Characteristics of The Kingdom People.
(As seen in the Gospel of Luke)
Luke the writer of this gospel uses a unique feature in his gospel. He uses pericopes in explaining, laying out, introducing to Theophilus the Gospel of Christ, having “…carefully investigated everything from the beginning…” in order for him to “….know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3-4 NIV, Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society). Christ came as the King in His world, to establish the kingdom (the rule) of God in the lives and hearts of people. Where there is a kingdom, there will be subjects to the kingdom, or kingdom people.
We will focus on the characteristic of Kingdom people as laid out in the gospel of Luke. Who are the kingdom people? What qualities do they have?
Who Are The Kingdom People?
Christ “…came to seek and save what was lost” (19:10). His purpose was to do the will of the Father, to pursue that will. Pursuing the will of the Father, meant for Jesus to live behind His family, and to be in the Father’s house (2:49). The will of the Father meant for Him to die on the cross (9:31, 51). Kingdom people should reflect their King in pursuing the will of the Father. The Kingdom people are those who understand and give first place to the heavenly Father in their lives, and family and other things come after that. Kingdom people also understand that they need to listen and to practice what their King says (6:46-49; 8:21). In the physical kingdoms, the subjects should do what their ruler says. The people of the Kingdom of God hear what their King says and they put it into practice.
An outcast, insignificant Gentile who understands God’s greatness and acts lovingly upon this understanding can belong to the kingdom (7:1-10).
A woman whose husband has died and her son dies (the presence of men in her life gave worth in people’s sight) who is insignificant, who is lonely and in the eyes of society has no value can be a kingdom person (7:11-17).
A prisoner of physical chains and human doubts, like John the Baptist can belong to the kingdom of God (7:18-35).
Women can be part of kingdom of God (8:1-3). They supported Jesus in His ministry out of their own means.
Jesus through Luke teaches that membership in His kingdom is not a matter of race (Jew or Gentile), of gender (male or female), social status (a widow), and of circumstances (in prison or in doubt). Belonging in the Kingdom is a matter of “…hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (8:21).
Qualities Of Kingdom People.
The kingdom people are different than subjects of other kingdoms. The Kingdom people allow the Word of God to be planted in their hearts. Their heart is “noble and good” (8:15). They do not allow the Evil One to capture their hearts through “times of testing” (8:13), “life’s worries, riches and pleasures” (8:14). Kingdom people have the rule of God in their heart. When they have God reigning in their heart, they are able “by persevering [to] produce a crop” (8:15, emphasis mine).
Kingdom People look around and do what they can do (9:13). Jesus told His disciples to feed the hungry. It is not that they in and of themselves were able to feed thousands of people, but they still needed to do what they could. They were able to find five loaves of bread and two fish (9:13b), but that was enough. They did what they could, and God did the rest.
God has expectations for the kingdom people (9:23-27). Kingdom people are to follow to please Him, and not to please themselves. In fact, kingdom people are called to deny self and take up their cross daily (9:23). That is, they are to identify daily with Christ and find their identity in their King. Kingdom people make resolute choices to pursue the will of God and follow Him (9:51). Subjects of the Kingdom do not follow for physical material benefits (9:57-58). They are not spiritually dead, but they are spiritually alive (9:59-60). They do not look back (9:61-62; 17:32).
Kingdom people understand that serving God is the most important thing. They respond to God’s message (10:1-16). They are open to hear, grow in their hearing and willingness to struggle to understand (10:17-24).
A kingdom person cares for the needy, loves regardless of race, and does not have ethnic prejudice (10:25-37). The kingdom people listen to Jesus, learn of Him and do not let other things distract them from being a disciple of Him (10:38-42).
The kingdom person has a prayer life. They are taught by Jesus how to pray (11:1-4). He / She prays with boldness, conscious that God will answer his / her needs, not wants. They pray persistently (11:5-13; 18:1-8), and with the right attitude and motive (18:9-14).
The behavior of kingdom people matches the right belief. They do not strive for position in the world without godly motives. These are opposite qualities to what Pharisees and experts of law demonstrated (11:37-54).
