom; something in me came from God's hand, and is growing under His care. But I have in me also sons of the evil one. In whatever I have accepted a lie, something is growing, something evil.

How can someone who is born again become addicted to something: drugs, gambling, porn, alcohol, gossip, depression? Simple: he received a lie, and then allowed it to grow. Sin is not a consumer commodity to be used as we please, and then discarded. Sin is a living spirit that will grow if it is given a chance. We will do what we never intended. The monsters in the news that do inhuman things may not be monsters. Those who thought they knew them are sometimes completely surprised by what happened. Some may have been good people in other areas of their life, but they have let something grow. What we allowed in something little has become something monsterous.

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much." Luke 16:10

A very little deception can become the entry point for something very evil.

Should God remove this evil in us? The parable of the tares points out that He is choosing not to uproot it; the fix would destroy what He planted in us. These things are rooted together in us.

The tares are our responsibility. Jesus faced the lies of the evil one; He withstood each temptation. We are the soil; what we allow to grow is our choice. Nothing can grow that we have not allowed. We must be carried away by our own longings; we must buy the lie.

"But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." James 1:14-15

It is what we receive that determines what grows in us. The word has already been sown in our heart; we can choose to allow it to grow in us.

"Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls."
James 1:21

We do not live in a fairy tale world of "good Christian men"; we live in a "little shop of horrors" world. In this world, evil grows in ways we never intended. A good, devout, responsible man can murder his twin daughters for no apparent reason.

It is not the dirt that bears fruit; it is what grows in it.

Honesty

The parable of the tares easily leads one who is listening to assume that he is a son of the kingdom. For the Jews who listened, this was their theology. They, as the sons of Abraham, would be the sons of the kingdom; all others are therefore the sons of the evil one.

John the Baptist spoke against this attitude.

"Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." Matthew 3:8-9

God could make statues that look like Abraham; they would do nothing either.

We can listen to this parable in the same way, only taking Christians to be the sons of the kingdom. Are not Christians born again by the living and abiding word of God? That should make us sons of the kingdom. Jesus has just scattered us across the world, and the devil has scattered his sons across the same world.

But to take the parable in this way leads to a straightforward conclusion that we were always the sons of the kingdom, for we were sown that way. Then how can we have been dead in our trespasses and sins, if we were sown the sons of the kingdom?

This would also make Jesus less than honest.

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, 'If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water."'" John 7:37-38

(His statements would need some fine print about not applying to the sons of the evil one.)

If we assume that we are sons of the kingdom, then how do we explain ourselves? How can a son of the kingdom contain what we know is in our heart? Would we not fit better in the category of the stumbling blocks and lawless? Imputed righteousness not withstanding, how can we assume that a son of the kingdom would do what we do, unless being a son of the kingdom, sown by Jesus Christ, does not really result in real righteousness.

If the sons of the evil one are those around us, then nothing can be done for them. We would be living in a world with a race that is completely without hope and without God. Our theology would turn our heart to stone against the rest of mankind.

But this is not the heart of God.

"This is good and acceptable in the sight of our God and Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time." I Timothy 2:3-6

Jesus did not physically sow men; the devil did not physically sow men. Jesus sowed the word of the kingdom. The sons of the kingdom grow from that seed. But just as Jesus sowed good seed, the devil sowed tares in the same ground. The devil sows lies; lies that take root and grow.

Honesty tells us that He was describing us; we have the good seed in ourselves, and we have tares. We have things growing in us that came from the devil. We may even know when the tares were sown.

This parable has nothing to do with looking down on others; it is describing a painful reality about ourselves.

A kingdom in a man

The parable of the tares shows a use of language that does not fit our understanding of meanings. The sons of the kingdom should be persons, flesh and blood sons. The sons of the evil one should also be persons, flesh and blood sons. Yet our normal use of the language does not fit how Scripture sometimes uses this term.

"Now there came a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came in among them." Job 1:6

The sons of God did not have flesh and blood; they were spirits, for God is a spirit. What is born of a spirit is spirit. The sons of a spiritual kingdom are spiritual sons; the sons of a evil spirit are also spiritual sons.

