The kingdom is near for all, both the "have nots" and the "haves." It's not only for poor in spirit, mourning, meek, or hungering, but for those who show mercy, the pure in heart, and peacemakers. None will argue that a follower of Jesus should not pursue each of these qualities. Indeed, Jesus promises them wonderful kingdom treasures. They will receive mercy, they will see God, and they will be called sons of God. Entry into the kingdom does not require some certain level of loss or reprobation. John the Baptist’s call to repent because the kingdom is near reaches to both banks of the Jordan River and none are excluded. Jesus welcomes those who have successfully pursued God and those who have miserably failed. Likewise, entry into the kingdom also does not require that reach a certain level of righteousness. The point is more that neither my failures nor my successes make me eligible to enter the kingdom and for that reason, the kingdom opens itself to all. Only work of Jesus in life and death can unlock the kingdom gates.
Finally, those who take up kingdom citizenship, align themselves with Jesus and begin to do true righteousness run the risk of persecution. In fact, Jesus seems to assume that the following Him will induce harsh reactions in others who would pursue His followers in order to oppress them, insult them, and falsely says all kinds of evil against them. These Jesus exhorts to rejoice and be glad. Do the persecution and insults make them glad? Of course not. Possession of the Kingdom of heaven and its rewards are their reason for joy. The Epistle of James puts flesh on these bones. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”[1] Even before we followers of Jesus see His kingdom in final form after His return, good things await us in the face of persecution. We will develop a persevering faith, the kind of faith that can withstand whatever Satan chooses to forge his fiery darts from (he’s good at it – remember the low blow to Jesus after forty days of fasting). The exercise of that kind of faith, faith that stands as a shield in battle,[2] will cause a completeness in our relationship with Jesus and cause us to mature so that we lack nothing. Now, that’s something to rejoice over.
Once in the kingdom and connected to Jesus, we have something valuable to offer the rest of humanity. As Jesus sat with His disciples around Him, He declares “you are the salt of the earth,” and “you are the light of the world.” Interesting statements for someone who has just introduced the kingdom of God. As we saw in our discussion of the gospel of Mark, the disciples didn’t have a real clear picture of who Jesus was, let alone what His kingdom was like. This was a work in progress and the disciples would become salt and light to the world which should offer encouragement to the rest of us. Even if our self evaluations result in low grades, not only does Jesus still offer us the kingdom, but He also will make us its effective agents.
Salt had two common uses in Jesus day. First it could preserve food when properly applied. Second, it brought out the flavor in food, enhancing its natural taste. Jesus’ disciples would have understood that to preserve food with salt, they must rub the salt into the food. Likewise, salt need to get mixed in with food during preparation if it would have any affect on the flavor. Rebecca Manly titled one of her books “Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World.” She hit the nail on the head. If we’re not injecting ourselves into the world with Jesus thinking and Jesus habits, then we’ve become “no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”[3]
Similar to salt, Jesus says we can’t hide our light. Not only can we not hide it, but to make it truly useful, we need to show it, put it in the place where it will provide the most benefit to everyone in the house. Jesus calls us to let our light “shine before men.”[4] If our light, will have any value to men, we need to place it before them. We need to at least be rubbing elbows with them in the same room. Then, when our light shines before them, they have the opportunity to see our good works. Not just see them, but because of this Jesus light, see them for what they really are, kingdom works of obedience, service, gratitude, and worship. When they see that, something changes. The insults and lies stop and a marvelous change occurs. They begin to “praise our Father who is in heaven.”[5]
[1] James 1:2-4.
[2] Ephesians 6:16.
[3] Matthew 5:13.
[4] Matthew 5:16.
[5] Matthew 5:16.
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