In Matthew 13, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field, and in his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything to get enough money to buy it. He went on to say that the kingdom of heaven is also like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great price, he sold everything he owned and bought it.
Jesus is the man who discovered this treasure. He hid it. He buried it. And then he went and sold everything in order to purchase it. And I want to say that we – me and you – we are that treasure. You are the pearl of great price that he came to redeem, that he came to restore us to this kingdom.
What else did Jesus say about the kingdom? He says in John 18:36 that his kingdom is not of this realm, and in Luke 12, he says that it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom, and then in Mark 4, he says that the kingdom has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom. In Matthew 16, he says that he will give us the keys or the authority to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever we bind on earth will have already been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Luke 17:21 says that The Kingdom of God is within you, in your hearts and among you and surrounding you. Hebrews 12 talks about the type of kingdom that we are receiving, and it is an unshakeable kingdom.
We are the called-out ones, to whom it has been given to bring the culture of the kingdom of heaven to this earth. That is our job. That that has been put in us in partnership with God and in community with one another. We bear the name, nature, and authority of King Jesus in us and the culture of the kingdom. It sets captives free. It restores sight to the blind. This kingdom reclaims what was lost to the king and brings it home to him. And this kingdom offers beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning.
