Luke 11:14-23, “The kingdom of God has come upon you”

The message of John the Baptist and of Jesus was the same: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven/God is at hand” (Mt. 3:2; 4:17).  I used to have a simple explanation of this.  They were just saying that the kingdom of heaven was at hand because the Messiah was physically near.  That’s not a bad answer, but it could be improved upon in my current opinion.

For example, I think that Jesus made appearances at times in the OT as the “Angel of the LORD.”  But though He was physically present that was not a situation where you would say, “the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Furthermore, I would want to clarify that the “kingdom” spoken of here was the physical rule of Christ on the earth.  There are many who want to see some sort of “spiritual” kingdom in the Incarnation.  Since Jesus was rejected as King by Israel they believe His offer was only of a spiritual relationship with Him. 

To be sure, Christ’s offer of a kingdom where He actually reigns from Zion cannot be received apart from a spiritual transaction.  He must be received as by faith whereby those who receive Him becomes sons of God (John 1:10-13).  This was, of course, Israel’s problem.  The leaders didn’t want Him at all.  The majority of the nation wanted the blessings of the kingdom of the Messiah without bowing the knee to the Messiah (e.g. Jn. 6:26). 

But I would maintain that the idea that “the kingdom of God has come upon you” is a reference to the nearness of the physical blessings of the Messianic Kingdom.  What are those blessings, according to the OT?  Without detail, check out Isa. 35 (and Isa. 65:17-25) speaks of people living much longer lives, great prosperity from the land, and peace in creation.  In general, there will be a lifting of the effects of the curse from Gen. 3.  Note especially Isa. 35:5-6: the blind, deaf, lame and dumb will be healed.

Now let us come to Gospels and “the kingdom of God is at hand.”  When Jesus sent out the Twelve (Mt. 10:6-8) He sent them only to the people of Israel, He told them to preach “the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” and He told them to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.  When Jesus sent out the Seventy (Lk. 10:1-12), saying in v9, “And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”  At the point when the rejection of the shepherds of Israel became clearly evident (Luke 11:14-23), Jesus said to them, But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you (v19).  As Jesus went around Israel, he was “preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God,” and He was accompanied not only by the Twelve but by various women “who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities” (Lk. 8:1-3).  The women were illustrations of the “glad tidings of the kingdom.”

Thus, the nearness of the kingdom is the nearness of the Messiah who, in that kingdom, will bring in all manner of blessings.  This message was preached in connection with the manifestation of those blessings in the miraculous signs.