Good News
Good News of the Kingdom
Introduction:
I hope you’ve been enjoying your “bad news break” over this past week! It’s amazing how much better you feel, and how your outlook begins to change when you do something as simple as taking a break from all the bad news about all the bad things that are in the world. All that bad news is unhealthy. It doesn’t help us, it only fascinates us and increases our anxiety. And, we’ve all probably had enough trouble in our own lives to never need to hear the bad news of the world ever again.
It’s not that it’s all untrue…it’s just that it’s so pervasive that you can’t seem to get away from it. There’s no respite, and frankly, most of our spiritual lives aren’t strong enough to deal with it. So, the constant bombardment coupled with our lack of rest and added to our spiritual inadequacy makes for a potent cocktail of despair.
That’s why I’m convinced that here at the beginning of 2015 you desperately need to hear some Good News! You need to know that there is still hope, and that you are still Christ’s! More than just a sixty second soundbyte, you need good news that can fill your heart & mind, and actually have a positive effect on your life. So, for the first few weeks in this New Year, that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re going to be looking at the greatest source for the greatest news ever known; the Bible. And from it we’re going to acquaint ourselves with some incredibly life-changing, outlook-shifting, good news.
We’re going to stand now and read our text for today’s message, found in Matthew 4:23-25. It’s shown up here on the screen in the English Standard Version…why don’t you join me and let’s read this together. (Thanks!) Bro. Hughes, would you ask the Lord’s blessing on the ministry of the Word?
I. The Rules of Good News
As we begin to take a look at our first “good news” segment, I’d like to share a couple of fundamental “good news rules”. Good news rules? That’s right! There are a couple of basic characteristics that all true good news must have in order to really be…well…good news. ?
The first rule is that, “Good news must have real application in order to have real meaning.” Or more exactly, it must have particular application to your life in order for it to have significance…in order for it to truly be “good news.” Work through a simple illustration with me now…
Let’s imagine that you absolutely love Oreo Cookies. In your mind, that genius combination of two, perfectly crunchy, chocolate cookies, sandwiching a delightful little pad of vanilla filling, is just…is just…as close to manna from heaven as you’re ever going to get. Sadly…so sadly…as much as you love those little Nabisco delights, you have to deny yourself the enjoyment of them because you have developed, of all things, a gluten allergy. And you’re devastated. Not because you can’t eat bread, pasta, cereal, or anything containing wheat products…but simply because you’ve got to spend the rest of your life without Oreos.
But one morning over breakfast, after several years of Oreo longing, the TV news team delightedly announces the incredible news that Oreo cookies are now gluten free! Your heart leaps! They talk about the nature of the breakthrough, and you hang on every word! “Today,” you think excitedly, “on my home from work, I’m stopping at Market Basket and buying 10 packages of Oreos and five gallons of milk!” And just as you’re ready to launch out of the chair, the news anchor concludes with this; “But sadly, these gluten-free Oreos are only available in East Smorgavia...a tiny Baltic country just south of Lithuania…where all the people are allergic to gluten. There’s no word from Nabisco on when…or even if…they’ll be offered in the American market.”
Suddenly it’s not good news anymore. And it’s not good news for the simple reason that it has no application to your life. So, Good News Rule number one is that “Good news must have real application in order to have real meaning.”
The second rule is that, “The degree of good in ‘good news’ is determined by the degree of impact.” So you could say that there’s good news, there’s better news, and there’s the best news. And the degree of superlative is determined by the impact the news has on your life.
For example; Fighting and dying in war has, in the west, always been the business of young men. A war is declared or a conflict announced, and thousands of young men will enlist to serve their country and defend her interest. And, just as war has always been the business of young men, worry, grief, and loss have always been the business of their parents. So, imagine that war has come, and your son has enlisted, and been sent overseas to fight.
Some months later, the phone rings, and a voice on the other end gives you “good news”. In that context, “good news” could be that the war is over. “Better news” could be that the war is over and your son is alive. The “best news” could be that the war is over, your son is alive, and he’s coming home…unharmed. Each degree is better for you because each degree has more impact in your life.
So there are rules for good news. One; “Good news must have real application in order to have real meaning.” And two; “The degree of the good in ‘good news’ is determined by the degree of its impact.”
II. Good News in the New Testament
If you accept the validity and sense of these two rules, then the good news presented in the New Testament becomes incredibly good news…because it conforms to both. The good news we’re going to learn about has personal application, and it has a high degree of impact because of what it affects. To make this clear, let’s examine a few things about good news in the New Testament.
I’m sure that most of us would recognize that the word “gospel” means “good news”…and that’s true. But the English word gospel is derived from an old Anglo-Saxon word, godspell…which means “the story of God”. And this tells us something that we probably already know subconsciously, that the word gospel is for us bound up with theological meaning.
So why are we told that it means “good news”? Well, because the Greek word in the original texts means just that; good news. That word is euaggelion (yoo-an-gel-eeon), and it means quite literally, good tidings. It was a term employed by messengers to announce to a ruler that his armies had won a battle, so you could say it was the language of victory! It was also a technical term that referred not only to the news of victory, but to the sacrifices, celebrations, and rewards that came after. The word euaggelion (yoo-an-gel-eeon) was in the lexicon of power.
Get this; when we’re talking about the “gospel” that’s brought to us from the New Testament, it’s definitely good news. And it means that in the mind of the proclaimer, when he told the story, victory had already been won…so we should celebrate and rejoice!
