Luke
8:1 “Soon afterwards” in the
Greek (Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ καθεξῆς) and it means that this account took place soon after what
we studied last time in Luke 7:36-50 | Anointing the Anointed One when
Jesus was at Simon the Pharisees house. Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus “began going around” which is written in the Imperfect
active (G1353 διώδευεν) and it means to make one’s way through[1], meaning
that Jesus was going throughout the Galilee region. Jesus, with his twelve
apostles (Luke 6:14–16) departed from
Capernaum with the intent to go to Jerusalem for Passover. The combination of “proclaiming and preaching” the good news is a
bit emphatic, stressing Jesus’ teaching ministry on the rule of God,[2]
fulfilling Scripture (Isaiah 61:1–3,
cf. Luke 4:18). Notice that the focus of
Jesus’ ministry was not on healing and performing miracles, as such is common
today. The main thrust of His ministry was to preach about the Kingdom of God
and not healing. Healing was a sign of His Divinity, but His preaching about
the Kingdom of God brought spiritual healing to all who heard and accepted (Isaiah 61:1-2;
Luke 4:18-19;
Romans
10:8-13). Miracles and healing are not proof that one has been sent
by God. The magicians of Pharaoh, Jannes and Jambres did miracles (cf. Exodus 7:11;
Exodus 9:11;
2 Timothy
3:8-9). Jesus rebuked the crowd after the five thousand were fed (John 6:1-14),
Luke
8:2 Jesus not only had the twelve with Him, but also women, who
Dr. Luke tells us about them. Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus “healed” them. The way that this is written in
the Greek is in the periphrastic past
perfect passive, suggesting that the healing had taken place some time before
this tour.[3] The
Greek word for “sicknesses” (G769
ἀσθενειῶν) refers to the state of being
ill and thus incapacitated in some way - “illness, disability, weakness.”[4]
The first woman that we see
named here is “Mary who was called Magdalene, from
whom seven demons had gone out,” Again, as we saw last time, this is
not the prostitute who anointed the feet of Jesus (Luke 7:36-50) because she is introduced as a new figure
here.[5] Mary
who was called Magdalene after her hometown Magdala, which is located on the
western shore of the Sea of Galilee about three miles north of Tiberias. It
is noteworthy that not one of the Gospels recorded for us the miracle of Jesus
casting the seven demons out of her. Mary Magdalene is also mentioned at
the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:47;
John 20:1-18).
Luke
8:3 Joanna, like Mary Magdalene was there at the burial and
resurrection of Jesus (Luke 23:55; Luke 24:10), and most likely at
the crucifixion as well. Joanna’s husband was the steward for Herod Antipas,
and some believe that he is the nobleman who’s son was healed by Jesus in John 4:46–53.
Susanna is mentioned but nothing else is known about her.
It is interesting that Dr. Luke
highlights three women who helped support the ministry and work of Jesus and
the twelve. For Jesus to have women traveling along with Him was unheard of at
this time. The rabbi’s at this time had a low view of women and refused to even
teach them. What Jesus was doing here was politically incorrect for that time;
so don’t let the modern movement stating that Christianity enslaves women and
that they need to be liberated.
Luke
8:3 “and many others who were contributing to
their support out of their private means.” Dr. Luke tells us that it
wasn’t just these women that supported Jesus and His twelve apostles; there
were others, men and women who helped with support.
What we will focus on the rest of our time is The
Kingdom of God…01. What is the
Kingdom of God?; 02. The Kingdom of
God in the Old Testament; 03. The
Kingdom of God in the Gospels; and 04.
The Kingdom of God in the Future.
01. What is the
Kingdom of God?
The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven are identical.
The Kingdom of Heaven appears only in the Gospel of Matthew, which Matthew
wrote to the Jewish people. Matthew probably used Kingdom of Heaven instead of
Kingdom of God out of respect to the Jewish tradition against speaking the name
of God. Matthew does use the phrase
Kingdom of God four times (Matthew 12:28; Matthew 19:24; Matthew 21:31; Matthew 21:43), and uses both
Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven in back to back verses (Matthew 19:23–24).
The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven both refer to
the salvation of mankind where God rules over the redeemed (Matthew 21:31;
John 3:3-5;
Acts 8:12).
To preach the “kingdom
of God” is to proclaim the Gospel and that sinner’s can be redeemed
from Satan’s kingdom and brought into the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13–14). The Gospel is that Jesus
came as a man, died in our place, was buried and rose from the dead on the
third day (1 Corinthians 15:1–6). You
enter the Kingdom of God by grace through faith (Ephesians
2:8–9). The Kingdom of God is for all those who trust in Him as
their LORD and Saviour (Romans 10:8-13).
02. The Kingdom of
God in the Old Testament
The Kingdom of God is seen as an everlasting kingdom that
exists from eternity past to eternity future (Psalm
29:10; Psalm 145:13). In
Jeremiah, YHWH pleads with the children of Israel to stop following Gentile
teachings based off of astrology and false idols (Jeremiah 10:1-5). And then He
reminds His people who He is in Jeremiah 10:10. Jeremiah, lamenting that fall
of Jerusalem, knew that the same God who allowed the destruction of Jerusalem
because of the sin of His people, also has the power to bring back the
restoration of Jerusalem (Lamentations 5:19).
