The Already-Not Yet Kingdom | Matthew 5:9-12
Brian Hedges | November 9, 2025
Let’s turn in our Bibles this morning to Matthew 5. We’re going to be reading Matthew 5:1-12 here in a moment.
How you ever noticed how frustrating in-between moments can be in our lives, when we’re in between one place and another? Maybe think of air travel, plane travel, when you’ve checked in at the airport, you’ve gone through TSA, and you’re in the jetway between the terminal and the plane. It’s crowded, the crowd’s moving slowly, it’s hot—there’s never air conditioning in those things—and you’re just kind of in that moment where you’re trying to get on board the plane. Then you get in the plane and it’s hot and it’s crowded, and there’s not great air conditioning for a while, and you’re just sitting there. You’re really wanting to get to your destination, but you’re in that in-between zone where you’re still on the journey.
I think the Christian life is much like that. We are already in the kingdom of God, we’ve already been saved from the world, we’ve been saved from our sins, we’ve been delivered, we are heirs of the kingdom; but we’re on this journey, and we’re not yet to our destination. We’re in this in-between zone. Life in the kingdom of God is like that, and the beatitudes we’re going to look at this morning especially focus on that tension that we live with as people who are already the people of God, heirs of the kingdom and called to live in a certain kind of way in the world, and yet it’s hard. It’s difficult. In fact, sometimes we face opposition and even persecution for faithfulness to Christ.
So we’re continuing this study of the Sermon on the Mount, “Heirs of the Kingdom,” and we’ve been looking at the beatitudes, this opening section of the Sermon on the Mount. We’ve seen in the last few weeks that Jesus, as the king who is also a sage, a wise teacher, and our Lord, is giving us instruction on the good life. He is inviting us into a certain way of living in the world.
This is the life that Jesus says is the good life, it’s the flourishing life; but it’s very counterintuitive to us, because this kingdom is upside down. It’s not so much for the rich and the privileged and the powerful and the worldly wise, it’s for the poor, it’s for the humble, the meek and humble, even the sorrowful and grieving, the mourning of the world. So it’s upside down.
We’ve also seen that once you’re in this kingdom, you’re called to a life of virtue. That was the focus last week, and it’s really inside out, as these virtues are being developed in our lives so that we are becoming more and more aligned with the values of the kingdom of God. So we are called to hunger and thirst after righteousness and to be people who are characterized by compassion, by mercy, and by purity and integrity of heart and mind.
Some of those themes continue this morning, but especially today we begin to get an understanding of the already-not yet aspect of the kingdom of God, as we are called to live according to the values and the ethics of the kingdom, but we do so in a world that is largely opposed to those values. That’s what we’re going to see as we study these final beatitudes, the final triad of beatitudes, in Matthew 5.
We’re going to be looking especially at Matthew 5:9-12, but I want to, of course, begin by reading the whole section to us, verses 1-12. So let’s read God’s word, beginning in Matthew 5:1.
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
“And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“‘Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.’”
This is God’s word.
I want us to see three things:
1. The Ethics of the Kingdom
2. The Opposition of the World
3. The Promise of Reward
1. The Ethics of the Kingdom
First of all, the ethics of the kingdom, or the values of the kingdom. I want to focus especially on the value of peace, but really you see both peace and righteousness, or peace and justice, in these final beatitudes. Verse 9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Then verse 10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” Of course, it recalls the beatitude we’ve already considered, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” or justice.
So, let’s define these terms. We’ve already defined “righteousness” in this series as right relationships. That’s essentially what this word means. It’s right relationships. There’s both a vertical dimension to this and a horizontal dimension. Vertically, it’s a right relationship with God, so that we are righteous in his eyes and we are rightly related to him. But then horizontally it is right relationships with people, which has to do with treating people rightly, so it’s justice, it’s equity, it’s fairness in our relationships. We talked about that last week.