III. Good News of the Kingdom
Okay then…when Jesus preached his message about the Kingdom of God, the writers called it euaggelion to indicate that a/ it was really, really, good news, b/ that Jesus was already King, and c/ believers should celebrate that victory and live in that Kingdom. So, when the gospel writers chose the word euaggelion to describe the message Jesus preached, they were using socially, economically, & politically charged language!
The Gospel of the Kingdom was socially charged in that it gathered all together as one, whatever their background or status. It embraced the neglected, the rejected, and the despised...so Jesus blessed children and welcomed women among the ranks of his disciples…both unheard of in his time. Jesus was touched by the hemorrhaging woman, thus making him “unclean”…and he touched the lepers, making himself “unclean.” He ate with the publicans and ministered to Samaritans and Gentiles, and in all of this showed that in the Kingdom of God there was a new social reality, where all were equal, where all were welcome, and where all could belong.
The Gospel of the Kingdom was economically charged in that it was initiated by Jesus using the language of Jubilee…"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Jubilee was that time when, according to the command of Moses, every slave would be set free, every piece of land would return to its original family, and every debt would be cancelled. Understand…these were not spiritualized concepts…they were real, and by using them Jesus was announcing a Kingdom based on a radically different economy…an economy that trusted God, an economy without debt, an economy of caring for those who were sick and sharing with those in need.
The Gospel of the Kingdom was politically charged in that it proclaimed Jesus as Lord…and not just in some distant, spiritualized sense. It proclaimed Jesus “King” in the very real sense that all should bow the knee to him and acknowledge his sovereignty. It proclaimed that obedience to Jesus, His words, His ways, and His cause trumped all other obedience and obligation. Without lifting a sword or firing a shot, he declared his kingdom! And he proved his authority to do so with a cross and an empty tomb! King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Power over Powers; there was no loyalty, no oath, no allegiance, to any other king, country, or constitution, that rose above the submission and obedience of his followers to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.
IV. Good News in Our Time
Here’s what all this means to us in our world of bad news…
The bad news is, our society is sick. There are many symptoms of that sickness, but one of them is the profound distrust that has always existed, and is now growing more virulent among the people that make up this society. Black people distrusting white people. White people distrusting black people. And in the fever of this sickness I hear that “white people are this” & “black people are that”…as if the nature of a man or woman could be so easily categorized & defined by the color of their skin. The bad news is that it’s bad…and could get worse.
The bad news is that economically, we’re in trouble. The middle class is disappearing. The old saying goes that the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer…but it’s never been truer in this country than today. The uber-rich are gaining, hand over fist, while the middle class are losing ground…and the ranks of the working poor and poverty stricken are growing. Resentment is rising for those wicked people who are granted millions of dollars in bonuses for increasing profitability at the expense of the jobs of thousands of common people. The bad news is that it’s bad…and could get worse.
The bad news is that politically, we’re in trouble. This nation is divided along a deep philosophical chasm that’s wide and getting wider. Moderates have ceased to exist. There are no centrists, and there is no balance. Yet not only is this great divide philosophical, it’s also emotional. The left hates the right. The right hates the left. The left is evil. The right is evil. And in the fog of this extremism, no side can recognize any validity in any view of the other side. There is no middle ground, and since there is not, there’s no place to find balance and strike a bargain. The bad news is that it’s bad…and could get worse.
The good news is that there is another option, because there is another Kingdom!
As for me, I have made a deliberate choice to live my life within the borders of the Kingdom of God! I refuse to be drawn into the world’s vortex of distrust and hatred. I refuse to disesteem anyone because of the color of their skin! Instead, I embrace the equality of the Kingdom of God in which there is neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian nor Sythian, male or female, bond or free…but Christ is all and is in all!
I live within the borders of God’s Kingdom! I refuse to honor the rich for their riches, or to assume a man is lazy because he is poor! I embrace the economy of the Kingdom of Heaven and I view all that is in my hands as belonging to Christ & His Kingdom. And since I am but a steward, I will give, I will share, I will help…first my brothers and sisters, and then all whom it is within my power to help.
I live within the borders of God’s Kingdom! I refuse the labels of Democrat, Republican, Conservative, or Liberal! Instead I embrace the politics of the Kingdom in which power is the hands of the poor and the lowly…for the heart of the Great King is for them, and His ear attuned to their cry. I will serve with no thought of what you may call advancement. I will put my hands to do in the Kingdom whatever I have strength and ability to do, and will think myself only an unprofitable servant for doing what He has commanded me.
It’s time for some of you to choose the Kingdom!
Listen…we look for secular culture to demonstrate the attributes of a spiritual society, and we are constantly disappointed. The healing of our societal, economic, and political ills, will never be found through riots, bailouts, or legislation. The society you want, the society you dream of, is only possible one place, and that’s within the Kingdom of God. But you must embrace the New Kingdom in its entirety, with everything it stands for. Too many of us give lip service to the Good News of the Kingdom while living according to the Old System, drawn into and drowning in this world’s troubles.
But you don’t have to…you can choose to begin living as a citizen of the Kingdom of God.
Closing:
Out text tells us that as Jesus went preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, he ministered healing. It says he healed “every disease and every affliction among the people.” It says the brought him those who were in pain, those oppressed by demons, those who were epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. Maybe it’s just circumstantial…maybe that’s just the way it worked out. But maybe…just maybe…Jesus was trying to show us something.
Maybe he was trying to show us that embracing God’s Kingdom will heal the ills that threaten to destroy us. The country will never do it. But you can. And I can. And in the middle of this dark & darkening world, there can exist a society that lives in the light.
