The kingdom of God is now and not yet. The kingdom of heaven is an upside down kingdom. These types of descriptions or tag-lines come up frequently when people talk about the kingdom of God, at least in my circles. This language of "now and not yet" reflects the idea that the realm where God reigns is not fully realized in our present context, but still accessible. Some refer to this dynamic as inaugurated eschatology, meaning that Jesus introduced or marked the beginning of the reign of God during his lifetime, but its final and full expression is still a future event. In other words, the kingdom is present but not yet pervasive.
The kingdom of heaven is also referred to as an upside-down or inside-out kingdom. These concepts are based on Jesus's indication that, in the kingdom of God, the first are last and the last are first, the one who is the greatest is the servant of all, and the law is not external, but written on people's hearts. All these ideas acknowledge that the kingdom of heaven is in direct contrast to any kingdom we see here on earth. The suffering King Jesus is nothing like the rulers and political masters who populate world history. Unlike the elite residents of any royal court, the chosen residents of the kingdom of heaven are outsiders: the poor, the sick, the sinners. And this is why it makes sense to talk about the kingdom of God as now and not yet, as upside down and inside out. Or does it?
In many ways, these descriptive phrases promulgate the idea that the kingdom of heaven is rife with paradoxes and tensions, but that is somewhat misleading. Because we tend to think of a kingdom as a governmental system or a particular way of living, we look for a set of principles by which it operates, a constitution, as it were. In Jesus, we have the kingdom in person, or what Origen called autobasileia. Fred Sanders notes that, “Jesus in John’s gospel replaces all his ‘the kingdom of heaven is like x, y, and z’ statements with a series of ‘I am’ statements. … it’s why the explicit theme of Jesus’ message was the kingdom of God, but the explicit message of Paul and the other apostolic preachers is Jesus himself. It’s because he is the kingdom: autobasileia."[1] Where Jesus is, the kingdom is evident. So, if we view the kingdom of God as the reflection of a person instead of a governmental system we need to decipher, we interact with the relevant texts in a very different way. Instead of looking for a constitution, we see a portrait.
Jesus's statements about the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God often appear contradictory. This is because he is giving us snapshots of a person taken from different angles, not laying out a set of guiding principles. Put the snapshots together and you begin to get an idea of what the person looks like in the flesh, in action. Jesus does not give us a static, two-dimensional, linear, comprehensive, organizational governing document. Jesus only and always gives us himself. When Jesus tells his hearers about the kingdom of heaven, he is, stroke by stroke, painting a three-dimensional image of what it means to interact with the King himself.
We see this at work in Matthew 13 where Jesus strings together one story after another about the kingdom, crafting a multi-faceted portrait of the kingdom in person. The parables which he tells invite his listeners to recognize the King standing right before them. Let's take a look at five of these vignettes and see what kind of portrait of the kingdom/king they create.
The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. An enemy then sowed weeds among the wheat. When the servants wanted to pull up the weeds, the master told them to let the wheat and weeds grow together until the harvest (Matthew 13:24-30). Here we have the kingdom compared to a sower, an investor, a risk-taker, someone who scatters seed in hopes of getting a good return. His strategy for growth is a strange one. I grew up on a farm and I don't remember one season where we left the weeds to grow freely among the planted crop. When you drive past a field of wheat inundated with weeds, you are prone to think, "That's not a very good farmer." Lazy, perhaps. Or inexperienced. Patient, yes, but not very discerning. And this is what the kingdom of heaven, what Jesus, looks like. He sows, he risks, he scatters his investment freely, he patiently waits, and he lets the good and the bad grow up together.
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which is planted and then grows into a large tree in which birds can perch (Matt. 13:31-32). Wait...is the kingdom like a sower or a seed? Both. The kingdom is both the subject and the object, the actor and the one acted upon. Here, the kingdom is small and insignificant, but with great potential. The kingdom takes time to mature and grow, it lies hidden in the ground until it sprouts forth, and then it grows so big that it serves as a resting place for the very creatures which threatened to eat it when it was a seed. In John 12:24, Jesus alludes to his upcoming death by telling his hearers that a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die in order for it to produce a harvest.
The kingdom of heaven is like yeast which a woman mixes into flour until it permeates all the dough (Matt. 13:33). Again, the kingdom starts off small, but as it is worked into its surroundings, it causes everything to expand. It is alive, an agent of multiplication. Interestingly, it is in the hands of a woman. If we think of the kingdom as a person, this reminds us of Jesus in the hands of Mary, his mother. It also reminds us of Jesus identifying himself as the bread of life (John 6:35).
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man comes upon it, then sells everything he owns in order to buy the field and secure the treasure (Matt. 13:44). The kingdom here is an object of desire. It is hidden, not immediately obvious. It is precious, of great value, and compels those who find it to reorient their lives.
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. When he finds one, he sells all he has in order to obtain it (Matt. 13:45-46). So the kingdom of heaven is both a treasure and the one who seeks the treasure? Yes. The kingdom is a seeker. In Luke 19:10, Jesus indicates that the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost. The kingdom not only seeks out the pearl of great value but gives up everything in exchange for this precious prize.
Considering these five parables, what kind of portrait do we have of the kingdom of heaven? What do they show us about the person of Jesus? Jesus is the initiator, investing, risking, planting. Jesus is patient and not concerned about his reputation. Jesus is insignificant and small, underground, then grows into something substantial and hospitable, even to his enemies. Jesus is tiny but alive, content to be in the hands of those whom society undervalues. Jesus is an agent of growth and multiplication. Jesus is hidden and must be sought. When someone finds Jesus, everything changes. Jesus is more valuable than anything anyone could own. Jesus seeks the lost, the precious, the valuable. He seeks us. He gives up everything he has in exchange for us.
I find this portrait of the kingdom and its king compelling and fascinating. The king not only acts toward others but allows himself to be acted upon. There has never been a kingdom or a king like this! I believe Jesus's words had the same effect on many of his hearers. The more he spoke about the kingdom, the more real the kingdom became for those who heard his words. Some of them also realized that the kingdom of God was standing right in front of them, in the flesh.
May we recognize the kingdom and its king when we see him, even if it is only a snapshot.
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[1] Fred Sanders, “The Kingdom in Person,” July 28, 2015, The Scriptorium Daily. http://scriptoriumdaily.com/the-kingdom-in-person/
Image from aleteia.org
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