The word “peace” and this call to be peacemakers carries not just the idea of the absence of conflict or the absence of war but recalls the Hebrew word shalom, which is really a much fuller concept. It’s the idea of wholeness, of that which is complete, of flourishing. So here’s Frederick Bruner. He says,
“We can almost translate the key word ‘peacemakers’ with the word ‘whole-makers.’ Biblical shalom means communal wellbeing in every direction and in every relation.”
That’s what we’re after here. We want shalom; we want wholeness—wholeness in the community and in the world.
Now, these two things, peace and justice, are the two things that are, in the Old Testament expectation of the Messiah, the markers of the kingdom of God. The kingdom is to be marked by peace and righteousness.
Just think of one of the most famous messianic prophecies. We’re all familiar with this, this time of year especially: Isaiah 9:6-7. It’s this famous prophecy about a son who’s going to be born, and this child, this son, is going to be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace; and it says that his government is going to be a government of righteousness and of peace that will have no end. That’s the hope. That’s what the Old Testament people of God were waiting for: the kingdom of God to come in this messianic figure who would bring peace and righteousness in his neverending kingdom.
Then, when you take these two words and you combine them together in the New Testament, there’s one passage that really stands out. It’s a passage that combines the concepts of peacemaking with righteousness, and it’s James 3. I’ve already mentioned in this series how the apostle James in many ways is the one who gives us the Sermon on the Mount again to the church; he’s commenting on and applying the Sermon on the Mount to the disciples. You see this in James 3, where he talks about this wisdom that is from above, in contrast to worldly wisdom. Listen to what he says.
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom [or the humility or gentleness of wisdom. ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’]. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
Do you see how the beatitudes are all just coalescing in that passage? Here are people who are characterized by peacemaking and by mercy and by humility, the very things that Jesus invites us into in these beatitudes, and James says, “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
So this is the life that we are called to live today. We are called to live as peacemakers, people who sow peace, as we wait for this ultimate and final harvest of righteousness.
Let’s just think for a minute about the application of this. What does it mean, then, for you and I to be peacemakers in our world? I want you to think about peacemaking on three horizons. Seek to be a peacemaker on three horizons.
(1) First of all, the domestic horizon. Okay, so this would be home life. This would be family. Peacemaking begins where life is most personal, among the people who know us best. This is important this time of year; I mean, after all, we are headed into the holidays. You’re going to spend probably more time than usual with your family and with your extended family. These are the people that on the one hand you love most in the world, and yet some of them just know how to push your buttons, they can drive you a little bit crazy. You get all this time together and there’s disagreement about schedules and menus and who’s going to do what, division of labor—all the stuff! There’s potential for conflict. What does it mean to be a peacemaker in your home and in your family and in your extended family?
Well, it would mean things like this: It would mean being the first to apologize, to repair the relationship after there’s been a disagreement. It would be listening before defending yourself when there’s a conflict. It would mean asking for forgiveness, and even doing this in front of your children, especially if you’ve had a conflict in front of your children. It means, perhaps for some of us, seeking to repair a relationship with an estranged family member.
It may be that some of you in this room this morning have a family member, maybe a sibling or a child or a parent, someone that you are no longer close to, that you have gone months or maybe even years without any real relationship with. Maybe peacemaking means burying the past, reaching out to that person, not to confront them on anything that they have done, but simply to convey to them your ongoing love, your care, your desire for relationship with them.
All of these are ways in which we can begin to embody this peacemaking that Christ calls us to. It’s the willingness for us to take the first step to seek shalom in these relationships. That’s the domestic horizon.
(2) Then think about the local horizon. This would be neighborhood, city, church, school, workplace. These would be the places outside of your home and family life where you are in relationship with people. Peacemaking here takes the shape of everyday kindness and courtesy and courage and grace. It would be refusing to spread or listen to gossip.
I was reading this week Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ sermon, a whole sermon he preached on “Blessed are the peacemakers.” This is paraphrasing him just a bit, but he said that one of the ways to be a peacemaker is just to shut your mouth, just not say so much, because we often say things that are actually the opposite of peacemaking.
