06 | The Christ: Kingdom Inaugurated
The biblical story begins with God creating human beings in his own image to rule his world on his behalf. On the first two pages of the Bible, we see Adam being given the role as a type of human-priest-king and the main mediator between the Creator and the rest of creation. The Bible portrays him as the human-priest-king who was created to rule over the creation on behalf of God and to represent the creation before God.
However, on page three of the Bible, we see the humans making a decision that they are going to determine what is good and what is bad for themselves. It was a tragic act of disobedience and defiance that fractured humanity’s relationship with their Creator. It is also an act that disqualified humans from their role as the human-priest-kings who would rule over the creation on behalf of God. Humanity’s special partnership with God was lost, but God still provided hope for restoration by making a promise and initiating a rescue plan.
God promised that one day a new human would be born who would overcome the evil that had invaded his good world, and that this new human would be the one who would rescue the creation and restore our partnership with God. This promise is given on just the third page of the Bible. As we read throughout the rest of the Old Testament, we learn more about this new human and some of the details concerning God’s rescue plan as he works with and through other humans in the biblical story.
Through God’s relationship with Abraham, we learn that part of God’s rescue plan is that he will restore and extend his blessing to all nations through the family of Abraham. Through God’s relationship with Moses and ancient Israel, we learn that part of God’s rescue plan is that he wants to have a people for himself who live as a community that show the rest of the world what he is like. And through God’s relationship with David, we learn that part of God’s rescue plan is that he is going to raise up a new king from the family of David who will finally conquer evil and who will restore God’s rule over the entire world forever.
However, as the Old Testament story comes to an end, these promises are left unfulfilled and God’s people are scattered and exiled in Babylon. The family of Abraham (Israel) does not seem to be experiencing God’s blessing or extending that blessing. They are not living as people that show the world what God is like, and they are left with no king and little hope.
As we read throughout the Old Testament and see ancient Israel become a corrupt nation that is eventually conquered by an evil empire, we are left wondering if God is still going to intervene and send this new human who will rescue the creation and restore our partnership with God.
However, in one of the last books written in the Old Testament, God provides a prophetic vision that gives his people encouraging affirmation of his promise.
Many of us fail to realize that if we are going to truly understand the story of the Christ then we need to make sure we have a clear understanding concerning a very specific prophetic vision that preceded him. If we are going to gain a better understanding of the man named Jesus then we need a better understanding of the man named Daniel. These two are surprisingly connected as well.
Daniel is a descendent of the royal family of David who is recruited to serve in the royal palace in Babylon during the period of Israel’s exile. He is portrayed as someone who is faithful to the Torah, and God protects him, blesses him and uses him as a source of hope who reveals that God’s rescue plan is still in play and that the promised new human is still on the horizon.
While laying in bed one night, Daniel had a vivid dream that reaffirmed God’s promise and his rescue plan. This dream is described in Daniel 7:13-14:
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Daniel sees a human figure whom he calls “one like a son of man.” And this human figure is riding on the clouds up to the presence of God where he is given the authority to rule over an eternal kingdom made up of people from all nations who will worship him and serve him in a renewed partnership with God. The key emphasis of this prophetic vision is clearly seen in the repeated use of the words dominion and kingdom and everlasting (shall not pass away and shall not be destroyed).
The son of man in Daniel’s dream is a profound human figure that encompasses all the other stories that we have covered so far. His exaltation to the right hand of God and his everlasting kingdom will in fact be how God finally fulfills all his promises and how he restores his order and sovereign rule over all of his creation.
God’s plan is to set up his own kingdom made up of people from all nations that will overcome all the other kingdoms of this world and never be destroyed.
And so to explain what we mean by this and why it is important for us today, we are going to look at the story of Daniel and how that story helps us understand the story of Jesus and how all of this ought to shape our story as Christians today.
The Story of Daniel
The story of Daniel begins with Daniel being taken captive and brought to serve in the royal palace in Babylon during the period of Israel’s exile. Daniel was a descendent of the royal family of David and a wise young man who was faithful to the Torah and favored by God. We are told that God gave Daniel great wisdom and even the unique ability to understand and interpret dreams and visions which gave him great favor among the royal family in Babylon (Daniel 1:17-21).