The Kingdom of God is first seen in the Garden of Eden. God
originally created the man Adam to have dominion over all of creation (Genesis 1:26; Hebrews
2:7). The Hebrew word for “rule”
in Genesis 1:26 (H7287 רָדָה
râdâh) means to have dominion, to rule
over and is also used in reference to the “reign of the Messiah Himself in His Kingdom”[6]
in Psalm
110:2. The original dominion
over the earth was given to mankind, but the fall of Adam (Genesis 3:1-7) deeded the earth to Satan (Matthew 4:8-9;
Luke 4:5-7;
John 12:31;
John 14:30;
John 16:11;
2
Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:12; Hebrews 2:8;
1 John 5:19;
Revelation
5:1-14; Revelation 20:2-3).
We see evidences of
the Kingdom of God displayed in the lives of many of the Old Testament saints,
who the writer of Hebrews tells us were
justified by faith in God before the Law was given, even though they never saw
the fulfillment of the promises of God (Hebrews 11:13-16). Paul
tells us that the Law was given “because of transgressions, having been ordained through
angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the
promise had been made.” (Galatians 3:19) In order for the Law to be
fulfilled, in God’s perfect timing, He sent His Son to be a man to redeem
mankind from sin so that we might be sons of God (Galatians 4:4-7).
Enoch was evidence
that the Kingdom of God was still in effect, just not on earth like it was
originally laid out. Moses records for us that Enoch “walked with
God: and he was not; for God took him”
(Genesis 5:24),
a sign of the rapture of believers to come (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Moses tells us that Noah “found grace in
the eyes of YHWH” and that he “was a just man and
perfect in his generations, and Noah
walked with God.” (Genesis 6:8-9) while Peter says that Noah was “a preacher of
righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5). Here we have two Godly men, who were not circumcised according
to the Law (Leviticus
12:3), yet they are regarded as righteous faithful men who are
mentioned in Hebrews
11:5 and Hebrews 11:7. If you look at Hebrews 11:6, you will notice that the writer of
Hebrews has Enoch and Noah bookend a great verse about faith.
Abraham came after Enoch and Noah, and it was he who was
the one that God made the covenant of circumcision (Genesis 17:10-17; Acts 7:8).
The sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham was circumcision, and yet
God instituted it after Abraham was called by God to step out in faith and he
left his homeland (Hebrews 11:8-11) and his false pantheistic
idolatrous religion (Joshua 24:2). Paul tells us that circumcision
was supposed to be an outward sign of the condition of your heart (Deuteronomy
10:16; Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; Colossians 2:11)
in Romans 2:25-29.
Paul goes on to tells us that Abraham
was made righteous before he was circumcised (Romans 4:9-15)! Paul
tells the Galatians that “in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
means anything, but faith working through love.” (Galatians 5:6)
and that “we
maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is
God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of
Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and
the uncircumcised through faith is one.” (Romans 3:28-30). Moses tells us
that when Abram “believed
in YHWH; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Moses introduces us to Melchizedek,
who received tithes from the spoils of war by Abram in Genesis 14:1-24.
Moses records for us that Melchizedek was “a priest of God Most High” who met Abram bringing out “bread and wine”, the elements
of communion (Genesis
14:8; Hebrews
5:10; Hebrews
7:1). This was all
before the Law of Moses was given, so Melchizedek would have been
uncircumcised, not from the tribe of Levi and a descendant of Aaron (Leviticus 21:16-23)
and was not anointed according to the Law prescribe by Moses (Exodus 29:1-37).
Melchizedek blessed Abram in Genesis 14:19-20,
which is significant because the greater always blesses the lesser, and Abraham
is regarded as the father of our faith (Romans 4:16-25; Galatians
3:1-29)! The writer of Hebrews tells us that
Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate Christ, saying “Jesus has
entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according
to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:20; see also Psalm 110:4)
So we see some examples of the Old Testament
saints who were justified by faith in God before the Law was given, even though
they never saw the fulfillment of the promises of God (Hebrews 11:13-16).
Peter tells us that righteousness comes
from God and His Son in that God sent His Son to die for sinners, “To those who
have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God
and Savior, Jesus Christ:” (2 Peter 1:1)
The Old Testament saints
were justified and made righteous before the Law because of their faith in
Christ, “because
by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through
the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
(Romans 3:20)
“For we
maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.”
(Romans 3:28)
“nevertheless
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith
in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified
by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the
Law no flesh will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
Remember, the commentary of the Old Testament is the New
Testament, as we have just seen right now. No New Testament text under question
should ever be used to invalidate the clear utterances of the Old Testament.
Old Testament problems are to be settled by an appeal to the New Testament, and
if still not clear, the deciding voice is to be based off of the totality of
Scripture to the question that has arisen.[7]
03. The Kingdom of
God in the Gospels
The New Testament era begins with several verbal
announcements. We have recorded different people who were spoken to by the
angel of the Lord about the Kingdom of God. It was spoken to the priest
Zacharias (Luke
1:11-17), Mary (Luke 1:26-35), Joseph (Matthew 1:20–25), and to the shepherds of
Judea (Luke
2:8-15). The Magi from the east anticipated the Kingdom of God (Matthew 2:1-6).