The wheat comes from the word of the kingdom of God; it is growth of something spiritual in a human. In the same way, the tares come from the lies of the evil one; it is the growth of something evil spiritually in a human.

The story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 illustrates this understanding of something growing in a human. The king of the New Babylonian Empire had a dream that terrified him; he sought an interpretation from his counselors, but no meaning was offered. He called for Daniel, who he knew understood dreams and mysteries. When Daniel heard the dream, he told him the meaning. In a year, the dream was fulfilled.

The dream and its fulfillment give an example of how God views a man.

The dream was of a great tree, visible throughout the earth. All of the animals of the earth gathered to it, and found food and shelter in it. But in the dream, an angel called out from heaven to chop down the tree, cut off its branches, scatter them. Yet the angel said to leave the stump in the ground. The angel said that his heart should be changed to the heart of a beast.

Daniel explained that the tree that he saw in the dream was him.

"...it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your greatness has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth." Daniel 4:22

The tree was Nebuchadnezzar, but in the account that follows, when he spoke to exalt himself a year later, the man Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind. He became like a beast, eating grass, living away from man. The man Nebuchadnezzar in our use of the word was still there; his body was alive. All that we physically recognize as human was there, except the mind.

Daniel heard the dream, and concluded that since the stump was left in the ground, his kingdom was assured to Nebuchadnezzar after the seven years. The stump of the great tree was part of his kingdom; most was cut down, but the stump and roots remained.

In this dream, the part that we would call "human" would be the dirt, and only the dirt. The great tree was a kingdom that had grown great.

In the same way, the parable of the tares is using this view of a man; it is using the same view as the parable of the sower. Men are the dirt of the field. The sons of the kingdom are spiritual sons that grow in the dirt; the sons of the evil one are spiritual sons that also grow in the same dirt.

Kingdoms can take root in a man and grow.

The parable of the tares

Jesus used parables to explain the kingdom of heaven. Each parable makes a primary point; each parable adds something to the whole description of the kingdom of God. One parable may emphasize one aspect; another a different aspect. Jesus gave an explanation for some of the parables; others He did not. The parables were meant to be pondered in order to be understood.

Jesus told one parable about a sower sowing seed on different soils. The primary point is that the different soils matter in the growth of the seed. This parable had one seed, but different soils. Jesus explained this parable, stating that the seed was the word of the kingdom, and soil was the heart of man.

Jesus told another parable, but using two different seeds.

"He presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprang up and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?" And he said to them, "An enemy has done this!" And the slaves said to him, "Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?" But he said, "No; lest while you are gathering up the tares, you may root up the wheat with them. Allow them both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, 'First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"'" Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus explained this one as well. He is the Sower who sowed good seed; He is the Son of Man. But His enemy, the devil, sowed bad seed in the same field. Jesus explained that the field is the world. Jesus went on to state that the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the bad seed are the sons of the evil one.

Now the parable could be taken as saying that some men are sons of the kingdom, and were born that way. And some men are sons of the evil one, and were born that way. This would then imply that men are simply made the way they are; they can have no other destiny. Tares cannot become wheat, nor can wheat become tares.

But this does not agree with the point of the parable of the sower, nor does it agree what Peter wrote.

"...for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, the living and abiding word of God." I Peter 1:23

The seed gives us a new birth; we did not always have life. The life was sown in us, sprouted, and took root. This is the picture in the parable of the sower. The imperishable seed is the son of the kingdom, not us. We are the soil that the seed grows in. The wheat grows in us.

If we as a person became the soil for the word of the kingdom, then we as a person can become the soil for the bad seed. Whatever is received into the soil grows. It is our choice.

A son of the kingdom can grow in us, and a son of the evil one can grow in us as well. In both cases it is an issue of a life growing in us. What we receive will grow in us. We do not construct wheat; we do not construct tares. The nature of the seed determines the outcome.