This happens when you tell someone something that you’ve heard that somebody else said about them that was actually unhelpful or unkind, and you just spread that news. I mean, that’s not only an immature thing to do, it’s an unkind to do, and it’s an unchristian thing to do, to spread that kind of gossip. That doesn’t create peace; that creates dissension, that sows discord. Sometimes we just need to shut our mouths. We need to be quick to listen but slow to speak, slow to anger, as James says.
It means speaking respectfully to people in our conversations, and especially when they turn hostile we remember that “a soft answer turns away wrath,” while “grievous words stir up anger.”
It may mean reaching out and inviting a neighbor or a coworker who thinks differently than you or believes differently than you or votes differently than you, inviting them into relationship, not for the sake of debate, but because you really want to know and love and understand them as persons.
It, of course, means living in the world with humility and courtesy and kindness in all of our relationships, so that we’re seeking to bring peace, shalom, wholeness to these relationships rather than division.
(3) Then, even on the global level you and I can think about what it means to be peacemakers. Now, most of us are not in a position where we are making policy, but we do have indirect influence, and we can be involved in peacemaking in the world through our word, through our witness, through the kinds of things that we support. So, supporting ministries that seek peace and justice and reconciliation; you might think of International Justice Mission, you might think of Samaritan’s Purse or Compassion International—any of these ministries that are actually seeking to bring justice and peace to the world, supporting them.
We do this as we advocate for justice and for righteousness, but we do so without resorting to anger and outrage. I mean, isn’t this the problem with so many of the discussions that happen, especially online, in the world today? People start advocating for what they believe is right, but so quickly they are in outrage mode, and what comes across is anger and criticism and speaking past the people on the other side of the debate. We get in our little echo chambers online. It’s not helpful for us in actually promoting peace.
We should speak graciously rather than harshly, and we should, of course, be prayerful for leaders, for people who are in positions of authority. We should use our votes carefully to put people in positions of authority that can actually lead, in some measure, to peace and justice and righteousness in the world. All of these are things that I think are involved in us as disciples of Christ and as citizens of the kingdom seeking to be peacemakers in the world.
But listen, you start living this way, and sometimes it’s going to provoke opposition. You stand up for what’s right, and you do so in the face of corruption, it’s going to provoke opposition.
2. The Opposition of the World
So that leads us to point number two, the opposition of the world. You see this opposition referred to four times in these four verses.
Verse 9: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”
Verse 11:
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
Then verse 12—it’s actually five times, not four times—verse 12:
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
So, it’s very clear here that Jesus is saying that if you live as citizens of the kingdom who are concerned for peace and righteousness, and you’re advocating for this in your life, you are sometimes going to be persecuted for it, you’re going to suffer for it.
Now, that may raise an objection or a question in people’s minds. Doesn’t the world itself actually care about peace and justice? Why would the world oppose Christians who care about peace and justice? I mean, we hear about peace and justice a lot in our cultural discourse in the world today. So how do we respond to that? I think there are two responses to make.
The first thing to note is this, that oftentimes the peace and justice that is the concern in the world is using “borrowed capital” from Christianity. I’m borrowing language and concepts here from Tim Keller. He pointed out that a lot of times, when people in Western civilization are concerned with justice and with civil rights and with peace, these kinds of things, these are things that actually have their roots in a Judeo-Christian worldview. There can be no doubt, when you look at the history of Western civilization, that Christianity has been a tremendous force for justice and peace on a broad, societal level. So Christians were largely responsible for the abolition of slavery in the eighteenth century in Britain, for advocacy for the poor, for education of children, care for the sick and elderly—the first hospitals were built by Christians—and even for legislation to promote and protect basic human rights. Those values in Western civilization are largely rooted in the teaching of the Scriptures, both Old Testament and New.
The problem that we face now in our world is that, in an increasingly post-Christian world, people are often trying to hold onto some of those values, but having removed the foundational roots in an understanding of who God is. Eventually, if you remove the foundation, the whole building will collapse. So if you don’t have an ultimate standard of a God who in his character is characterized by justice and righteousness and peace and who teaches us to live this way and defines that according to his word, according to his law—if you don’t have that foundation, eventually peace and justice would be corrupted. Often we see this in the world and in history.
