Not a means to an end, but an end in itself

I want to thank you all that took your time out to pray for my friends and their families, when Shiran sent the call out to pray here in our previous entry. And I feel that I should update you too on how efficacious your and our combined prayers have been – it’s our best weapon against the wiles of the evil one - since we all started out when the call to, was sounded. We can safely say that my three friends mentioned here who survived that tragedy are now ‘out of the woods’ idiomatically speaking. And we thank and glorify God for that! And day by day they are all progressing towards absolute normalcy. I bring you news of their gratitude to you for all of your prayers!!! And just so you know too, our prayer line here is also open to you reading this. Click here.

In the previous post here last week, Shiran shared with us about how the Kingdom of God is like a hidden treasure and many of us are constantly going about our daily business but missing the very treasure buried under our noses, treasure that if one knew it’s true value, they would sell all that they had and return to partake of. The analogy that Jesus used in that parable could never have been put better. And why He dwelt on that subject (of the Kingdom of God, even of giving countless analogies of the Kingdom of God), I have oft heard people give varied reasons. Some go ahead to say that this message of the Kingdom of God was ensconced in Christ’s message of Love, the love for your God and neighbour. Truth be told, Jesus Christ taught about love. But love was not the core of His proclamation. And true to that, Jesus’ preaching about love didn't get Him crucified. In retrospect, neither the Romans nor the Jewish authorities at the time would have been particularly bothered by a “Jewish prophet” who ran around telling people to love God and people. Quite a few Jews would have been distressed over the thought of having to love their enemies, however. But the Romans – who were the obvious enemies - wouldn't have crucified someone whose chief crime was telling Jews to love them and turn the other cheek! The core of Jesus' message must have been (actually, was) a more contentious, more scandalous one, than a call to simply love. It is conceptually common for people to reduce the message of Jesus to something all too simple and if we can say, all too similar to the biases of whosoever may be doing the reducing. You'll see this in many of the contemporary "scholarly" attempts to summarize the message of Jesus. Whatever Jesus preached, it got people excited. Even the demons were riled up. And Jesus' message angered most of the religious leaders whom he encountered. In the end, it got him killed on a Roman cross. But thanks be unto God “they did not know what they were doing” and behold…the resurrection of the Christ! So what exactly was this inspiring, challenging, goading, and apparently subversive message of Jesus all about?

It was, ladies and gentlemen, like we have been sharing with you: the message of the kingdom of God. A message that riled the powers that were at the time -because it posed a threat to their egotistical way of life. One thing that is distinctive about kingdoms is their demeanour. It always reflects on the citizens of the kingdom, the subjects of the king –in all manner; of dress, talk, lifestyle, etc.. When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God, this was no exception to that rule. The Kingdom comes complete with its own lifestyle, a reflection of the King’s choice of life upon His subjects. And of course to conform to that, one must be a subject/citizen of the Kingdom. The world over, we have seen miracles; physical, spiritual and any other as there may be, messages of prosperity, devil trashing, etcetera… preached and still being preached. Where we get this all wrong in my simple (and humble) opinion is accepting that all of these are actually ends in themselves. Nay, they are only means to an end, which is the kingdom of God. Al of the afore-mentioned things are simply the status quo of the kingdom reflecting upon the subjects, things of which we shouldn’t be much excited but should praise God for nonetheless. For it is the same Jesus who says, “greater works shall ye do (when you have faith even as small as a mustard seed)” and also in Matt. 6: 33, that: “…seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”. “All these things…added unto to you” are actually to me like that kiswhahili term, “nyongeza”. Meaning there is something bigger, which is the Kingdom of God in which one is really. Not to downplay the significance of the things added unto one, but really, I think we first must rejoice over being in the Kingdom of God, for those who are, and for those who aren’t to quit tarrying and rush over! For preaching this news of the kingdom, was really the mission of Jesus on this earth. There is the one saying that goes, “we are what defines us”. If I were sent to Iraq (and God bless all the people of Iraq) to give a live report of what is going on over there and I went over and did a live stream with people shouting in the background et al, to the watcher, that might be interpreted as there are people living, there are people that are angry, or whatever else. In the day of Jesus, John the Baptist, when at the threshold of a breaking point (and glory to God that he persevered!), seeing as he wasn’t being delivered from his prison hole by the “messiah”, doubted whether Jesus was really the “promised one”and asked his disciples to go question Jesus about this. On getting there, these men from John spent the whole day with Jesus in his trademark workshops-of-sorts. At the end of which they popped the big question to him, “Are you the “promised one” and He replied (Oh, how so beautifully!!), “the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the dead are raised to life, demons cast out”, “Go tell John what you have seen”. I am sure when those men went back to John, it must have clicked with him too. The “yongeza” of the Kingdom of God. An even-greater testament to the fact that they had with tehm already the bigger thing!!!!