The parable of the tares works with the parable of the sower, expanding the description of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven brings life from above; the kingdom of the devil brings his life.

Sons of the kingdom grow from good seed; Christ can be formed in us. Sons of the evil one grow from bad seed; the devil can be formed in us.

When Jesus asked His disciples who He was, Peter answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied to Peter saying that he was blessed because the Father was the One who revealed this to him. But immediately afterwards in Matthew, Jesus rebuked Peter, but in the name of Satan.

"But He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.'" Matthew 16:23

In the same person, the Father was revealing truth, and Satan was also active.

Be careful what you accept.

Significant treasures

Jesus told two parables about the kingdom of God using a picture of a purchase.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys the field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Matthew 13:44-45

The thing that was common to both parables is that the man sold all that he had to buy something he treasured.

In the first parable, the one who sold the land did not know how valuable it was; the owner of the field did not know that there was a treasure hidden in it. The emphasis is that others do not know how valuable the kingdom of heaven is. They would sell it for far less than it is worth.

In the second parable, the one who bought the pearl was convinced that the pearl was worth the price. He bought and sold pearls; he knew that this one was of great value. He was willing to pay a great price because he believed it was worth even more. The emphasis is that a man needs to make this choice; he needs to choose to do something that will cost him everything. We cannot purchase this one thing, and still hold on to everything else.

What is also common to both parables is that others did not fully understand how much what they had was worth. The kingdom of God is of great value, but only some know the full value.

The kingdom of God is a significant treasure. In the midst of a world of insignificance, the kingdom of God is the one thing that is worth the price we pay. It is the one thing that does not end up in a landfill.

Its selling price is fixed; it has always been for sale for the same price. It has always cost all that we have.

The leaven of the kingdom

Jesus told another parable about the kingdom of God, using leaven at the picture.

"He spoke another parable to them, 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened.'"
Matthew 13:33

Just as the seed sown on the ground pictures the word sown in the heart, the leaven in the meal pictures the life of the kingdom mixed in our natural life.

They did not have prepared yeast to mix with flour; they kept a small amount of leavened dough to use to leaven the next batch of meal. They mixed two things that were similar, except that one had life. In the same way, the life of the kingdom can seem to get lost in daily life. But the little thing that seemed to be lost, can change the whole.

The point of the parable is that the life of the kingdom can change the whole individual, but it will take time.

Small seeds

Jesus gave another parable concerning the kingdom God which used seed in another way. The parable of the mustard seed is found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 13.

"He presented another parable to them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds; but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.'" Matthew 13:31-32

The point is that the seed is smaller than all other garden seeds, and yet it produces something larger. The kingdom of God can work in this way. A very small amount of information can produce great consequences. The word of the kingdom is the seed; the field is the heart. The logos of the kingdom even in a small quantity can grow into something of great size and influence not only in us, but in this world.

We tend to emphasize the quantity of knowledge today, just as they did in the time of Christ. Yet what we see in history and in our world today are those with a singular focus having great impacts. Saint Benedict of Nursia wrote some simple rules for his monastic community, and provided a foundation for monasticism in the west. Martin Luther had a focus on justification by faith, and began the Protestant reformation. William Carey had a focus on bringing the Gospel to other cultures, and began the modern missionary movement. Small seeds can become significant impacts our world.

In the kingdom of God, life focused in a small thing in an individual can produce a great impact in this world.

Annual crops in the kingdom of God

Jesus repeated the use of seeds in other parables.

In the Gospel of Mark only, Jesus told a parable describing how we sow seeds, having no understanding of how they grow, and yet we sow expecting to reap a harvest.

"And He was saying, 'The kingdom of God is like a man, who casts seed upon the soil; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed spouts up and grows - how he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-29

The point of the parable is that, in the kingdom of God, the word grows on its own, without our efforts. The investment cycle begins with sowing seed; in the course of growth no seeds are to be found. What was just a seed in our hand becomes something very different, very not seed-like. But in time, new seeds are seen in the mature grain. It is then the time for harvest; the investment cycle is completed when the word that we sowed in the beginning has been replicated fully.

