The Coming Kingdom
There’s an old Yiddish tale that relates how “Once upon a time, Truth went about the streets as naked as the day he was born. As a result, no one would let him into their homes. Whenever people caught sight of him, they turned away and fled. One day when Truth was sadly wandering about, he came upon Parable. Parable was dressed in splendid clothes of beautiful colors. And Parable, seeing Truth, said, “Tell me, neighbor, what makes you look so sad?” Truth replied bitterly, “Ah, brother, things are bad — very bad. I’m old — very old, and no one wants to acknowledge me. No one wants anything to do with me.”
Hearing that, Parable said, “People don’t run away from you because you’re old. I’m old too — very old. But the older I get, the better people like me. I’ll tell you a secret: Everyone likes things disguised and prettied up a bit. Let me lend you some splendid clothes like mine, and you’ll see that the very people who ran away from you will invite you into their homes and be glad of your company.” Truth took Parable’s advice and put on the borrowed clothes. And from that time on, Truth and Parable have gone hand in hand. They make a happy pair.”
As you and I read the gospels we notice that Jesus told many parables. He rarely (maybe never) began teaching with scripture among the common people. It was only in the synagogue, among the scholars that he did so. Most of the time, Jesus told stories about everyday things in order to bring His message in a way that would keep His listeners attention!
And that’s what we find in our text today from Luke 19:11 to 28. Like some of the other parables recorded in Luke’s Gospel, we’re alerted to the reason for the parable before it’s given. This makes both interpretation and application simpler.
This parable relates to “The Coming Kingdom” of Christ. So let’s read our text, Luke 19:11 to 28, and then see what Jesus wants us to learn about “The Coming Kingdom.”
In this text, Jesus spells out several crucial DETAILS of His coming kingdom.
The First DETAIL (of the coming kingdom) is,
Its Chronology
Every kingdom has a chronology, a timeline; either a history or a future or both. The kingdom of Jesus is no different. And our text states right up front that Jesus’ audience didn’t understand the timeline, the chronology, of His kingdom.
Verse 11 tells us He was near Jerusalem. If Jesus was born as “king of the Jews” (according to the magi in Matthew 2), it was only logical that he would inaugurate His kingdom in Jerusalem, right? And because of His nearness to the city and the events taking place, the people assumed He would set up His kingdom without delay. They saw the kingdom as imminent, near at hand. And because they were children of Abraham by birth they assumed they automatically had a place in that coming kingdom. But they were mistaken, and Jesus told this parable to challenge their assumptions.
The first thing we learn from the parable about the chronology of Jesus’ kingdom is that it will only be established in its fullness after He goes to the Father and then returns back to earth. Clearly, the nobleman represents Jesus, the far country is the presence of the Father, and the return is the second coming of...