Let’s just examine two or three of the signs and wonders that accompanied this message of the kingdom of God:

1. Healings: Throughout the gospels Jesus healed people of various diseases and ailments. His extraordinary popularity came, not only from the authority of his preaching, but from his authority over human bodies. Yet healing was not an end in and of itself for those familiar with the Hebrew prophets. It was also a sign of the presence of God's reign on earth. In Isaiah 35, for example, God comes to save and redeem his people. In this context we find the following promise: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing:" Isa 35:5-6. The fact that these things were happening in the ministry of Jesus proved the presence of the Kingdom. And relating once again to the John the Baptist prison experience, Jesus himself said this when he was asked by the disciples of John the Baptist whether he (Jesus) was the one through whom the kingdom was coming. Jesus said, "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them" Matt 11:4-5. In other words, "Because the healings promised in Isaiah are happening in my ministry, yes, I am the one through whom God's kingdom has come."

2. Exorcisms: One of the most peculiar aspects of the gospels for most readers is Jesus' repeated expulsion of demons. Most of us simply aren't familiar or comfortable with such things, unlike so many contemporary believers in the power that is present in the Word. But, whether we like it or not, exorcisms were and are central to the ministry of Jesus, and, according to Jesus himself, clear evidence of the presence of the kingdom. In Matthew 12, for example, some of the Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons with demonic power. He answers them, first by citing the now classic line about a house divided against itself being certain to fall. Matt 12:25. Then he adds, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out devils, then the kingdom of God is come unto you" Matt 12:28. Whatever we might think of Jesus' exorcisms, for him and his fellow first-century Jews they are a demonstration of the presence of God's reign.

3. Nature Miracles: According to the gospels, Jesus multiplies food, walks on water, and stills the storm. Once again, these mighty works are associated with God's kingdom. In Psalm 89, for example, the Lord says, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David: “Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.” Ps 89:3-4. Then, only four verses later the Psalm continues, “O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea; when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them” Ps 89:8-9. So Jesus' power over nature suggests that God's promised kingdom has arrived and, indeed, that God himself is mysteriously present in the ministry of Jesus.


I recognize that for many people today the miracles of Jesus are harder to accept than simple fables. In some circles and even among a few New Testament believers, the miracles of Jesus are not considered as historical events so much as symbolic legends. Yet if you take away the miracles from the message of Jesus, you severely truncate his announcement of the kingdom and, at the same time, you are left with a Jesus whom most people would have ignored. Yet even many sceptical modern scholars, at least believe that Jesus must have been a "healer" of sorts, one who used psychosomatic cures and the power of suggestion to help people feel better. I shall mount a defense for the genuineness of the miracles in the gospels at another time but for now, whether one believe that the miracles happened or not, they are clearly essential to the picture of Jesus painted by the writers of the gospel. The mighty works of Jesus, more than showing his love for people, are part and parcel of his announcement of the reign of God. Take away these works and there's no reason to believe his words.

Which brings us to the whole point of this post; all of those things were and still are means to an end and not particularly ends in themselves as most of us have been led to (falsely) believe. The end of which is the Kingdom of God. A case of the message actually being more important than its messenger. Case in point: the message being the Kingdom of God and the messenger being the miracles and signs and wonders.

*Next: We share with you when/where is the kingdom of God! Stay tuned lads and lasses. Thank you for churching with us on this one today. May God’s perfect peace be upon you and all members of your house. And may you continue to grow in the peace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.