This is part of doing business with the riches of the kingdom of God. We don't have to understand how the word can grow in a man; we should just expect it.

The parable of the sower

Jesus expressed the mysteries of the kingdom in parables. He told a story about a man sowing seed.

"...Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Matthew 13:3-8

Later He explained it to His disciples. The seed is the word of the kingdom. The soil is the heart of a man.

The kingdom of God is about life. Life that can be sown like seed; life that can grow and produce a harvest of more seed. We are the medium for life to take root and grow, but the life is different than the medium. The kingdom of God is not about our life; it is about a life that has been planted in us.

The parable of the sower illustrates the economy of the kingdom. Sow seed; harvest much more seed. Sow life; harvest much more life.

This life comes from the word of the kingdom.

The means to reign

The economy of the kingdom of God is based on life; the life of Christ is the riches of the kingdom. This is what the kingdom of God brings to us.

We do not have the life from above in our bodies. Our body is dead to what God intends.

"And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness." Romans 8:10

We can be born again, with the Spirit dwelling within us, and yet have a body without life. This is the point in Romans 7. A law is at work in the body that is opposed to the law at work in our minds. We find that we do not do the things that we want to do, but do the things that we do not want.

This is not an issue of "willpower"; this is an issue of authority. Sin reigns through the death that comes from sins. Sin has the authority to reign. We cannot wish this away, or work it away. Sin has authority to keep us its slaves because of death.

The kingdom of God can deal with sin because it brings life. Sin reigns through death; where there is life, sin does not reign.

"...as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:21

Grace reigns where there is life. The kingdom of sin has no authority where there is life.

But God can give life to our mortal bodies here.

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." Romans 8:11

In the landscape of our world, under the domain of darkness, with sin reigning in each individual, there are exceptions. The heavens have bowed down in places; in places there is life. In those places sin does not reign; the King reigns there. The kingdom of God is near in those places. Life is at work where the kingdom of God is near. This is the only place where life is found.

The economy of the kingdom

Jesus described the kingdom of God with many parables, using a variety of pictures to illustrate different aspects. One parable that illustrates the responsibility that we have is the parable of the talents in Matthew 25; a similar parable is found in Luke 19.

The parable tells of a man about to go on a journey who entrusted his possessions to his servants. In the parable in Matthew 25, he entrusted differing amounts to each servant, based on his ability. In the parable in Luke 19, he entrusted the same amount. Jesus told this parable in differing ways at different times, perhaps to emphasize the most important point. In Luke 19, the man told his servants, "Do business with this until I come back." This is not stated in Matthew 25, but the servants in that story also did business with what their master had entrusted to them. But in both stories, one servant hid what his master had given him. When the man returned, he found that his servants had earned more for him by what they had done with his money. But the one who had hid the money, had gained nothing; he had kept it safe, and gave back what had been given to him. The man was angry with the slave who had done nothing; the slave sought to justify his inaction saying that he was afraid to use it, thinking he may lose it in business. But the man replied that at the least he should have taken it to the bankers; they would at least give interest.

This parable of Jesus speaks to the issue of our responsibility in the kingdom of God, but one thing must be determined. What is it that the parable is illustrating by money? What is the economy of the kingdom?

Jesus spoke of money in another place in Luke.

"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?" Luke 16:9-12

Money is not the true riches; it is not money that is the issue in the parable of the talents.

Neither is it something that we possess; it is not our abilities, or talents, or gifts. We cannot do business with these things.

The economy of the kingdom is based on life. The life that is in Jesus Christ is the true riches.

We have been entrusted with this life, His life within us. With this life we do business. We can take this life into the world; we will bring back more than we brought out. We can also bury this life; we can do nothing, take no risks. The life endures, but it does not multiply hidden away.

He has given us His life; He expects much in return.

