171: Hijacking the Kingdom (Walking with Jesus Series, #033: Luke 7:11-35)

Satan manipulated the religious leadership of Israel to hijack Christ’s offer of kingdom inheritance by teaching the Jews were automatic inheritors by way of their heritage in Abraham. They literally kept multitudes out of the kingdom. Pastor Hollandsworth shows how the same is happening today throughout evangelical Christianity. 

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Turn with me in your Bibles, please, to Luke's Gospel and chapter 7. We continue this morning with our ongoing Sunday morning series entitled Walking with Jesus: Studies in the Ministry and Teaching of Christ. We're going chronologically through those three and a half years of ministry. This is message number 33 in the series. Our text today, the full text, will be Luke 7, 11 through 35. But right now up front, we're going to read Luke 7, verses 18 through 23, and then we'll skip down and read verses 28 through 30. So let's begin in chapter 7, verse 18. Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, Are you the coming one or do we look for another? When the men had come to him, they said, John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, Are you the coming one or do we look for another? And that very hour he cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits, and to many blind he gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard, that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he who is not offended because of me. Now skip down to verse twenty eight. For I say to you, among those born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And when all the people heard him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. Satan is a deceiver and a counterfeiter. Most Christians surely know that. But I wonder how many Christians know that he is also a hijacker. We're going to see that in the message today. Webster says that to hijack, at least in a modern sense, is to unlawfully seize an aircraft, ship, or a vehicle in transit, and force it to go to a different destination or use it for one's own purposes. September eleventh, two thousand one comes to mind right away. In a spiritual sense, Satan is a hijacker of truth. In the parable of the sower, for example, the birds which Jesus said represent the wicked one snatch the seed sown by the wayside. Many think the seed represents the gospel message of salvation by grace through faith in that text. But Jesus said the seed represents the word of the kingdom. Matthew 13, 19. Well, you know, the word of the kingdom is the truth of kingdom inheritance. It's the offer that Jesus initially extended to the Jews of the first century when he came, but when Israel rejected it, he took it from Israel, we're told in Matthew 21, 43, and he gave it to the predominantly Gentile church. Those who have believed on Jesus for eternal life, and I assume that's you folks here, and who cooperate with him in sanctification by denying self, taking up your cross, and following him, well then you'll qualify to hear well done at the judgment seat of Christ. They will receive double inheritance of firstborn sons, and they will be glorified as Christ's bride and co-rulers to dwell with him in New Jerusalem during the Messianic kingdom age. But those believers who do not live uprightly and faithful to Jesus will dwell in the relative darkness outside the New Jerusalem, because New Jerusalem is intensely bright, then they will dwell on earth where they will consciously regret that they didn't live for Jesus in this life. Satan hates the message of kingdom inheritance. Because he knows those who are chosen as sons the glory, a term from Hebrews 2.10, to co-rule with Christ in the kingdom, will replace his rule, that is Satan's rule, and the rule of his entire demonic realm. Thus he works double overtime to keep believers focused on self rather than pleasing Christ. You wonder why you get tempted so much? Well, you're already a believer. Satan can't change that. But he's trying to keep you derailed from living the Christian life so that you won't hear well done. And to that end, he seeks to hijack and derail the word of the kingdom, the doctrine of kingdom inheritance. He began assaulting this message back in the first century when Jesus was still walking on the earth. And he continues it throughout the church age, even up to the present time. Now I want you to see a verse from the parallel text. You know, Matthew, Mark, and Luke are synoptic gospels, and there's a lot of parallels between them. So we've seen Luke's gospel here. But there's a verse in the parallel text in Matthew 11, verse 12, that says, From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. Jesus said that. Maybe we could summarize by saying those who reject the kingdom message often attempt to wrest it away from others as well. Boy, I've seen this in my life. People who do not like the kingdom inheritance message will not only persecute you, they will do their best to keep others from hearing it. And I'm not talking about Pharisees of the first century merely, they did that. But I'm talking about modern-day preachers who are in our camp, so to speak. Another verse, Matthew 23, verse 15, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is one, you make him twice as much a son of hell. Should have been translated Gehenna or transliterated Gehenna, because that's the Greek word, as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves. Ooh, that's an indictment. Jesus indicted the Pharisees with that comment. I've titled the message this morning, Hijacking the Kingdom. Now, in the end of the message, we're going to find that hijacking the kingdom was not merely a first century problem. It's been a problem for the entire church age, and it continues all the way up till today, the 21st century, and it will continue until the end of the church age, however