Kingdom people understand their dual reality (physical and spiritual), and prioritize the spiritual over physical. They guard against foreign teaching (the Pharisees’ yeast) (12:1-12), and all kinds of greed (12:13-21). Their treasure is in the capital of the kingdom, heaven (12:22-34). They are watchful / vigilant of the King’s coming as they live to serve Him, the spiritual not the physical (12:35-45). The kingdom people are bought back / paid with the blood of the King, and therefore understand that He has expectation on them. (12:50). Kingdom people understand that their Lord calls them to make a major decision in their lives; He asks of them to put their allegiance to Him prior to respect and love for family. It would certainly be nice if family members would be kingdom people, but if not, they (the kingdom people) have to make the decision for Jesus at the same time building bridges to bring them into the Kingdom (12:51-53). Kingdom people should not settle for less than total following. Kingdom people should have discernment. Kingdom people should choose the spiritual, distinguish between right and wrong, and grow in understanding of the truth. (12:54-59).
Kingdom subjects should be on a constant change. We may be tempted to judge on the outside, but to the King it is a matter of the inner man. God gives us the time of our life, “KAIROS,” to repent. It is not a matter of “Wrong? Finished!” but of “Wrong…realize…change” “If it bears fruit…” demands change (13:1-9). Disciples of Christ may start small in faith and number like the “mustard seed” or “yeast” but they eventually will grow both in faith and number (13:18-21). The story of Jerusalem refusal to repent with all the prophets God sent is a serious warning to kingdom people. It demands a willingness to “make every effort” (13:24), to have no pride (14:7-14) and a need to live now for the future (14:12-14).
Disciples of the King need: 1) to have a whole-hearted devotion and commitment (14:25-27), 2) a counting of the cost (28-30), 3) a doing of whatever it takes (31-33). There are consequences to their decision to follow and not finish what they start (34-35). Kingdom people answer to Jesus’ call (14:25-35), and are willing to go search the lost (15:1-32). In searching for the lost, they are being identified with the King who “…came to seek and save what was lost” (19:10).
Kingdom people are characterized by a fore-knowledge of the world’s schemes and dealings as they exercise their stewardship of God-given blessings (16:1-15) in relation to God’s truth (16-17), in relationships (18), in relation with the fellow man (19-31), and other kingdom people (17:1-4). They do understand that all that they have is been given to them by God to manage, but they do not own it (17:7-10). If the things required of them seem too much, they take to heart the promise of the King "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ’Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” (17:6). Kingdom people are aware, alert and vigilant of the responsibility, accountability and discernment of opportunities that God gives them. They understand that family, friends and relationships are given to them by God to be stewards of the treasures He has blessed them with (17:1-37).
The qualities of acceptance of the kingdom are being laid out for them by Jesus with the little children. Jesus calls to accept the kingdom as a child (18:16-17). Children are always in need. They have absolute humility. They are totally dependable of others. This is how the kingdom people are to accept the kingdom rule. They have to let go the things that hinder (18:18-30), and follow to the end (18:31-34).
The King’s purpose was “to seek and save the lost” (19:10). The seeking took place all over Israel, but the saving act would happen in Jerusalem. Was the King detoured of His mission? The answer is “No!” He was doing exactly what he had come to do “to seek and save the lost.” So when we read about Him heading to Jericho or being in Jericho (18:35; 19:1), we know that He has not abandoned to mission, though they may have been many temptations in the way to abandon it. The followers of the King learn from Him not to let anything detour them from their King-given mission.
Kingdom people are given each capability (19:13a), responsibilities within those capabilities (19:13b), and are expected to make opportunities from them (16-23). The fact of having less is not an indication that you are excluded from the failure of using those capabilities (20-23).
Members of the kingdom of God give God what is due to Him (20:25), even if that means giving all they have financially (21:1-4). When kingdom people understand that all they have is God’s, life and possession are a gift from God, they surrender God totally. They keep their hope in God even if they don’t know what the future holds, because they know who holds the future (21:5-36).
Conclusion
Christ came to establish the rule of God in the people’s hearts, and to make a people for God. All those who are willing to let go the other things and open their heart to God can have the rule of God in their life; no matter of what race they are, nationality they belong, gender they have, social status they are or life circumstances they face.
When they become the people of God, the kingdom people, they put their hope in Him and in abiding totally in His Word. They understand that their life is a stewardship from God, and all they have and are is fully handed to His mighty hands.