However, this favor with his foreign conquerors did not mean that he enjoyed a comfortable life in the royal palace with no conflict or resistance. He was pressured to give up his Israelite identity and assimilate to Babylonian society and culture. He was put in positions where he had to confront the foreign kings with difficult messages about their inevitable destruction if they did not humble themselves and honor the one true God (Yahweh). And he was also punished with what was meant to be a death sentence when he refused to worship the foreign king as a god. In all of these situations, Daniel demonstrated his uncompromising love and loyalty to Yahweh.
There were also good moments in the midst of his exile where his service to the foreign king brought God’s blessing and led the king to honor Yahweh as the one true God over all other gods. Daniel does not compromise or assimilate to the foreign worldview or way of life, but he also does not rebel and start a revolt against these evil empires either. Instead, he sincerely seeks their well being and prays to his God on their behalf (Jeremiah 29:4-7). In the life of Daniel, God’s people are given an example of how to love your enemies without compromising your loyalty to God.
The life of Daniel in the midst of exile is meant to offer God’s people an example of how to confront the evil empires of this world. Daniel boldly speaks out against Babylon’s pride and idolatry, but he does so without violence and with a willingness to lose his own life.
This way of life lines up well with Jesus’ own redefinition of power where he pointed out that rulers of this world secure power and authority one way, but him and his people were going to do it differently (Mark 10:42-45). And it is a way of life that is similar to what we learned from the lives of David and Jesus in our last study — God’s people are to pursue peace and to bless others while waiting on God to eventually vindicate them and to exalt them over their enemies (Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:14).
It is these themes of vindication and God’s people ruling the world on his behalf that permeate the two most prominent visions described in the Book of Daniel. In both of these visions, we see descriptions of kingdoms that are given dominion in this world. However, they are kingdoms that give in to evil and that attempt to rule based on their own definitions of good and bad. And in both of these visions, these worldly kingdoms become increasingly corrupt and chaotic until they are brought to an end and overcome by the eternal kingdom of God.
The first vision is described in Daniel 2 when the king of Babylon had a dream about a huge statue made up of four types of metal. We are told that this represented a sequence of kingdoms that follow Babylon in human history. In this vision, a huge rock supernaturally shatters this huge statue, and the rock becomes a great mountain that fills the earth (Daniel 2:31-45).
This vision introduces us to the main idea of all the other visions in the book: There will be a succession of human kingdoms throughout history that follow Babylon and that keep filling the earth with evil and chaos and injustice. But one day, God will come and set up his own kingdom that will defeat evil and that will fill the earth with his own goodness and order and perfect justice.
The second vision is described in Daniel 7 when Daniel himself has a dream where he sees a sequential series of four beasts. These beasts symbolize evil kingdoms that rise to power from among the chaos of this world. The fourth beast is clearly the worst of all, and we are told that this beast represents a king that opposes God and that oppresses his people. However, in this vision, God sits on his throne and executes his judgement against this beast while also exalting this unique figure that Daniel can only describe as “one like a son of man” (see Daniel 7). This human figure sits on the throne at the right hand of God, and he is given the authority to rule over the entire world on behalf of God. He is a new human-king, and he is given dominion over everything on earth.
Who is this son of man and what are we supposed to learn from this vision?
Well, as we have already mentioned, the Old Testament begins with Adam failing to carry out his role and responsibility as the human-priest-king who would rule over the creation in a relationship of trusting obedience towards the Creator. Then the rest of the Old Testament is full of stories of other human beings (Abraham, Moses, David, etc.) who God uses to advance his plan forward, but who also fall short of being the promised human who was going to rescue the creation. Over and over again, we see human beings and human civilizations giving in to the evil that has invaded God’s good world with little hope of any human who can set things right again. And so, the Old Testament story is going to come to an end, and the throne at the right hand of the Creator is still going to be empty.
But Daniel has a dream where he sees “one like a son of man” (which can also be translated as “one like a human”) who rides on the clouds up to the presence of God where he is given the authority to rule over an eternal kingdom made up of people from all nations who will worship him and serve him in a renewed partnership with God. This vision is clearly teaching us that this son of man is the promised new human who will rescue the creation and who will retake the empty throne at the right hand of God. However, this is also no ordinary human.