much longer that is. Though I think we're at the end of the age. In fact, I believe Satan's attempts to hijack the kingdom are now more intense than ever. And he's been successful in large measure. In fact, Jesus predicted this would happen. In Matthew 13, verse 33, we read another parable, he spoke to them. Now you're all well educated in the scriptures. You know that leaven is a type or representative picture of corruption in the scriptures and in some cases sin. Thus, in the context of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus is teaching that leaven, that is a corrupted kingdom inheritance message, in other words, not the accurate one, but a corrupted one, would be introduced into the church early in church history and would continue to spread throughout the entire church age. And I believe we are now living at the end of the church age, and we have seen Satan's hijacking through the leaven, the corruption inserted into this message, and the loaf is nearly leavened. The gospel of kingdom inheritance has been almost completely perverted. There are very few churches that teach kingdom inheritance in our day. I know some and I'm thankful for them. And there are probably more than I realize. And I'm thankful for them. But very few, comparatively. Incidentally, I want to be clear, we're not talking about the message of the gospel of grace by which we are saved. That's a critical message, too. In fact, that's where it all starts. Rather, we're referring to the gospel of the kingdom, and it's actually called that in the gospels, but it's the message, the good news, by which we are sanctified and can become inheritors with Christ. Hijacking the kingdom has only intensified since the time of Christ in the first century. This morning in our text, we're going to see four things. The kingdom illustrated, number two, the kingdom questioned, number three, the kingdom received, and number four, the kingdom opposed. Let's begin with that first point, the kingdom illustrated. We haven't read these verses during the message yet, so let's read verses eleven through seventeen. Now it happened the day after that he went into a city called Nain or Nain, and many of his disciples went with him and a large crowd. And when he came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her. And he said to her, Do not weep. Then he came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still, and he said, Young man, I say to you, arise. So he who was dead sat up and began to speak, and Jesus presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has risen among us, and God has visited his people. And this report about him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region. We're told the tragic story of a widow grieving the loss of her adult son. Now we refer to him as an adult, he's a young adult, because in verse 12 he's called a man, and in verse 14, Jesus refers to him as a young man. So he's an adult. And what a hardship this is going to be for the widow. She no longer has anyone to care for her in her elderly years. Her husband, of course, is already gone. And this was her only son, we're told in the text. The town of Nain is small, and so most of the city is gathered together with her to mourn her loss. People are weeping and undoubtedly wailing quite loudly as they often did in ancient times, and actually they still do in many places of the Middle East. Jesus takes note, intervenes, demonstrates compassion, tells her not to weep. How can he say that at a time like this? Well, he knows more than the rest of the crowd knows. The procession stops, Jesus touches the coffin, and all eyes are fixed upon him. He says, Young man, I say to you, arise. Now think with me, if this does not work, then Jesus' ministry is finished. Right? Yeah. No one's gonna listen to him. No one's gonna follow him. Who would want a powerless king and an impotent kingdom? Ah, but it does work. So that the dead man sits up and starts speaking. I think the first thing he says is, get me out of this coffin. How do you think his mother feels? Overjoyed. Thankful. How would you feel? How do the people feel? Well, we are told in the text fear came upon them all, and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet has risen up among us, and God has visited his people. I believe this miracle is important for two reasons. First, John the Baptist is in prison and he needs to know if Jesus is indeed the Messiah. This miracle should help to confirm, for John's sake, that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. I mean, who else could raise the dead? Minimally, he would have to be a great prophet of God to have this level of power. And the people recognize that fact in verse 16 a great prophet is risen among us, God has visited his people. In verse 17, we learn that Christ's fame spreads throughout all the region. But miracles were not merely for confirming the authority of Jesus and the apostles. They did that, but that wasn't the sole reason. They were designed to get Israel's attention with respect to the kingdom, and accordingly were performed during the times when the theocracy was either being formed or was in peril due to the sinfulness of the people. Miracles were only performed by individuals during three eras of Israel's history. I want you to think about this. There are only three eras of Israel's history in which miracles were performed. Number one, during the time of deliverance from Egypt, when the nation was just being formed, and when they went into Canaan land, and a theocracy was forming. The nation was coming together. That's the first era. The second era was during the time of the divided kingdom, after David and Solomon, when the people began living in idolatry and sensuality, and they needed to be warned by God of their need to repent or else face judgment. See, kingdom matters are at hand. So God sends Elisha and Elijah. In