Let me give you a couple of examples. I’ll give you one from history and one from pop culture, then maybe one related to contemporary policy.
In history, remember that Jesus’ world was the world of the Roman Empire. Just a few years before Jesus was born, Augustus, the son of Julius Caesar, became the first emperor. He reigned from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D., and Augustus declared he had brought peace and justice to the world, and here’s the Roman Empire, which for the next 250 years is proclaiming the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome.
Of course, the way they were advocating for this peace was they were going all over the world and they were conquering anybody who would resist, so much so that the historian Tacitus said that to the conquered peoples of Rome it was not the Pax Romana, it was the Vis Romana; it was the power of Rome. In other words, this was peace at the point of a sword. It was peace on Rome’s turns or else. It was peace that violated justice, so it really wasn’t peace or shalom at all.
Let me give you a contemporary pop-cultural illustration. You remember the Star Wars prequels? In the third film, Revenge of the Sith, you have the fall of Anakin Skywalker. There comes this moment, right before the final, climactic duel or fight, the final light saber battle between Anakin and his mentor, Obi Wan Kenobi, where Anakin is talking to his wife, Padme, and he’s trying to convince her to join him. He says, “I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my empire.” Of course, he’s done this by betraying the Jedi and by killing all these people! He’s done this through turning to violence for his own selfish ends. So it’s not really peace or justice at all, even though that’s the way he rationalizes it.
This is what happens in the world when peace and justice are untethered from their roots in the character and in the law of God.
One way we see this in a contemporary way today is when justice is defined in terms of equal outcomes rather than relationships and equal rights. There’s a difference between equal rights and equal outcomes, and when you define justice in that way, it ceases to be justice at all, because enforced equality and sameness, in terms of outcome—standards of living, wealth, and so on—when that is enforced, it always ends in new forms of oppression. I mean, this is what the Communist experiment showed in the twentieth century, right? History shows that when governments try to equalize every outcome, they first must take away freedom, and they end up oppressing people. What begins as a promise of justice ends as tyranny.
You don’t get true justice that way. True justice depends on right relationships, first of all with God, then with others, but those relationships have to be defined according to the standards and the values of God’s word.
So, the world will oppose those who seek justice and righteousness and peace in accord with the standards of God’s word. The world opposed Christ as the true king of peace and righteousness, and Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you.”
Here’s the application, twofold.
(1) Number one, do not be surprised at persecution or opposition. It is going to happen. If we stand up for what is right, if we seek to live as ambassadors of this kingdom in the world, there are times when that’s going to put us in conflict with the powers that be and we will be oppressed or persecuted.
Peter, in 1 Peter 4, I think in a very clear application of Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, says to persecuted Christians,
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
Don’t be surprised. Listen, this is happening. It’s happening in the world today, and it’s happening especially in other cultures of the world. Some of you maybe are familiar with the recent story in the Wall Street Journal of Pastor Ezra Jin, the founder of the underground Zion Church network in China, spanning more than forty cities. His wife is a U.S. citizen and is in the states and said that the government there is afraid of her husband’s influence, so he has been detained. This was just a recent headline a few weeks ago, so I think it’s still uncertain what the outcome will be.
This is happening in the world. So listen, one application today is stop today and pray for Ezra Jin, pray for his family, and pray for the persecuted church in the world. Don’t be surprised when persecution and oppression happens; pray for those to whom it is happening.
(2) But secondly, just a caution here: don’t develop a persecution complex. Don’t walk around with a chip on your Christian shoulder so that every time something goes a little wrong in your life you blame it on persecution, when maybe it’s not. Maybe it has nothing to do with you being a Christian at all.
For example, if you get passed over for a promotion at work, don’t automatically think it’s because you’re a Christian. It may actually be that your job performance was not up to the standard that was needed for that company. So you’re not being persecuted, you’re being actually treated with fairness.