Throughout the Old Testament, clouds are constantly associated with the presence of God (Exodus 16:10, 19:9, Psalm 104:3, Isaiah 19:1, Ezekiel 1:4). This imagery of a human figure riding on the clouds is meant to get our attention. Throughout the Old Testament, God is the one who travels by cloud. And so there is something God-like about this human figure who is traveling by cloud and entering into the presence of God. It is also mentioned that this son of man will be worshipped and that people from every nation will serve him in a renewed partnership with God. Throughout the Old Testament, it is made explicitly clear that Yahweh alone is the only one worthy to be worshipped. And so again this vision is revealing that this son of man is definitely a new human but also so much more.
The son of man in Daniel’s dream is portrayed as a divine-human-king who represents all of God’s people and is given dominion over the entire world. This dominion is also described as the eternal kingdom of God that will overcome all the evil kingdoms of this world and fill the earth once again with God’s own goodness and order and perfect justice. This new King and his kingdom is how God will rescue all the nations and restore his rule over the creation.
And so how does all this help us better understand the story of Jesus?
The Story of Jesus
Well, when we get to the New Testament and read about the life of Jesus, we will begin to notice that the most common title that people used to describe Jesus was the title “the Christ” (which is Greek for the Hebrew word “the Messiah”). It is a title that is used so often in connection to Jesus that some people forget its significance and just end up using it as if it was part of his name.
However, this is actually a title that Jesus almost never used when referring to himself. The most common title that Jesus used for himself was not the Christ or the Messiah. The most common title that Jesus used for himself was actually the Son of Man. He uses it eighty times throughout the four gospels in the New Testament.
In referring to himself as the Son of Man, Jesus introduces himself as the promised divine-human-king from Daniel’s vision who has come to rescue God’s people and to inaugurate God’s everlasting kingdom made up of people from all nations that will overcome all the other kingdoms of this world.
This is why we said at the beginning of this study that to truly understand the story of who Jesus is and what it means for him to be the Christ then we need a better understanding of Daniel and his profoundly prophetic dream. Jesus clearly viewed himself and what he was doing in connection with this dream, and he was not shy about it.
The main message of Daniel’s teaching (visions and interpretations) was without a doubt the coming kingdom of God that would restore God’s rule over the entire creation. And the main characteristic of his way of life was how to live in anticipation of that kingdom.
This ought to prepare us for the main message of Jesus’ teaching which was the fact that the kingdom of God had now come. And one of the main characteristics of Jesus’ way of life was how to participate in that kingdom now while also waiting for its full reality in the future.
When you think of Jesus and his teaching and his way of life, you have to think about his announcement of the kingdom or you are missing who he saw himself to be and what he saw himself accomplishing. Jesus mentions the kingdom of God over fifty times in the gospel of Matthew alone. Matthew and Mark sum up Jesus’ entire message in one sentence, “Repent for the kingdom of God has arrived” (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15) And in Luke’s gospel, Jesus says, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (Luke 4:43).
So what exactly is the kingdom of God and what did it look like when Jesus inaugurated this kingdom that was going to overcome evil and take over the world?
One of the first things that we need to understand about the kingdom of God is that it is not primarily a place. It is not a place where we go when we die or a place that is going to finally come to earth at the end of history or a place that we are supposed to set up here on earth. It is not primarily a place but rather a realm or the reality of living under the rule and reign of God as the King. And so, to put that another way, entering into the kingdom of God is not about going somewhere, waiting on something or building something; it is about realizing something and reorganizing your life according to that something. It is about realizing that God is the King over all of creation and then reorganizing your life according to that reality.
What did it look like when Jesus inaugurated this kingdom?
Jesus came into this world, and he immediately began to go around and announce that he was the promised human-king who was going to finally conquer the evil that had invaded the creation and who was going to reestablish God’s rule and reign over the world gone wild. He was tempted to grasp power like Adam and to give in to evil like Israel, but he resisted these temptations and went around teaching people and demonstrating how to overcome evil and to truly live in a relationship of trusting obedience towards God. However, it was a way of life and a kind of kingdom that was radically different than what everyone expected.