the former era, it was Moses and Aaron and Joshua. Now it's Elisha and Elijah during the divided kingdom and some others that are not even named. And then thirdly, during the time of Christ, when the Jews were living under Roman domination, which should be a signal to us, and it should have been a signal to them, that something wasn't right with God. They were living sinfully. And Jesus was also offering kingdom inheritance for those who would repent and follow him. So miracles were done. These were the only times, and you can check it later in your Bibles, the only times when miracles were performed by individuals during Israel's history. We find, secondly, therefore, that this miracle is important because it demonstrates that the kingdom is about age during life, not death. In other words, raising the dead, which has just happened in the text, is a picture of age-during life, life in the millennial age. They won't remain in the graves, they're going to be resurrected. Israel's, quote, regeneration in the kingdom, national resurrection to life, Ezekiel 37 kind of stuff here. Following the nation's repentance. So once Israel repents, and we know from the scriptures that's going to happen at the end of the tribulation, when Jesus returns the second time, all Israel's going to look upon him whom they pierced the first time and weep for him and mourn for him. They're going to realize, oh, we crucified this man the first time he came. He's our Messiah. We messed up big time. God, please forgive us. And he will. Because our God's gracious. Who is a pardoning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich, so free? Wow. Merciful, great God. He'll forgive his nation, and they'll go into a whole kingdom with Jesus ruling as their king. And the Old Testament prophets predicted this. We think of Isaiah 35, 1 and 2. The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. John the Baptist should have noticed this. The Pharisees should have also, they knew the scriptures, but they were too focused on their legalism and traditions. And isn't it ironic that the very things that held back first century Jews from embracing kingdom inheritance, that is, legalism and traditions, are the things that hold back many in the 21st century. Could be other things too, but this is one big thing. Alright, we've seen the kingdom illustrated in the raising of the dead man. Now we move to our second point, the kingdom questioned. John the Baptist is now in prison in one of King Herod's fortresses near the Dead Sea, most likely, so he's completely out of the loop, we would say. But he hears word of what Jesus is doing. Luke 7, 18 and 19. Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things, so he hears about what Jesus is doing. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, Are you the coming one? Or do we look for another? Now why would John the Baptist ask a question of this nature? Hadn't he been the stalwart prophet, a voice crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand. Wouldn't he of all people understand the nature of Christ's coming? But poor John the Baptist in prison. He's perplexed, he's confused as to the nature of Christ's ministry. And I might throw this in, so are Christ's own disciples. Acts chapter 1, verse 6, they asked him, saying, and this is on the day of his ascension, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? The kingdom had been prophesied to Israel, that is, the earthly kingdom. Both John the Baptist and Christ's disciples were looking for the launch of the political kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament. They expected their Messiah to topple the Roman government and fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about Israel ruling over the Gentile nations. Undoubtedly, John in prison, has in mind Messiah's mission statement, Isaiah 61, 1 and 2. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. Now notice that last phrase. And so John preached that message of repentance, or else he said there would be judgment. Matthew 3, 1 and 2, in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Verses 7 through 9. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, and do you think he said it like this? Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Oh no. Shuck the corn, John the Baptist probably said, Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. You see their attitude? John goes on to say, and even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And by the way, baptism is immersion. So we can literally say it's correct in the Greek language to say, He will baptize you in Holy Spirit and in fire. We don't just get baptized with water, we get baptized in it. And so in Holy Spirit and in fire is the idea. His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Woo! That's a hot message. If he were to preach that in a lot of churches today, there wouldn't be any members left. By the way, it's hard to keep members in a church when you do preach biblically. People want entertainment, they want all sorts of things. They don't want their toes stuffed on. Well, seeing that the nation's leaders have not repented and John has been thrown into prison, John is perplexed and confused. Because he doesn't understand why Jesus hasn't brought judgment upon the nation. Little does he realize that judgment will not be forthcoming upon the nation for another 40 years. Now we know from our historical vantage point that the judgment did come in A.D. 70 at the hand of the Romans. Remember, they destroyed Jerusalem and the temple completely, killed about a million Jews, we're told, by Josephus. Thus John wonders, is Jesus the Messiah or is another one coming? Whatever the case, John is certainly confused and he even appears to be discouraged. Prophets are human too, you know. Even pastors can get discouraged at times. We ask God to help us not stay there. Not healthy. How