If you get a bad grade in school and you know your teacher or professor knows you’re a Christian but you get a bad grade, don’t automatically think it’s because you’re a Christian they’re trying to persecute you. Maybe you didn’t study for the exam. Maybe you actually didn’t deserve the good grade because you didn’t put the work in.
If you are mean and insulting and outraged online and you get a lot of negative comments on your Facebook posts, that may have nothing to do with what you’re saying; it may have everything to do with how you’re saying it. We have to be careful that we do not become offensive unnecessarily. There is an offence to the gospel, to the message of the cross, but as Christians we should not behave in ways that are offensive to others and unnecessarily provoke opposition, and then call it persecution.
So, we’ve seen the ethics of the kingdom, we’ve seen the opposition of the world. How then are we to deal with this opposition when it comes?
3. The Promise of Reward
Here is where I think we really begin to feel the tension of this already-not yet kingdom, where there are these amazing promises made to us, some of which we already experience now, but many of which we have not experienced in any kind of fullness. Yet we are called to live faithfully.
Look at some of these promises. Verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” That seems to have a future dimension to it: “They shall be called sons of God.” It makes me think of Paul’s words in Romans 8, where he talks about how the whole creation is waiting for the unveiling of the sons of God, and how we are waiting for the adoption, which he defines as the redemption of our bodies. There is an aspect in which we are already children of God, we are already sons and daughters of God because we’ve received the Spirit, we’ve been born again, and so on. But there’s another sense in which our sonship and our adoption is something that happens in the future, when we are fully and finally redeemed and made like Christ.
Verse 10, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” similar to the very first beatitude, “Blessed who are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” That’s spoken in the present tense: we are already heirs of the kingdom, and yet we’re still waiting for the fullness of that. We’re waiting for what Jesus says is our great reward in heaven. It’s a reward that we do not necessarily experience in the here and now.
We have to learn to live in that tension between the already and not yet, the future and the present. Listen to Bruner one more time. He says,
“The future-tense promises of the six middle beatitudes tell us that the kingdom of heaven is mainly future, but the present-tense promises of these bookend beatitudes tell us that the kingdom’s future is so strong that it already impacts the present with joyous anticipation.”
That’s the tension that we live in in the here and now. We are already citizens, but we are waiting for the fullness of our kingdom privileges and blessings.
So, in light of those promises, how are we to live, especially when we are persecuted or opposed? Listen to Jesus’ command in verse 12. He says,
“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
This is really interesting. If you look at verses 11-12 together, there is a shift in the beatitudes. In the first eight beatitudes, Jesus says, “Blessed are those,” and he’s speaking more generally, those who are characterized by these certain things—blessed are the sorrowful, the mourning, blessed are the meek, blessed are the pure in heart, and so on. But now for the first time he turns to his disciples and he says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” He’s saying, “The good life is yours when, because you follow me, you begin to experience persecution and suffering in the world.” It’s the first time Jesus is directly addressing by saying, “Blessed are you.”
It’s also the first time Jesus brings himself into the beatitudes. It’s already been implicit. He’s saying, “These are the blessings of the kingdom of heaven,” and he’s already come proclaiming that the kingdom of heaven is near; but now he says, “Blessed are you when [people] utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account,” or “for my sake.” He is in essence equating suffering for his sake with suffering for righteousness' sake, which means that righteousness is so closely connected to Jesus in his kingdom and his righteousness that to suffer for him is to suffer for righteousness, and vice versa. This shows us something about who Jesus is as the king.
Then, here’s the other thing; this is actually the first explicit command in the beatitudes. Everything else up till now has been a pronouncement, a declaration. “Blessed are those…blessed are you,” but now for the first time Jesus says, “Here’s what I want you to do: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The very first command in the Sermon on the Mount is to rejoice when you’re persecuted. That’s crazy. This makes no sense at all! This is counterintuitive, it is countercultural, it is upside-down. It makes no sense at all, unless Jesus is the king and Jesus through his death and resurrection is bringing about a kingdom that changes everything, so that the end game is certain and this world eventually is going to be a world characterized by peace and righteousness. So we’re called to rejoice.