Every other human kingdom that has ever existed has seized power through the power of the sword. Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of God that was going to overcome all the other kingdoms of this world through the subversive power of selfless service and sacrificial love.
What do we mean by subversive power?
It means that the kingdom of God was going to infiltrate the kingdoms of this world and slowly and steadily disrupt them and overcome them from within. It is the same kind of power that we see Daniel demonstrating during his exile in Babylon. It is boldly speaking out against pride and idolatry while seeking the best for others and praying to God on their behalf. It is resisting the pressure to assimilate to the society around you while sacrificially serving it too. It is loving the world around you without compromising your loyalty to God.
This is exactly how Jesus defeated evil and reestablished God’s rule over his creation. It was the greatest act of selfless love and sacrificial service that the world has ever witnessed.
Jesus had taught his disciples over and over again that “the Son of Man did not come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He had warned them that the Son of Man was going to be betrayed, arrested, executed and resurrected from the dead (Matthew 17:9, 12, 22). And he had declared that all of this had to happen (Luke 24:7) because the Son of Man had come to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10) and that he had the power to forgive human sin (Matthew 9:6).
Jesus proclaimed that the Son of Man had the power to give eternal life (John 6:27) in the everlasting kingdom of God, but that he must first be lifted up (John 8:28) and glorified (John 12:23) in a way that was totally unexpected. Then it was at his trial before the ruling powers of that day that he was straight up asked about his self-proclaimed identity as the promised human-king. Jesus responded with this answer:
“I am who you just said I am, and from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds” (Mark 14:62).
This is not a subtle response from Jesus at all. This is his answer before the high priest who knows exactly what Jesus is saying in that moment. Jesus is declaring himself to be the promised divine-human-king who is being given the authority to rule over God’s eternal kingdom — a kingdom made up of people from all nations on earth who will worship him and serve him in a renewed partnership with God. And yet, it was this declaration that became his death sentence.
This is the unexpected and upside-down way that God has fulfilled his plan to rescue his creation from evil and to restore his rule over his world that humans have been ruining. It is the mysterious and subversive act of the Creator coming into this world himself and giving up his life as a substitutionary sacrifice and ransom that rescues us from the dominion of evil and that grants us forgiveness for all of our defiance, disobedience and sin. It is through the cross of Christ that Yahweh has rescued his creation and restored his rule as its proper King.
It is interesting to note that as he completed the original creation of this world, Yahweh declared that it was finished, and then a day of Sabbath rest followed (Genesis 2:1-3). And then many years later as he completed the rescue of this broken world, Jesus declared once again that it is finished, and then a day of Sabbath rest followed (John 19:30). After the cross, a new world order and a new creation had been launched. Jesus’ execution on the cross was his exaltation as King, and his resurrection that followed became the inauguration of his eternal kingdom.
God’s plan is to set up his own kingdom made up of people from all nations that will overcome all the other kingdoms of this world and never be destroyed. Jesus came to fulfill that plan. He now sits at the right hand of God inviting people to turn from the way of this world and to follow him and to once again rule over this world with him in a renewed partnership with God. The Son of Man in Daniel’s vision had only foreshadowed what Jesus came and actually fulfilled.
Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He is the divine-human-king who has retaken the empty throne at the right hand of God, and now all authority on heaven and on earth has been given to him. He is worthy to be worshipped and all people from every nation on earth are called to submit to him and serve him in a renewed partnership with God.
Jesus has inaugurated the kingdom of God and initiated the new way to be human in this world. It is a way that will collide with the ways of this world, but one that can also overcome this world through the same kind of selfless service and sacrificial love demonstrated, taught and empowered in us by our King.
This is what Paul implied when he instructed Christians to “have the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:3-11) and what Peter was getting at when he tells Christians to do good to everyone and to follow the example of selflessness, sacrifice and even suffering that was demonstrated in the life of Christ (1 Peter 2:15-23). And all of this continues the common theme that we have mentioned several times throughout this series: We as Christians are called to be the royal-priesthood of God who reign with Christ and represent him to the rest of the world.
So if this is a significant aspect of what it means to be a Christian, then let’s look at what it means for Christians to belong to the kingdom of God and to serve him as his royal-priesthood here on earth.