ironic that the prophet who came in the spirit and power of Elijah experiences the same kind of ups and downs in his ministry. The elation of revival on Mount Carmel for Elijah in the Judean wilderness for John. And the despondency and discouragement of being oppressed under a juniper tree for Elijah, because he knew that Jezebel was coming for him, in prison for John, because Herod came for him. How could the forerunner of the Messiah be in prison? And how could the Messiah be so rejected? John just doesn't understand. And you have to put yourself in his shoes, don't be critical. He's going by what he knows from the Old Testament prophets. A. B. Bruce, in his classic book, The Training of the Twelve, compare John the Baptist's attitude with Jonah's. Quote, who was displeased with God, not because he was too stern, but because he was too gracious and too ready to forgive. Why isn't God bringing judgment upon the people he said he would? I can hear John, at least in his mind, you know, thinking that in prison. I probably would have too. Have you ever felt that way? Why doesn't God bring judgment upon all these evildoers? Why doesn't he answer my prayers? Hmm. He's heard. He will answer. Maybe not in your timetable. I've had to reckon with that many times. I've prayed for things for years and years and years, and God still hasn't answered them yet. I keep praying. Jesus therefore reaches out to his cousin and forerunner, John, by sending back words of encouragement and by giving him a fuller description of the messianic ministry. Now look at chapter 7, verses 21 and 22. That very hour he, Jesus, cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits, and to many blind he gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, these are John the Baptist's servants he's talking to, go and tell John the things you have seen and heard. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Surely John will see the messianic mission being carried out through Jesus Christ's ministry. How encouraging, and how much in the spirit of the Old Testament prophecy. No doubt Jesus alludes to several Old Testament passages that John would have instantly recognized. For example, Isaiah 35, verses 5 and 6, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing, for water shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Prophetic of Messiah. More so is millennial reign, but still applies to Jesus, even in the first century, in some measure. This happened. He healed a lot of people. John, wake up. See the connection with the Old Testament prophets. Then, of course, Jesus alludes to Isaiah 26, 19, your dead shall live. Jesus has just healed a man, or he's resurrected him, actually, who has died. Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust. For your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. A passage on resurrection. Jesus also alludes to Isaiah 29, 18 and 19. In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. So by telling John of his ministry and alluding to these scriptures, Jesus confirms to John that he is indeed the Messiah. And then he says, Luke 7, 23, Blessed is he who is not offended by me. In allusion, no doubt, to Isaiah 8, 13 and 14, the Lord of hosts, him you shall hallow, let him be your fear, let him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as if to say, John, don't stumble over my ministry, even if it doesn't meet your expectations. Keep believing in me. And you know what? That's a good word for all of us today. Maybe Jesus hasn't met your expectations. He hasn't answered all your prayer requests. Keep believing him. Keep praying. After John's messengers leave to bring the news back to their master, Jesus speaks to the crowds about John. That brings me to our third point, the kingdom received. Jesus asked the crowds, What did you go out into the wilderness to see? He asked them first in verse 24, a reed shaken by the wind. Now we need to explain this metaphor. Reeds grew and do today also grow along the banks of the Jordan River where John had been baptizing. They were brittle. You know, maybe something similar today would be cattails. You know, they just kind of snap over when you break them. And even in strong winds they could break over. Jesus wanted to know if John was easily swayed by public opinion, driven by the wind this way and that way. In other words, is that who you went to hear preach? A wimp? What's the answer implied? No way. You know better than that. So Jesus follows up with a second question. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Was John a soft fellow who wore fashionable, expensive suits and dressed in the king's type clothing? Well, the implied answer again is no way! You know John. He wore crude clothing of camel's hair and a leather belt. He was about as plain and lowly as it gets, not to mention his rugged diet of locusts and wild honey. Hmm. Yum. Then Jesus asks, the most powerful question. What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A prophet? Yes, Jesus says, and much more, for John himself is the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus is referring to Malachi 3.1. In fact, he quotes it, Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way before you. You see, Jesus doesn't want the crowds to think negatively about John because of the questions that John's servants had come to ask Jesus, probably asked it publicly. And Jesus doesn't want that to sour public opinion, to think that John the Baptist has lost heart. Maybe we need to lose heart too. So he gives John the highest commendation before the multitudes, Luke 7, 28. For I say to you, among those born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist. Wow! What a commendation. That's like hearing well done at the judgment seat, wouldn't you say? Sure. But then he adds something peculiar, and I puzzled over this through the years. The latter half of verse 