In a very interesting article entitled “Strange Cultural Traditions Around the World,” Rebecca Pittore points out the oddest of the odd customs of the various peoples of the world. For instance:

At age 13, the boys of the Satere Mawe Tribe become men but must prove their worth through the initiation ceremony. The boys head off into the jungle to harvest the angry bullet ants. One sting from the inch-long ant is said to be 30-times more painful than a bee sting, or about as painful as a gunshot, giving them their name. Back in the village, the chief elder intoxicates the ants in an herbal mixture, knocking them out just long enough to weave them into a special pair of gloves, with the stingers pointing inwards. When the ants wake up, the ceremony begins. The boys show courage by placing their hands in the gloves for 10 minutes each while being led in a traditional dance. The ceremony repeats 19 more times before the young boys can call themselves men. According to the Satere Mawe traditions, the bullet ant initiation prepares them for the pain of adulthood and how to manage pain without showing weakness.

Or this:

[The El Colacho] tradition in Castrillo de Murcia, in the north of Spain, has its origins in pagan rituals and has been a local tradition since the 17th century. As a way to cleanse a new baby’s soul, the tradition is commonly known as ‘baby jumping’. Every year, on the Sunday after the Feast of Corpus Christi, the event, which is now a mix of both pagan and Catholic traditions, begins with a procession through town and at the end of the walk, babies born in the previous year are laid on a mat. Men dressed as the devil run between and jump over the babies. Next, the leaders of the Catholic Church in the Burgos Region cleanse them with holy water.[1]

My goodness! There are lots of strange customs in the kingdoms of the world, customs that make outside observers ask, “Why would they do that?”

But there is another Kingdom with its own odd customs by which the world is confused. I am speaking of the Kingdom of God.

This Kingdom is the “already/not yet” Kingdom; the Kingdom that has come in Jesus yet is coming with the coming of Jesus.

What we want to do is consider the “already” aspect of the Kingdom of God. How does its arrival in Jesus and our entry into it through Jesus affect us here and now, right where we are? What does this Kingdom look like in our lives? What are our strange customs?

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Matthew 27

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ¹⁸ For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. ¹⁹ Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” ²⁰ Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Gayook Wong wrote an interesting article at Psychology Today entitled “The Psychology of Mob Mentality.” In it, she spelled out a number of causes for the mentality that can take over mobs. These are:

• Deindividuation—when people are part of a group, they experience a loss of self-awareness.
• Identity—when people are part of a group, they can lose their sense of individual identity.
• Emotions—being part of a group can lead to heightened emotional states, be that excitement, anger, hostility, etc.
• Acceptability—behaviors that are usually seen as unacceptable become acceptable when others in a group are seen carrying them out.
• Anonymity—people feel anonymous within a large group, which reduces their sense of responsibility and accountability.
• Diffusion of responsibility—being part of a group creates the perception that violent or unacceptable behavior is not a personal responsibility but a group one.
• The larger the group or crowd, the more likely there will be deindividuation and diffusion of responsibility.[1]

All of this is both fascinating and helpful. And, undoubtedly, these dynamics played a huge role in the mob’s clamoring for Jesus’ crucifixion in Matthew 27. And yet, in this case, there was another dynamic at play: the spiritual dynamic. Let us be clear: The devil was working in this mob frenzy. And yet, God will use even this for the fulfillment of His great plan for salvation.

Let us consider the major characters in this drama, and the roles that they play!

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Ever heard the wheelbarrow joke? It is an oldie but a goodie and one that circulates every so often. There are lots of good versions but here is the version I heard:

In a Russian factory back in the Soviet Union days a factory worker got in the exit line at the end of the day pushing a wheelbarrow. When he reached the gate, the guard looked in and saw nothing but sawdust and wood shavings. “What do you have in there, Petrov?” he asked. “Nothing, sir. It is just sawdust and wood shavings.” The guard took his baton and poked around in the sawdust before staring suspiciously at Petrov and then letting him go.

This happened again the next week with the same result. Just sawdust and wood shavings. There was nothing else in the wheelbarrow.

The guard was suspicious but what could he do. Petrov was not smuggling anything out. Week after week after week this happened. Finally, at the end of the year, the guard held Petrov and his wheelbarrow back after the other workers had departed.

“Petrov,” he said, “I have known you for a long time. And I know you are stealing something. But every week it is the same thing: sawdust and wood shavings. Listen: I am retiring. This is my last day. I like you. I will not report you or turn you in. But I have got to know: What are you stealing?”