So, I think the application here is clear. It is to rejoice because Jesus commands it. He calls us to this. He calls us to rejoice.
Now, what would that look like? What does it look like to rejoice when we suffer? Let me give you an example. This is Hebrews 10:32-36. The writer to the Hebrews here is addressing Jewish Christians tempted to turn away from Christ because of the persecution they are facing for their allegiance to Jesus, the Messiah. He’s calling them to hold fast their confidence and faith, firm to the end. He says,
“Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”
I mean, there it is. “You joyfully accepted this.” Why? Because you knew you had a reward. You have a better possession and an abiding one. You have a reward laid up for you in heaven. Verse 35:
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”
Again, this is so counterintuitive, but this is what life in the kingdom of God should be like. If we are persuaded that the promises of Jesus are true, then we can rejoice when we are counted worthy to suffer for his sake. Read the book of Acts; you see this again and again and again. Think of Paul and Silas in Philippi, Acts 16. They are arrested, they are beaten, they are thrown in a cell…and they have a hymn sing. They have a worship service. They start singing, and they are praising God because they are rejoicing to be counted worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake. That’s what we’re called to. Rejoice, because Jesus commands it.
Secondly, keep your eyes on the prize. We are not to live for this world, we are to live for the next. I want you to hear these famous words from C.S. Lewis, so helpful here. He said,
“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the men who built up the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on earth precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in; aim at earth and you will get neither.”
One more passage, and then we’re done. There are essentially three passages in the New Testament that use the language of peacemaking. One is Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, one is James 3, which I’ve already read, and here’s the third. It’s Paul in Colossians; this was our assurance of pardon this morning, but just look at it again now, because this passage situates the call to peacemaking within the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
“[Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
Here is the kingship, the deity, and the supremacy of king Jesus! Look at what he did. Colossians 1:19-20:
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Earlier I mentioned the Pax Romana, the so-called “peace of Rome,” won at the point of the sword by conquering everyone who would resist. How different is the peace of Christ! How different is this king who, rather than slaying his enemies, goes to the cross and dies for them. The peace of Christ was not secured at the expense of justice, through violent conquest; it was secured through the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus, where Jesus took divine justice upon himself and bore the judgment that we deserve so that we can be restored to a right relationship with God. That’s the gospel, folks. It is the gospel of the king who came to make peace through his own death for our sakes and now calls us to follow in his footsteps and be peacemakers in the world.
Let me end with these words, beautiful words from the hymn-writer William Rees. He said,
“On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide,
Through the flood-gates of God’s mercy,
Flowed the vast and gracious tide;
Grace and love, like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above,
And heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.”
Where do you see peace and justice most gloriously united together? You find it at the cross, where God reached down to make peace with us. That’s our hope. Let’s pray together.
Gracious God, we thank you this morning that through the gospel of Jesus Christ we can be reconciled to you, that we can have peace with you, that we can be in a right relationship with you, that we can experience this shalom for which our souls long, we can experience that in the here and now, in our hearts and in our lives and in some measure in our relationships, in the communion of saints and the community of faith. We recognize that we are still waiting for the fullness of our redemption, that we live in a world where peace and justice are often lacking. We are called to be emissaries of your kingdom, ambassadors of your kingdom, to do as much as we can to promote peace and justice in the world; but in doing so we will often be opposed and sometimes even persecuted for that. So Lord, we pray that you would keep our eyes on the prize, on the kingdom blessings and promises that are yet to be fulfilled, as we live in this in-between time.
Lord, as we come to the table this morning, our prayer is that the table would be a means of grace for us, to strengthen us in this calling, to firmly root our hope in Christ crucified and risen for our sins, in Christ who has promised to come again, and that it would strengthen us, Lord, to be obedient to you in the call to live as citizens of your kingdom in this world. So draw near to us now in these moments, we pray, and be glorified in our worship. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Brian G. Hedges