Our Story as Christians
We mentioned in our introduction to this study series that our main goal was to give you a basic understanding of some Old Testament figures, a better understanding of Jesus as the Christ and a bigger view of your own life and what it really means to be a Christian in this world.
It is my hope that by now you have clearly seen how the Bible is so much more than a book about how to go to heaven when you die or just a religious book about personal salvation from a sin problem. The Bible is a book that tells the big story of how the Creator is rescuing his creation through the Christ. It is about the reuniting of heaven and earth and how we are called to play a part in that story. The Bible is a book about the kingdom of God and how God has become King. And so, here are three final implications for what all of this means for us today.
First, it means that we need to see Jesus as he saw himself and understand what he actually saw himself accomplishing. Jesus saw himself as the one who came to fulfill the things that the Old Testament story had only foreshadowed. And so Jesus saw himself accomplishing something that was picking up where the Old Testament had previously left off.
In our first study (Image Restored), we saw that part of God’s plan for his creation was that it would be run by obedient humans who would rule over the creation on his behalf. Jesus is the new human who fulfilled this part of the plan as the Son of Man who sits at the right hand of God and rules over the world in a relationship of trusting obedience towards him.
In our second study (Blessing Extended), we saw that part of God’s rescue plan was that he would restore and extend his blessing to all nations through the family of Abraham. Jesus is the member of Abraham’s family who fulfilled this part of the plan because through Jesus, God’s blessing is in fact being restored and extended to all the families and nations on the earth.
In our third study (Torah Fulfilled), we saw that part of God’s plan was that he wanted to have a people for himself and to give his people wisdom for how to live as a community that showed the rest of the world what he is like. Jesus is the faithful Israelite who fulfilled this part of the plan by fulfilling the Torah himself and by transforming the hearts of God’s people in a way that empowers them to be a new community that truly fulfills the Torah and that shows the world what God is like.
In our fourth study (Throne Established), we saw that part of God’s plan was that he was going to raise up a new king from the family of David who would finally conquer evil and who would restore God’s rule over the entire world forever. Jesus is the descendent of David who fulfilled this part of the plan by conquering evil on the cross and reestablishing God’s rule over the entire world.
And then in this last study (Kingdom Inaugurated), we have seen that part of God’s plan is that he wants to set up his own kingdom made up of people from all nations that will overcome all the other kingdoms of this world and never be destroyed. Jesus is the Son of Man who has fulfilled and is still fulfilling this part of the plan as he now sits at the right hand of God and invites all people to turn from the ways of this world and to follow him in a renewed partnership with God.
This is thing that we must begin with and get right: We as Christians need to see Jesus as he saw himself and understand what he actually saw himself accomplishing. Only then will we have the right vision and motivation that we need to truly follow Jesus as he is meant to be followed and to truly live in a relationship of trusting obedience towards him.
From there, we can then move on to our final two implications of this study series which are the basic elements of what it means to truly be a Christian in this world.
One, we are to participate in God’s kingdom. We are to enter into the kingdom of God and embrace the new way of life that it demands. This means that we must submit to Jesus as the King over this world and then reorganize our entire life around his teaching and his own way of life. If you want to follow this King and enter this kingdom, you have to turn away from and resist any kingdom that allows you to define what is good and bad for yourself, and you must obey Jesus and let him define good and bad for you. This means that you should expect this new way of life to collide with the ways of this world, and that you must overcome without picking up a sword but instead through the subversive power of selfless service and sacrificial love.
Also, we are to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. We are to proclaim the good news that Jesus is the King over this world who has dealt with our sin, defeated death itself and conquered evil through an incredible act of sacrificial love and forgiveness. He is the divine-human-king who can restore us back into being the humans that we were intended to be if we would give him our ultimate allegiance and enter into his kingdom.
And so, Jesus is the Son of Man who has been given a new kingdom made up of people from all nations that will overcome all the other kingdoms of this world and never be destroyed. He has come and fulfilled the things that the Old Testament story had only foreshadowed. The image of God has been restored, the blessing of God has been extended, the Torah of God has been fulfilled, the throne of God has been established and the kingdom of God has been inaugurated.