Petrov smiled, paused, then looked around. He leaned in close to the guard and said, “Wheelbarrows, my friend. Wheelbarrows.”

A classic! I love that joke!

The joke, of course, is that the answer was right under the guard’s nose the whole time, and he missed it! It happens. In fact, it happened to the Pharisees in Luke 17 as Jesus revealed in His answer to their question about the Kingdom.

²⁰ Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, ²¹ nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

This is a powerful and, as we will see, controversial text.

We said earlier that the Kingdom of God is the “already/not yet” Kingdom, as it has been famously put. The Kingdom has already broken into the world in Jesus but it has not yet come in fullness. So it is here, but it is coming. And in our text, Jesus is highlighting the “already” nature of the Kingdom, the fact that it has arrived in Jesus here and now, even as we wait for it to arrive in fullness and unveiled glory and power.

Let us consider what Jesus is saying here about the already Kingdom.

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Here is an article that reads like something out of an Indiana Jones movie!

It was Jan. 27, 1492, when workers at work in the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which was undergoing major renovations at the time, discovered, behind a brick, a lead casket, closed by three wax seals, and on which was written Ecce lignum crucis, “Behold the wood of the cross.” Inside the casket was the Titulus Crucis. The first to report the news of the discovery of the “arcula plumbea” that preserved the Titulus Crucis was a chronicler of the time, Leonardo di Sar zana (or Leonardo Sarzanese), who a few days later, on February 4, wrote a letter in Latin to a learned correspondent of his, Jacopo Gherardi known as “il Volaterrano” (the missive is preserved in the Vatican Library, in a codex, the Vatican Codex 3912, which collects a number of letters sent to Volaterrano): “there is no doubt, reverend father,” the letter reads, “that this piece of wood is a part of that most sacred wood on which our Savior was hung, fixed with nails, and are truly the titles of his gallows, of which the evangelists testify.”[1]

Wow! That is a fascinating thought, is it not, that we might possess the actual sign that hung over Jesus on the cross? But is this authentic? Do we have the actual inscription? While the titulus crucis certainly has its champions, the evidence would appear to point elsewhere: That it dates somewhere from the 10^th to the 12^th century. So, sadly, likely not! Such is the way of relics!

And yet, this much is true: There was a sign hung above the head of Jesus on the cross and it did proclaim Jesus as King. In fact, the fact of the inscription on the cross belongs to a group of facts that is actually mentioned in all four gospels: in Matthew 27:37, Mark 15:26, Luke 23:38, and in John 19:19.

It would be quite a find to find that sign, but would you like to know what would be even better? Even better than finding the sign that says “Jesus is King” would be you and me becoming the sign that says “Jesus is King.” And, in fact, we are called to do this very thing: To be living advertisements for King Jesus, to point the world to Him through our words and our actions.

Church, Jesus is King! No consideration of the Kingdom of God can proceed without a close consideration of Jesus as King!

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Matthew 27

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” ¹² But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” ¹⁴ But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

There is an interesting article at News Nation Now entitled “‘Muzzle him like Hannibal Lecter’: ‘Banfield’ on Waukesha suspect.” It is about the unruly behavior a defendant named Darrell Brooks, Jr. who was representing himself in a Waukesha County courtroom on “77 charges, including six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and 61 counts of reckless endangerment, for allegedly driving his vehicle into a Nov. 21 parade.” Brooks’ dismissed his attorney and represented himself before Judge Jennifer Durow.

Representing oneself in court is unusual but allowed, based on the 6^th Amendment. The real problem with Darrell Brooks’ approach here was not that he represented himself, but how he did it. The article talks about Brooks’ “constant outbursts” in court, his occasional refusal “to recognize his own name,” and his extremely “disruptive” behavior.

“It’s what you call remarkable judicial restraint,” NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield, who has covered hundreds of controversial, high-profile court cases, said while discussing the case with her Friday night panel. “It has also had a lot of court watchers steaming mad that she didn’t smack him down, put him in his place, and just muzzle him like Hannibal Lecter.”

“Banfield” story editor Paula Froelich said she “can’t believe this is happening in a taxpayer-funded court.”

“This man is literally acting like a 9-year-old. The judge can’t get a word out. … I don’t know that much about the law, and I just have to ask, How is this happening? Why is he considered competent? How is this allowed to go on?”[1]

In point of fact, some judges finally do have enough of unruly defendants and have them muzzled or their mouths duct taped.

That is an amazing thought, is it not: a defendant who will not stop talking and who is so disruptive that they have to be muzzled!

