Holy Boldness

The Jews expected the coming of the kingdom. However, they had very specific expectations of what His kingdom would look like. For many, the expectation of the Kingdom consisted of a self-centered vindication of the rightness of Judaism and of Israel’s inherent rights to supremacy as a world power. When a person or a group becomes exces sively religious, they are more interested in being “right” than “true.” This became an issue of offense between Jesus and the Jews throughout His ministry. Therefore, Jesus explicitly confronted Jewish bias and misun derstanding God’s intention and purpose. Interestingly, Jesus sent His followers to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Such a designation is itself full of implications. The designa tion of “lost sheep” implies that the Jews were in confusion and darkness and therefore were completely misunderstanding God’s plan. Similarly today, many of God’s people are “lost” because they do not understand what God means by what He says. They may be technically “saved” and yet still lost to the purpose of God. Jesus whole ministry was meant to declare and unpackaged the purpose of God and its implications for every person’s life. Proclamation through Demonstration And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘ The kingdom of heaven is at hand. ’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (Matt. 10:7, 8) The kingdom was intended to be not only proclaimed but demonstrated. If a person is commissioned by Jesus, he or she will have authority to bring a demonstration of some kind. If there is no demonstration then there is no true authority. The word of God must be incarnational and not only informational. In other words, true preaching contains a substance more than just words. The changing of peoples’ lives gave evidence of a kingdom full of substance. It invaded and changed the atmosphere. It penetrated people’s personal space. The people went away impacted by the presence of the Kingdom. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons… (v. 8) The disciples were more than teachers. They were practitioners. They came to announce and demonstrate a heavenly invasion. Sickness and death were challenged and conquered by the presence of the king-

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