Responsibility in the kingdom

The heavens are bowed down for the kingdom of God to come near to a man. An individual becomes the point of contact between the kingdom of heaven and the world. Like Gideon, he is given authority over things in this life. Because the kingdom of God is near, an individual becomes significant.

This is inherent in the message of Jesus Christ. We are the light of the world; we are the salt of the earth. Not because we were the light of the world, or the salt of the earth. We were not. But as a point of contact between the kingdom of heaven and this world, we are given the power to be these things. In this He holds us responsible.

"...And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." Luke 12:48

The power of the kingdom of God is available; God can hold me responsible for what I have done with that. He expects nothing out of the strength of my flesh; He can expect something from what He has made available to me.

This is the central issue of repentance. We are used to muddling; we are used to failing. We have built a culture around our failure to be holy. We expect little from ourselves. We like a good movie about heroes who do something, who never give up. But that is as close as we want to come to a real challenge. Repentance is not being sorry that we are weak; repentance is changing how we think about life. We are weak, so what! Are we to keep beating a dead horse?

Repentance is to embrace the kingdom of God coming near in me. Repentance is to embrace responsibility as a son of God. Repentance is to let go of our role as the infants of God.

The Lord is with you

The story of Gideon illustrates the nearness of the kingdom of God. In particular, Gideon provides an example of how we expect God to work.

In the time of Gideon, Israel had turned again to the idols of the cultures around them. The Lord gave Israel into the hand of Midian, who oppressed them severely for seven years. Midian took everything they could find from one end of Israel to the other. Israel finally cried out to God.

An angel appeared to Gideon as he was threshing wheat in a wine press to keep it from the Midianites.

"And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, 'The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior."" Judges 6:11

The angel said that the Lord was with him, but Gibeon replied to the issue of the Lord being with Israel.

"Then Gideon said to him, 'O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, "Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?" But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.'" Judges 6:13

Gideon had lived through the seven years of oppression; his older brothers had been put to death by the kings of Midian. He does not think that the Lord is with Israel.

But the angel spoke to him again.

"And the Lord looked at him and said, 'Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?'" Judges 6:14

The angel made it more clear; the Lord was with him, the individual, not Israel the nation. Gideon was to deliver Israel.

But Gideon replied that his father's house was the smallest in his tribe, and he was the youngest. Gideon's expectation was that God would work through others, not him. But the angel spoke to him again.

"But the Lord said to him, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.'" Judges 6:16

Gideon illustrates our attitude. We expect God to somehow work in the world to fix what is wrong. We are not expecting God to do it through "me".

This is the workings of the kingdom of God; the kingdom comes near to an individual to fulfill its intention. Israel had cried out; the Lord spoke to Gideon. Israel was delivered through Gideon. Midian was given into the hand of Gideon, not the hand of Israel. If Gideon had not acted, Israel would not have been delivered.

The point of contact between this world and the kingdom of heaven is an individual. The power of the kingdom of God works through a person.

The effect of the kingdom

The kingdom of God works in a man to train him to overcome the world around him. The kingdom does not just change the world around a man without changing him. We must be changed; the world is then changed by us.

Psalm 18 illustrates this in the language of David, the king of Israel. The language uses the words of warfare; David spoke as he was moved by the Holy Spirit speaking of his experiences. The Lord trained his hands for battle; He made him able to fight. We face a spiritual battle, hidden within the struggles of life. But what David wrote has been written for us; we can experience the same God of our salvation.

In our distress we call out to Him; He bows the heavens and comes down. He sets us free, putting us a in broad place. He gives us light; He trains us to fight. The kingdom comes near, and changes us. We then change the world around us.

"I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.
I shattered them, so that they were not able to rise;
They fell under my feet.
For Thou hast girded me with strength for battle;
Thou has subdued under me those who rose up against me.
Thou hast also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
And I destroyed those who hated me.
They cried out for help, but there was none to save,
Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them.
Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
Thou hast delivered me from the contentions of the people;
Thou hast placed me as head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.
As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners fade away,
And coming trembling out of their fortresses."
Psalm 18:37-45

Twenty times in this passage David used the word "I" or "me". The kingdom of God works through "me", not "them".