What is most interesting about the trial of Jesus is that people were disturbed by the exact opposite behavior. Jesus’ silence seemed to enrage or perplex the authorities before who He was standing. Pontius Pilate seemed to be particularly confused by it. And this raises an interesting question: Why was Jesus so silent throughout His trial? When He speaks, it is brief and oftentimes enigmatic. But, mainly, He is silent. Why?

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The story of the world is the story of a King and His Kingdom. That this fact has been neglected by many evangelicals is a deep tragedy, for without a proper doctrine of the Kingdom of God we read scripture poorly, we pray poorly, we worship poorly, and we understand the gospel poorly. That Jesus is King and that He has come to proclaim the Kingdom is at the heart of the gospel itself.

We have defined the Kingdom of God in this way:

The Kingdom of God is the reign and rule of God that has broken into the fallen world definitively in Jesus, is now proclaimed by and demonstrated in the lives of God’s people, and will come in fullness and completion with the victorious coming again of Jesus.

Now we need to see how the Kingdom of God fits into the story of the world.

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Matthew 27

¹ When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. ² And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. ³ Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” ⁵ And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. ⁸ Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

In the National Museum of Ireland there is a cross that is most interesting. On this cross we see a carving of Christ crucified along with some other carved symbols. But below the feet of Jesus there is a most fascinating and strange sight: There is a drawing of a rooster above a pot! What on earth does that mean?

In fact, the strange image of the rooster above the pot is alluding to a legend about Judas. Here is one description of it:

The story goes that Judas got home after betraying Jesus and asked his wife for a rope so that he may hang himself, as he knew that Jesus was to return from the dead on the third day.

His wife, dismissing this, drew his attention to the cock that she was cooking in a pot. She told Judas that Jesus had as much chance of returning from the dead as the cock had of coming back to life from the pot that she was cooking him in.

No sooner had she spoken the words than the cock flew out of the pot and crowed, sending Judas into despair.[1]

In these legends, the cock represents either Jesus or the resurrection of Jesus. In one rendering of it, this is the cock that crowed Peter’s denials, and he will also fly over Judas Iscariot’s body as it hangs from the rope!

All of these legends seem to be trying to say the same thing, albeit in a fanciful way: Judas could not escape his dastardly crime of betrayal just as he could not escape the resurrection of the Jesus He betrayed!

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There is a phrase in the Bible that is pervasive yet is strangely ignored in modern evangelical life. At least it is not given the attention it deserves. It is certainly not given the attention it is given in scripture. For instance, the late theologian James Leo Garrett Jr. writes of this phrase that it is used

153 times in the King James New Testament. Basileia in the divine sense is used 52 times in the Gospel of Matthew, 43 times in Luke, and 16 times in Mark, but only five times in John. It appears eight times in the Acts, 13 times in the Pauline epistles, four times in the general epistles, and five times in Revelation.

In fact, Garrett writes, the importance of this neglected phrase in

both testaments can hardly be overstated. It is a “theme” that is “central not only to the faith of Israel but also to the Gospel.” It is “the bond that binds” the two testaments “together.”[1]

What is this neglected phrase, this phrase that is so pervasive throughout scripture and so neglected in the church today? It is this: “the Kingdom of God.” In Matthew’s gospel it will be rendered “the Kingdom of Heaven,” but this is just another way of saying “the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew was being sensitive to his Jewish audience by respectfully using “Heaven” instead of “God.”)

The neglect of this doctrine is deeply unfortunate, is injurious to churches, robs our witness and preaching of its full power, and gives us a stunted vision of who Jesus is and what He has done and is doing in the world.

Our challenge is this: to return to a full, robust, healthy, biblically-informed, church-shaping, witness-empowering, God-honoring, Jesus-glorifying, life-transforming, sanctification-enhancing, worship-encouraging understanding of the Kingdom of God. Our purpose this morning is to introduce the idea and say a word about its importance. Then, over the next many weeks, we will unpack the inescapable conclusions this important doctrine presents to us.

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Matthew 26

⁶⁹ Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came up to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” ⁷⁰ But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” ⁷¹ And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” ⁷² And again he denied it with an oath: “I do not know the man.” ⁷³ After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you.” ⁷⁴ Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the rooster crowed. ⁷⁵ And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

Mark 16:7 has an interesting little element in it that has caused no little comment over the years. The chapter begins with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome going to the tomb of Jesus on Sunday morning. The stone has been rolled away. They go in and they see “a young man” sitting in there “on the right side, dressed in a white robe.” He pronounces Jesus’ resurrection in verse 6 and then, in verse 7, says the interesting thing. The English Standard Version renders it like this:

⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”

Have you ever noticed that: “…tell his disciples and Peter”? Commenting on this, Russell Saltzman notes that some render the phrase in question as “tell his disciples, even Peter…” But “even Peter” is probably not right. Even so, writes Saltzman, there may be reason to see something in “the young man’s inflection when saying and Peter to the women, as if expressing some small but not unnatural hesitation over words he is commanded to speak.” Saltzman writes further:

Knowing just a little about Peter as reported from the gospels, even Peter is the more sensible approach. Can you hear the young man? “Go and give this message to his disciples . . . [long pause, heavy sigh, a reluctantly mumbled] . . . even Peter.”

