There is a belief in the Christian world today that Jesus Christ originally came to establish a kingdom on this earth, but that because mankind wasn’t ready for it, He was rejected and crucified. Many believe Jesus will come again at some future point to establish this kingdom, and this time He will be successful and rule here on earth. The problem with these concepts is that they contradict with multiple scriptures in the Bible which plainly show us that what happened in the first century was actually God’s intent from the very beginning, and that things played out exactly according to His plan when Jesus was crucified.
The Bible provides every proof we need to understand God’s design was from the beginning, and there are many. For instance, we know from the Bible record that Joseph and Mary were the parents of Jesus. The Apostle Matthew starts his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus coming from the line of Abraham, going through the tribe of Judah to King David and down to Joseph (Matthew 1:1-16). He specifically points out Jesus being the son of David and this would help Jewish people understand that their prophecies concerning a future and eternal king from David’s lineage (2 Samuel 7:16) were fulfilled by Jesus. The Apostle Peter makes this connection plain in Acts 2:29-36. Matthew further explains that Mary was actually a virgin at the time of Jesus’ birth because she was with child from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18). This is why it is so important that in Luke 3 we have the record of Jesus’ genealogy through Mary’s side of the family as well. Mary’s lineage goes through King David, but Luke significantly then traces it all the way back to Adam. Recall that when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God promised Eve’s seed would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). We can see fulfillment of this prophecy with Jesus Christ’s great victory over Satan on the cross (Hebrews 2:14), thousands of years later. God had carefully planned it all from the very start.
The erroneous belief in an earthly reigning messiah which is prevalent in our society today is not new.
The ancient Israelites of Jesus’ day were waiting for the Messiah (Savior), but they expected and wanted a physical earthly messiah to literally sit on a throne like King David did, as evidenced by them trying to make Jesus their earthly king (John 6:15). They did not expect a messiah who would save others by sacrificing Himself and then rule a spiritual kingdom from Heaven. When on trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus personally settled the matter by stating His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36).
In Acts 2, the Apostle Peter states that Jesus was killed according to God’s definite plan and with His foreknowledge (v.23). God didn’t make anyone sin, but He knew it would happen and provided mankind an escape from our own wrong choices. The Apostle Paul records that God sent His Son in the “fullness of time,” or just at the proper time in human history (Galatians 4:4), not at an inappropriate time when man wasn’t ready. Would a perfect God choose the wrong time? We know He chose the perfect time for Jesus to come. The Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:18-19 that Christians are redeemed by Jesus’ blood. If Jesus had not come and died on the cross, we would not be redeemed; this was all according to plan.
So what is the point? The point is that all these verses, and many more, lead us to the unavoidable fact that God has had a plan to save man since before the world was created. This plan included sending Jesus to earth on purpose to die for the sins of mankind (Ephesians 1:4-6, 1 Peter 1:18-21). A sacrifice has always been required for our sins, and Jesus dying, innocent of any crime and living a perfect life, makes this sacrifice a complete and perfect offering to God for us. This means when Jesus came to this earth and voluntarily submitted to an illegal execution, it was all according to God’s plan. The cross looked like a defeat to those not understanding that we aren’t waiting for an earthly reigning messiah, (note the mocking of Jesus in Matthew 27:39-43), rather we know it was and is the power of God to save (1 Corinthians 1:18). Jesus’ death on the cross was a certain and complete victory. We are not waiting for a future victory from Jesus because He has already accomplished God’s will on this earth (John 17:1-5) and is currently reigning over His kingdom, His church (Matthew 16:18-19). We aren’t waiting for a future kingdom to enter, we are in it now. Note what the Apostle Paul says God has already done for Christians, “Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love…” (Colossians 1:13). This kingdom to which Christians already belong will be delivered to God (1 Corinthians 15:20-26) by Christ at the end of time.
Jesus didn’t fail in an attempt to set up an earthly kingdom, rather He succeeded with His sacrifice and God has exalted Him to reign as the head of His kingdom, the church (Ephesians 1:22-23, Matthew 16:18-19). After this life, we won’t have more chances to be obedient (Hebrews 9:27), so let’s get busy living the life of faithful servants in that kingdom right now.
Jeff S. Mullen
Minister, Blanco Hills Church of Christ
blancohillschurch.com
830-554-0701