Man was meant to rule the earth; sin has enslaved him. The kingdom of God can restore rule to man. The kingdom of God brings salvation to a man, saving him to the uttermost.

"You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world." I John 4:4

The work of the kingdom

The kingdom of God comes near to one who calls. The Lord bows the heavens and comes down. Psalm 18 describes the work of the kingdom.

"He sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my stay.
He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me."
Psalm 18:16-19

The kingdom of God sets an individual free from what has overcome him. This is what Jesus read to the synagogue concerning the gospel of the kingdom.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are downtrodden,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."
Luke 4:18-19

This is the good news that was evident in Jesus Christ. He set free the downtrodden. But Jesus did more than that; He trained disciples.

This is what is seen in Psalm 18.

"For Thou dost light my lamp;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.
For by Thee I can run upon a troop;
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is blameless;
The word of the Lord is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
The God who girds me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?
He makes my feet like hinds' feet,
And sets me upon my high places.
He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Thou hast given me the shield of Thy salvation,
And Thy right hand upholds me;
And Thy gentleness makes me great.
Thou hast enlarged my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped."
Psalm 18:28-36

This is the work of the kingdom of God; it sets a man free, and trains him to fight. The kingdom of God begins in a man, and works through that man. The world around him will be changed by him.

The kingdom comes near

In his vision, Ezekiel saw inside the cloud; he saw four living creatures, fire, an expanse, a throne, and One sitting on the throne. What he saw is similar to what John describes in heaven in the book of Revelation 4. What is significant is that Ezekiel saw this on earth. The throne of God came down to earth; the kingdom came near. Ezekiel saw this in a vision while he was in exile in Babylon. The kingdom of God came near to him on the plains of Babylon.

David describes the kingdom coming in Psalm 18.

"He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With thick darkness under His feet.
And He rode upon a cherub and flew;
And He sped on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them."
Psalm 18:9-14

He bowed the heavens, and came down. What is in heaven came down to earth. David described the kingdom of God coming down to earth, just as Ezekiel did.

But what is important to see in Psalm 18 is that the kingdom of God came down because someone called out to Him.

"The cords of death encompassed me,
And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me.
The cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple,
And my cry for help before Him came into His ears."
Psalm 18:4-6

David called out of his utter helplessness; his voice was heard in heaven in the temple of God. A man called from earth; the earth was shaken because of it.

"Then the earth shook and quaked;
And the foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
Smoke went up out of His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it."
Psalm 18:7-8

God became angry; He bowed the heavens and came down to earth.

The kingdom of God comes near because of the voice of man.

Point of contact

The kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven. It is not a kingdom of earth; it does not consist of things that man has made. The kingdom of God is eternal; it has always been and it will always be.

But it can come near to earth. This is seen in Scripture.

The Lord came down to earth on Mount Sinai. The appearance to Israel was of a thick cloud, covering the mountain.

"Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently." Exodus 19:18

The kingdom of God came down in a place for a time. Moses went up the mountain; he spoke with God on the mountain. He received tablets of stone fashioned by the finger of God. The kingdom of God had come near.

Ezekiel saw this cloud as well; he saw it coming across the plain.

"And as I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire." Ezekiel 1:4

Ezekiel described what he saw inside the cloud.

"And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. Each of them had four faces and four wings. And their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man, all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went." Ezekiel 1:5-12

Ezekiel saw four living beings inside the cloud, like nothing he had ever seen. He described them using similarities to living creatures, but these living beings were far more complex. What is at work inside the cloud is not based on the work of man. These living beings live within fire; they move like lightning.

"In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning." Ezekiel 1:13-14

Inside the cloud is fire and lightning; things happen quickly inside. What is at work around them are interworking mechanisms far more complex than the mechanisms of man.

"Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions, without turning as they moved. As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about. And whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose above the earth, the wheels rose also. Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living being was in the wheels." Ezekiel 1:15-21

The kingdom of God works through complex mechanisms, yet with full vision in what it is doing. The kingdom of God works together in all things; nothing is disconnected or inconsistent. The kingdom of God works with one purpose; it is moved by one Spirit. It is a kingdom, not defined by a place on earth, but by what is above it.

"Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, extended over their heads. And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering their bodies on the one side and on the other. I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings." Ezekiel 1:22-25

This kingdom comes with awesome sound, but when it rests in a place, it is quiet. Then the King can be heard when He speaks.

"Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of his loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking." Ezekiel 1:26-28

This is the kingdom of God which comes near. This is the point of contact between heaven and earth. In a place and in a time, the workings of heaven come down to earth in holiness. In that place and time He speaks to man.

Not the kingdom

The message of Jesus Christ centers on the kingdom of God. But just as those who listened to Him had their own understanding of what the kingdom of God was, we also can translate His message into terms of a kingdom that fits our understanding.

We can interpret the kingdom of God as the kingdom coming, not present in this time. Some of what Jesus teaches can be easily understood in this way. We can interpret the kingdom of God as a general overriding presence of God in our world. Since He is King and reigns overall, this seems appropriate. We can interpret the kingdom of God in more specific terms, making it equivalent to particular aspects of this world. In general, most theologians seem to hold that the kingdom of God has a present subjective reality, and a future objective fulfillment. The references to the kingdom in Scripture usually force this type of composite view.

But the present subjective reality of the kingdom of God is usually seen in a global sense. This view would expect that as each Christian fulfills his role, the kingdom of God will be advanced in our world. In this understanding, the kingdom of God is present in our world, working in various ways to fulfill His will.

But this paradigm gives us difficulty with what we see around us. The global kingdom of God does not seem to govern very well. The kingdom of God is not around us; it is not here. The kingdom of God does not rule this world. This world is not the kingdom.

This world has been given to man to rule; God has not gone back on His word. But man has become enslaved because of sin. The ones who rule the world are the slaves of sin. The kingdom of darkness can govern man because of sin; the world around us is ruled by the subjects of darkness.

But the kingdom of God, the real kingdom, is near. Those who stand in this world can be freed from the darkness; the authority of the kingdom of God can be realized in them. In a world of slaves, free men can walk among them; they are the point of connection to the kingdom of God.

Not the Man

The center of Christianity is Jesus Christ. In Him the kingdom of God has come near to this world. In a man life from above has been revealed.

The reaction from the kingdom of darkness has been to distort the humanity of Jesus Christ. The reason is straightforward. If Jesus was not really a man like us, then He did not prove that a man can have life. If we cannot live, then all we can do is muddle through. The kingdom of darkness is afraid of the light of life; it does not want the light of the world shining in its domain. It is vital to the kingdom of darkness to deny the humanity of Jesus Christ in one way or another. It is a signature of darkness.

"By this you know the Spirit of God; every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world." I John 4:2-3

The signature of antichrist is to deny that the man Jesus was the Christ sent from God.

"Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." I John 2:22

Either the spirit of the antichrist supports the view of Jesus as a man, but denies that He is this One sent by God, or the spirit of the antichrist fabricates a Jesus that is not fully man. The first position is easily accepted by those who have little interest in Jesus anyway. The second position is more subtle. For those who have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the spirit of the antichrist works using a more believable lie.

If Jesus was only God, but not man, then His life proves nothing. Of course God can be perfect; He is God. If Jesus was infinite in mind, in power, and in compassion, then following Jesus is pointless. We could not follow this Jesus. Whatever He says is great for Him, but we are not that strong. This is the more believable lie.

This is what we see in our culture.

The Jesus in the art of the Middle Ages is thin, pale, otherworldly. He is detached from this world. This Jesus is holy because He has the form of man, but not the substance of man.

The Jesus of today is infinitely faster, stronger, smarter. He is the ultimate CEO of the world. He is in charge of everything; everything is part of His plan. He was this way when He walked the earth; He is this way today. This Jesus saves because He is strong. He had the form of a man, but He never was as weak as a man.