Other translations put this as (long pause, resigned heavy sigh) including Peter. A contemporary paraphrase renders it as and don’t forget to tell Peter, which leads me to wonder if the young man may have worried they might not. That line—I can hear it spoken in the voice of the anhedonic stuffed donkey, Eeyore.[1]

That is indeed interesting, no? “But go, tell his disciples and Peter…” Why is he, Peter, the lead disciple, singled out when it comes to the good news of the resurrection? Perhaps because, outside of Judas Iscariot, Peter had the most colossal collapse of all the disciples. He denied Jesus three times. So maybe the “young man” is nodding toward Peter’s denials with his strange “and Peter”…but, then again, maybe he was grinning when he said “and Peter” and was thereby nodding toward God’s grace! Who knows?

Yes, there is shame in Peter’s behavior…and there is beauty in God’s grace to Peter. But let us consider first Peter’s ignominious denials.

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Philippians 4:10–23

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ¹⁴ Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶ Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. ¹⁸ I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. ²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. ²² All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. ²³ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

One of the more fascinating articles I think I have ever read was written by Daniel Cordaro for Greater Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life. It is entitled “What If You Pursued Contentment Rather Than Happiness?” In it, Cordaro discusses how, while at Yale University, he led a research team seeking to understand the human mind throughout time and culture.

In their research, one of the last groups they studied was a “remote group of former nomads high in the Himalayas of Eastern Bhutan.” This group was “one of three uncontacted villages on planet earth.” They traveled deep into the Himalayas and came to the village of around 200 families. There, they opened up their laptop and exposed the villagers “dozens of facial and vocal expressions.” These folks had “no electricity, no internet, no cell phones, no printed media—nothing.”

Cordaro and his team were impressed by how accurately these villagers identify the various emotions expressed in image and sound. He writes:

But there was one emotion that didn’t behave like all the others. It was different.

The emotion was contentment, and while we were working on translating our study, our guide, Dr. Dorji Wangchuk, stopped for a moment when we reached this word. “In our culture, this emotion is very special. It is the highest achievement of human well-being, and it is what the greatest enlightened masters have been writing about for thousands for years.” Now that was a conversation starter, and I asked him for the translation. “It’s hard to translate it exactly, but the closest word is chokkshay, which is a very deep and spiritual word that means ‘the knowledge of enough.’ It basically means that right here, right now, everything is perfect as it is, regardless of what you are experiencing outside.”

This was the moment when lightning struck for me, and I immediately felt chills down my entire body. No matter where I went on planet earth, all of the cultures I interacted with revered contentment as one of the highest states to cultivate in life. Yet in the West, we were obsessing about happiness—and feeling more anxious, depressed, and stressed. I decided to dig in and see what kind of ancient secrets could be revealed through a scientific investigation of the most underappreciated emotion in history: contentment.

In fact, Cordaro and his team finally concluded that human beings around the globe adopt one of two basic strategies for living life: “More Strategy” or “Enough Strategy.”

In “More Strategy,” people want more and more and more. The problem with “More Strategy,” he writes “is that it’s simply not sustainable.” In “Enough Strategy,” people are content. One more statement from Cordaro:

While poring through thousands of years of ancient wisdom traditions, my team and I were shocked to find that the ancients almost never used the word happiness when they were talking about what it means to be well. More than 90 percent of the time, they used the word contentment, and described it as a state of “unconditional wholeness,” regardless of what is happening externally.[1]

This is absolutely fascinating.

It seems to me that contentment is most challenged by two realities: lack and gain. When we have little. When we have much.

Interestingly, in the prison cell from which he wrote the letter to the Philippians, Paul experienced both of these realities. He experienced the lack that prison presents its occupants. And he experienced the gain of a very kind gift sent by the Philippians through their courier, Epaphroditus.

In our text, Paul concludes his letter by reflecting in the crucible of the collision between lack and gain. And what he says is profoundly helpful to us in the living of these days.

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