28, but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. What does that mean? Well, commentators have gone rounds on trying to interpret that statement. We know that it cannot refer to kingdom ranking because of what the first half of the verse says about John. There's no greater prophet than John. So Jesus obviously considers John in high regard, so the latter half of the verse is not negative at all. What this likely means is that those following John, that is, those who come after John, will have a greater kingdom understanding than John did in his day. Ah, that makes sense. That's certainly true of the disciples of Jesus. They learned a whole lot more about the kingdom from Jesus than they ever learned from John. Some of them were disciples of John in the beginning. And by extension, it's certainly true of us. We know far more than John's followers did in his day, and we know even far more than the disciples of Jesus knew in his day. Why? Because we have the completed revelation of the Word of God, and so much more has been given through the Apostle Paul, for example. And the writers of Scripture have written more on this subject of kingdom inheritance, which Jesus introduced, and the apostles went on and fleshed out in much greater detail, especially Paul. John couldn't see the whole picture. But aren't we blessed to see the whole picture? Man, I am so thankful for the word of God. And look at the beautiful result of John's ministry. Verse 29 when all the people heard him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. Upon hearing Christ's commendation of John, the common people who had previously embraced his teaching and submitted to the baptism of repentance recognize God's dealing with men as righteous. They're like, oh, I see the connection between John and Jesus. God is great, God is good, He is so righteous, He is so wise, He has such a wonderful plan for mankind. That's what they're saying here essentially. So these people are joyful because they're going to inherit the kingdom of the heavens if they keep on this path. That brings us to our final point, the kingdom opposed. Look at verse 30. Ah, yes, but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him that's by John the Baptist. In contrast to the common people, many of whom have submitted to John's call to repentance. The Pharisees and religious teachers reject the will of God. That was John's call for them to repent and get right with God. They thought they were above repentance. They opposed the offer of kingdom inheritance. In the parallel text of Matthew 11 and verse 12, we find an additional verse that's not here in Luke's version. I read it earlier. I'll read it again. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. The religious leaders of Israel, the Pharisees primarily, but I'm sure the Sadducees too, hijacked the kingdom of heaven message that is the gospel of the kingdom or kingdom inheritance. They took it by force. Took it away is what they did. Now, how did they do this? Well, Jesus said in Matthew 23, 13, but woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men, for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. What does this mean? Well, the Pharisees opposed the kingdom by holding back others from becoming disciples of Jesus. And they did that through their teaching and even through persecution. Now it might have been verbal persecution, but verbal persecution is still persecution. You remember what Jesus said? Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, those who hear people say all kinds of evil against them falsely for my name's sake, Jesus said. You see, persecution comes verbally as well. And many who uphold today the truth of kingdom inheritance are persecuted by the modern day Pharisees. Not to mention, in the first century, the Pharisees were largely the ringleaders in putting to death the messianic king and his forerunner John. We come now to the final verses in which Jesus describes the religious leaders of his generation. Look at 31 and 32 of Luke 7. The Lord said, To what then shall I liken the men of this generation? And what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying, We played the flute for you and you did not dance, we mourned for you and you did not weep. Well, let's explain this. Jesus likens the religious leaders of his day to children playing games who refuse to join in but instead find fault. You know, when I was a kid, we actually played. Nowadays, kids are on tablets and on the television set almost incessantly. It drives me nuts. We actually played. We went outside and played cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians. We had fun. Ripping and tearing through the neighborhood. We didn't do bad things. We just had fun. Got exercise. Weren't glued to a screen. And then we'd hear, Jimmy, Timmy, time for lunch, and we'd run home. Now I know you can't do it quite that way today because of all the weirdos in our world, and you got to watch your kids a whole lot closer. A lot of criminal activity. But you could have them do that in the backyard and still call them when it's time for lunch. And then we'd come home and eat lunch and we'd go out and do that till dinner time, right? My point being, in the games we would play, there were always the grumpy kids. Well, I don't want to play that game today. So they'd with a burr under their saddle, they hmm, you know, sit down on the porch and watch us play. That's what Jesus is talking about. Or they didn't like the rules we set for the game or something else. They just wouldn't participate. And Jesus said, you know what? You religious leaders of the day, Pharisees, you're like kids who refuse to join in with what God is doing here in Israel, but instead you point fingers and find fault. Wow, what an indictment! How foolish of them. The Pharisees refuse to cooperate and instead resist him, opposing him at every turn. So his description of the religious leaders continues in verses 33 and 34. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, He has a demon. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Look, a glutton and a wine bibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Notice how they spin the truth. They deliberately mischaracterize Jesus and his forerunner John, claiming that John the Baptist is demon-possessed and Jesus is a glutton and a drunk. Boy, they'd fit well in American politics, wouldn't they? Bunch of liars. Well, does this make Jesus fret and worry like we sometimes do with modern political things happening around us? Does it make Jesus fret that his image is not being accurately represented? No. Christ's response to the Pharisees' refusal to play along with the team is simply this, Luke 7.35. But wisdom is justified by all her children. Now what does this mean? Well, one way you could put it, literally, wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. You see, the way that Jesus and John lived and ministered was without fault. Now, John wasn't without sin, we know that, but he was above and beyond reproach, is what we mean here. And of course, Jesus was without sin. And so Jesus is saying we're going to be vindicated by our good deeds, not by the Pharisees' mischaracterization of us. He didn't fret that they tried to broad brush, paint him, and paint John in a bad light. Their day's coming, if I could put it that way. They're going to be judged. Now I have one question with which to wrap up the message. How do modern religious leaders hijack the kingdom? Hmm. Still happening today. Satan's behind it. Well, first, by teaching there is no literal kingdom. The view of amillennialism, which is quite popular nowadays, mainly in reform theological circles. And think of the damage caused by this view. If there is no literal millennium, then God has no future plan for the nation of Israel. They're done. And God has no future plan for believers to rule in an age to come. We simply live for the here and now. And God has no plan for Israel as a nation to reach out to the Gentile nations. We simply live for now. Yes, Jesus will come someday and bring in a new heaven and new earth, but there's no millennial kingdom. Well, I'll tell you what, that changes a whole lot of things in the scriptures. And you have to jump through a whole lot of hoops to come to that position theologically. Namely, allegorizing the scriptures instead of interpreting literally where they are intended to be interpreted literally. As dispensationalists, we obviously believe in a coming literal kingdom of Christ on earth for a thousand years. Nonetheless, there are still some in our circles who hijack the kingdom, and how do they do this? Number two, by insisting that all believers will inherit the kingdom. That's the dispensational error. Multitudes of believers who have been taught this view, and I was taught this view, growing up in Bible college. I want to refund, I'm at college. But multitudes who have been taught this view will be shocked and surprised at the judgment seat. When they're relegated to the darkness outside and will not be given a place of ruling in Christ's kingdom. By the way, study the scriptures. The darkness outside, which is mentioned only three times in the scriptures, is not hell. It is the abode of believers who are unfaithful during the millennial age, and it's basically a description of them being outside the intensely bright New Jerusalem. They'll be on earth. When they could be up there. And they'll consciously regret it and weep about it during the thousand years. If you need more on that, I preached a whole message on it last Sunday. Well, I gotta tell you, this view that all believers will inherit the kingdom is really not much different from the Pharisees' view in the first century. Remember, they thought they didn't need to repent. And their attitude was, we have Abraham as our father. We're children of Abraham, we're shoans for the kingdom. Oh boy, they were wrong about that. Yes, they would rule on an earthly kingdom because that had been promised in the prophets, but they would not be included in the heavenly kingdom unless they repented. So their attitude was, ah, we don't need to repent. We're already kingdom shoans because of our birthright. And multitudes of Christians today are essentially saying the same thing. We don't need to repent. We don't have to live a certain way to get into the kingdom and to rule with Jesus Christ. Why? Because we're children of God. Our birthright guarantees us that privilege. Thank the Lord that you're a child of God, but that doesn't guarantee you ruling privileges or reward in the coming kingdom. Guarantees that you're saved, and you will be in some realm of the kingdom, but you'll be in the earthly realm, not the heavenly realm. It's a tragedy that so many think this way, and in so doing, they repeat the error of the Pharisees. Solomon said there's nothing new under the sun. Boy, that's true. What the Pharisees did in the first century, we're doing today, and Satan's behind it, the same errors that plagued Jesus and John the Baptist continue to plague us in the 21st century. Just as they were persecuted for upholding the kingdom, so will we be and have been. God wants us to prepare to meet Jesus, persevere until that time, and proclaim the message of kingdom inheritance to believers. Yes, we should proclaim the message of salvation by grace through faith to unbelievers. But don't let that be all consuming. We also need to preach and proclaim the good news that you can be rewarded to rule with Jesus if you live right now. Maybe we can help keep the leaven from spreading to all of Christianity by the end of the age. Maybe there'll be a small percentage of those who are found good and faithful who can be his rulers in the next age. I hope you folks will be in that crowd.