This modern Jesus is just as much a denial of the humanity of Jesus as the Jesus of the Middle Ages. Jesus Christ emptied Himself; He was tempted in all things like we are. The real Jesus was like us. This Jesus has something meaningful to say to us.

The message for the individual

We can be the point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world; we can be profoundly significant. We can bring to this world what would have been prevented from entering. We are the only point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world.

The kingdom of God is the message that Jesus Christ preached. His teaching is primarily based on the kingdom of God. This is what the Man who had emptied Himself to be born as a child taught; this is the message of the Man who was tempted in all things like we are and yet was without sin. Jesus Christ did not overcome because He was faster, stronger, or smarter than us; He overcame because the kingdom of God was near. The power of the kingdom was at work in Him; it can be at work in us. We can find the same power that He found; it is in the same place.

"In the days of His flesh, He offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety." Hebrews 5:7

Jesus can express to us where blessing is found because it is where He found blessing.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:3

The message of the kingdom of God is the message for the individual; we are finite and weak, yet the kingdom of God can work through us in this world. The kingdom of God can be near in whatever place we stand.

Jesus did not speak within the limitations of our abilities; He did not dumb down the message to fit the frailities of man. He spoke to those in whom the kingdom of God is at work.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck measure, but on the lampstand; and it give light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

An individual can be the light of the world; we can be a beachhead of light in the kingdom of darkness.

For this reason, we need to re-think our assumptions; power to change everything is near.

"...Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17

The gospel of the kingdom

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom; He preached good news.

"And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." Matthew 4:23

The gospel of the kingdom is to be preached to all the world.

"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come." Matthew 24:14

This is the message of the apostle Paul in Rome.

"And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters, and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered." Acts 28:30-31

The kingdom of God was near in the person of Jesus Christ when He was here; it can still be near even though Jesus Christ is seated in heaven. Christ can be in us.

"...the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but now has been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:26-27

The kingdom of God is near now through this. We can be the point of contact for the kingdom of God in this world of darkness; we can be the beachhead.

But the language of the New Testament addresses our sharing in Christ in two ways. We are in Christ.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..." Ephesians 1:3

We are in Christ in the heavenly places. In spiritual things we have become new in Christ.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come." II Corinthians 5:17

Yet Christ is also in us. Christ is to be formed in us in this life.

"...for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13

We are to be transformed. The new creature is in Christ in the heavens; here Christ is in the mature man. A process is at work here in our bodies.

"I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Christ is being formed in us in this life; this is an ongoing process. It is in the mature man that Christ has been formed. When a believer loses his way, reconstruction of Christ in him is needed. He is still in Christ, but Christ is not in him.

"My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you..." Galatians 4:19

Christ can be formed in a man. Christ can be in us in this life.

Christ is in us; the kingdom of God is near. This is still the gospel of the kingdom.

The point of connection

Heaven is ruled by the kingdom of heaven; earth has been given to man to rule. The kingdom of darkness rules over man through lies and deceit; the world around us is an elaborate mechanism constructed to keep man in darkness.

But the kingdom of heaven is near. It is near only at one point; it is near in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the point of connection to the kingdom of heaven. He was the beachhead in the fortress of darkness. When Jesus Christ walked on earth, the kingdom of heaven was near in Him. And it was evident that the kingdom of heaven was near. Things happened; things that darkness usually keeps from happening.

Jesus brought light to a dark world.

"Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'" John 8:12

This light can dispell the darkness that rules over man. What is crucial to understand is that this light is the light of life; this is not the light of knowledge alone. Books on the shelf do not give this light unless His life is at work.

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprend it." John 1:4-5

The truth alone cannot penetrate the darkness; the light of the world is only seen by those who follow Him. It is His life that gives light to men.

His life gives light to those who walk in the midst of the kingdom of darkness. He is Himself the point of contact to the kingdom of heaven. When He was here the kingdom of heaven was near. It was near in no other place.