The Kingdom of Heaven, Part 2

Mark 4:21-23

And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

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I call this post "Part 2" because we have already discussed some of the characteristics of the Kingdom Parables in a previous post. These parables reveal to us the surpassing value, the progressive growth, the final judgment, and the hidden quality of God's kingdom. Mark's gospel provides one kingdom parable that is not found in Matthew or Luke: The Lamp under a Basket. Because of this distinction, it seems appropriate to further address the "hiddenness" of the kingdom.

We have countered the popular gnostic claim that Christianity is a secret religion which makes God a mysterious transcendent being, only knowable through ecstatic experience. Gnosticism is repeatedly denounced in the New Testament, both implicitly (in the reality of the Incarnation) and explicitly (in the teaching of Christ and his apostles). We see this in Christ's affirmation of marriage, of eating and drinking, and his overarching interest in physical healing and financial responsibility. The ordinary material matters of life are of immense significance to God, since our obedience to Him in these matters is essentially what being a citizen of the kingdom is all about, albeit by means of faith in Him and a motivation to glorify Him.

Despite this affirmation of the material world, we have readily admitted that God's kingdom has a hidden quality, rooted in Adam's rebellion and mankind's fallen nature. We "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Rom. 1) and literally blind ourselves to God's glory, revealed in creation and in His Word. Strangely enough, even Jesus' closest followers were often blind to the truth of His identity and His message. Mark is also distinctive in his emphasis on the slowness of the disciples to grasp who Jesus was and what His ministry would look like (see Mark 4:38ff).

Fortunately, the parable of the Lamp Under a Basket reminds us that this hidden quality of the kingdom is only temporary. In fact, Jesus tells us that "nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light." In other words, secrets are not meant to be hidden forever. Jesus' teaching was part of undoing this hidden quality; and his cross and resurrection even moreso. That is why the authors of Colossians and Hebrews can both say with confidence that Jesus himself is the glory of God, in whom "all the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell" and in whom we behold "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature" (Col. 1:19 and Heb. 1:3). What is recorded in Mark's gospel is the record of this Incarnate God and what He has provided as a solution to our deepest need. Rather than some fleeting experience, it is our faith in Jesus Himself and the historical space-time sacrifice for our sins that gives us an objectively right relationship to God. Because of who He is and what He has done, we can stand in His righteousness and know with complete certainty that we are forgiven and accepted and renewed by His Spirit. This is the kingdom to which we belong - a lamp once hidden, but now placed on a stand for all to see.

The Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 13:44

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

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The parable of the Hidden Treasure falls in the middle of a collection of parables in Matthew 13, all of them concerning the nature of God's kingdom and the nature of those who are its citizens. The following will be merely a brief list of characteristics of this kingdom, based on themes that are found in many of these parables.

(1) Hiddenness. We have already seen in Matthew 12 that there were many times in Jesus' healing ministry that he commanded people to keep secret the miracles that he performed. And, we have already discussed how this secretiveness was not driven by fear, but more by Jesus' character and timing. Here, we see yet another reason for the early secretiveness in Jesus' ministry: the very nature of the kingdom of heaven is that it is hidden from some.

This hiddenness has often been distorted into a gnostic kind of mysticism, in which God is completely unknowable except through some ecstatic experience. These parables do not lead in that direction. Rather, the parables are poetic ways of describing what has been "hidden since the foundation of the world" (13:35). This verse, and the Isaiah passage quoted in 13:14-15, make very clear that the kingdom's hiddenness is rooted in mankind's chosen rebellion. I am reminded of the paradox of Pharaoh's hardened heart in the Exodus story. It is true that God hardened his heart, but many verses in Exodus also describe Pharaoh as hardening his own heart. We see this in Romans 1 as well, where those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness are ultimately given over to their desires, in a sense abandoned by God. The hidden nature of God's kingdom is somewhat paradoxical, rooted in our own chosen sinfulness, but also perpetuated by God who justly withholds light and knowledge from those who have chosen self-rule in their own kingdoms.

(2) Progressive Growth and Value. We see in the parables of the Mustard Seed, the Hidden Treasure, and the Pearl of Great Price that God's kingdom is coming with progressive growth and is of greatest value. Briefly, the reason why God's kingdom is of greatest value and should be sought after with joy, is that it is the essentially the wise and good rulership of our heavenly Father. Indeed, every treasure and joy of this life should be considered second-rate rubbish in comparison to this kingdom, to this reality. While we enjoy the goodness of this earth and its reflection of the Creator's goodness, we also look forward to the coming kingdom and its superior peace and wholeness. Thy kingdom come, indeed.

(3) Reward and Punishment. The Parable of the Weeds is explained by Jesus in verses 36-43. We see that there are two very distinct groups of people from the perspective of the kingdom of heaven: the "children of the kingdom" (13:38) and the "causes of sin and all law-breakers" (13:41). In this parable, and in the parables of the Sower and the Net, we see that there will be a final separation between these two groups, the first being granted eternal favor in God's presence, the latter being "thrown into the fiery furnace" where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (13:42). The fact that this is part of Jesus' literal explanation makes clear that he is not making some figurative reference to blessings and curses in this life alone. The literal King of the literal kingdom is literally coming to earth to make a final separation and bring his children home.

I pray that we are given eyes to see our King at work in this life, consider the surpassing value of His rulership and wisdom, and tremble at the reality of the coming judgment, when everyone will be held accountable for whose kingdom they were submitting to, their own kingdom or the kingdom of King Jesus.