In Matthew 23 Jesus decries the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, the uber-religious of His day. The first of his woes against them comes in verse 13:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”
These religious legalists “shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces.” I find it interesting that Jesus starts with the Kingdom of Heaven in accusing the religious of His day because that is the same place that His ministry starts. In Matthew 4:17, after his baptism and his time of temptation, we discover Jesus beginning his ministry by teaching that men should “repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.” And, thereafter, we see Jesus sharing the “gospel of the Kingdom,” telling us to seek first the Kingdom, and teaching parables about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Matthew 13, for example, contains seven parables that describe what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. In sum we see that those who are a part of the Kingdom are fruitful and that those who get a taste of the Kingdom love it so much that they are willing to give up everything they have to take part in it. And, of course, a Kingdom has a King that rules all the citizens within the Kingdom.
So, here in Matthew 23 we find that those who promote legalism and religion actually close off access to the Kingdom of Heaven. And, in Matthew 13 we find that those who are a part of the Kingdom of Heaven are so enraptured by the Kingdom that they give up everything of personal value for the Kingdom. And, as we read more of Jesus’ messages about the Kingdom, we see that it is all about the King. That, of course, is somewhat axiomatic; of course a Kingdom is all about the King. Its citizens don’t live for themselves; instead, they live for the King of the Kingdom.
The religious point to rules, religion and what they can accomplish and understand; Jesus points to the King, to love, to the heart, to a relationship with the King, and to what God can accomplish and understand. As the King’s ways and thoughts are higher than our own, we cannot expect to have a black and white, legalistic understanding of everything in the Kingdom, but we can know personally the One who does understand it all and Who provides real and abundant life in the Kingdom for us. That’s some exciting stuff. And when we begin to grasp that, we can’t help but want more of it and to share it with others. It becomes something that transcends ourselves, and, as we know all too well and try to keep others from realizing all too often, if it’s all about ourselves, it’s not worth living for.