Elizabeth (Luke
1:39-45), Mary (Luke 1:46-55), and Zacharias (Luke 1:67-79)
all sung about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is called the gospel or
good news (Mark 1:14–15), was announced
by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1–2), by
Jesus (Matthew 4:17), by the twelve
apostles (Matthew 10:5–7), and by the
seventy sent out by Jesus (Luke 10:1, 9, 11).[8]
The Kingdom of God is referenced by Jesus as being “in the
midst” of men when He answered the question of when the Kingdom of God was
coming (Luke
17:20) when He said, “…For behold, the
kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke
17:21) The King James translates this as “for, behold, the kingdom of God is within
you.” Which is not a good rendering of the Greek, for there it makes
no sense that the Kingdom of God could have been “within” the hearts of the Pharisees
to whom Jesus was speaking. The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy by saying
that His miracles were being accomplished through the power of the devil (Matthew 12:24).
The long awaited Kingdom of God, foretold by the prophets had come so near to
the men of that generation in the form of Jesus that they had actually seen the
face of the King, witnessed His supernatural works, and many yet still denied
Him and the Kingdom of God.[9]
04. The Kingdom of
God in the Future
The last book of the Bible, Revelation (G602 apokaluqiv apokalupsis) is the book of the Kingdom of God in
conflict with and victorious over the kingdoms of this word. In Revelation
6:1-18:24, where there are the seven seals, the seven trumpets and
the seven bowls of judgment. It is “the wrath of
God (that) will come upon the sons of
disobedience,” (Colossians 3:6,
cf Romans
2:5) “dealing out retribution to
those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. 9 These will pay the
penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power,” (2 Thessalonians
1:7–9).
In Revelation 19:1-21, John records for us the Marriage
Supper of the Lamb, the wedding feast (Revelation 19:7-10) and the Second Coming of
Christ (Revelation
19:11-19), where the Battle of Armageddon which is when all the
nations of the earth are gathered together to make war on Israel, and Jesus
wipes them all out. After this, the Beast (the Antichrist), the False Prophet
and those who took the mark, are thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:20-21),
and that concludes the end of the Tribulation. Satan is bound for one thousand
years (Revelation
20:1-6), and this time period is known as the Millennial Reign of
Christ.
Those who survive the Tribulation will enter the Millennium
in their natural bodies and bear children and repopulate the earth (Isaiah 11:6-9;
Isaiah 65:18-25).
We who are His saints will be reigning with Him in our spiritual bodies! John
is then told that after the one thousand years, Satan will be released from the
Abyss and will make a final attempt to seduce the nations. During the
Millennial Reign of Christ, there will be many who outwardly profess faith in
the Christ without actually placing faith in Him. So when Satan is freed he
will deceive many. So now Satan and those deceived will be thrown into the Lake
of Fire (Hell). This surprises people because the think that Satan is in Hell
right now. But he isn’t! Hell was created for Satan (Matthew 25:41), and will not be
filled up with people who reject Christ until the end of the Tribulation or
when Hades is thrown into Hell (Revelation 20:14). The Millennial Reign proves
that it doesn’t matter what type of environment you live in, because in even
the most perfect of environments, man will still refuse God. We then see the
Judgment at the Throne of God (Revelation 20:7-10). Next John tells us about
the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21:1-22:21), where God will dwell
with mankind (Revelation
21:3), wiping away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4)! John says that
the New Jerusalem is square in shape and surrounded by a great wall with twelve
gates, which each gate has a name of the tribes of Israel (Revelation 21:10-14). Now this
city is measured at 1,500 miles squared (Revelation 21:15-16). What that means is it’s
about 3 Billion square miles in size. (The current estimation of the world’s
population is about 7 Billion people.) If even 3 Billion people are in heaven,
there will be enough room for people to have one square mile to themselves. The
pavement for the streets will be gold (Revelation 21:21), there will be no temple
because the LORD is the temple (Revelation 21:22). There will be no sun or
moon because the glory of God will be the light (Revelation 21:23-27). John then
tells us about the River and Tree of Life found there, bearing fruit year round
(Revelation
21:1-5).
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 8:1). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[2] Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Lk 8:1). Biblical Studies Press.
[3] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 8:2). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[4] Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Lk 8:2). Biblical Studies Press.
[5] Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Lk 8:2). Biblical Studies Press.
[6] McLain,
Alva J. The Greatness of the Kingdom
[BMH Books; Winona Lake, Indiana, 1992], Ch 5, p43.
[7] McLain,
Alva J. The Greatness of the Kingdom
[BMH Books; Winona Lake, Indiana, 1992], Ch 19, p261-62.
[8] McLain,
Alva J. The Greatness of the Kingdom
[BMH Books; Winona Lake, Indiana, 1992], Ch 20, p268.
[9] McLain,
Alva J. The Greatness of the Kingdom
[BMH Books; Winona Lake, Indiana, 1992], Ch 20, p272.
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