Today Daily Devotional

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.

— Mark 15:27

What picture forms in your mind when you think of a king? Maybe it’s a handsome man with a golden crown on his head and a jeweled scepter in his hand. Maybe it’s someone giving orders while others bow before him and do as he says. Most likely, when we think of a king, the last thing we picture is a cross.

That’s why we have to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus is a different kind of king, and that his kingdom is a different kind of kingdom—different from anything the world has ever seen.

James and John still had to learn that. They pictured King Jesus sitting eventually on a gold-plated throne, and they wanted to be sitting right next to him. They wanted the power that comes with proximity—and that showed they didn’t understand the glory of Jesus. They didn’t understand the way of his kingdom. Jesus said that the places they wanted were reserved for others. And it turned out that two rebels were crucified on the right and the left of Jesus.

Here’s what it adds up to. Forget the gold. King Jesus “sits” on a throne made of two crossed pieces of wood. And his glory is to do the will of God. King Jesus suffers and dies because his kingdom is about mercy and forgiveness rather than about power and conquest. We need to keep adjusting our picture accordingly.

Lord Jesus, you are such a strange king. Your kingdom is strange too. And that’s good because it’s exactly what this world needs. We need it too. Every day. Amen.

“People [won’t] say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

— Luke 17:21

After his baptism, Jesus went around proclaiming the good news. He said, “The kingdom of God is near! It’s here! People are entering in front of your eyes!”

Jesus proclaimed the good news by his actions too. He faced down the devil and drove out demons. He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He touched the untouchable and taught the unteachable. He welcomed the weary and sent away the smug. He forgave the sinner and challenged the self-righteous. All of it was evidence that the kingdom of God had come. When Jesus sent out an advance team of seventy-two followers, they healed the sick, like Jesus did. They even drove out demons, like Jesus did (Luke 10:17). Once again, it was evidence that the kingdom of God had come near (see Luke 9:1-6). Whether people accepted the news or rejected it, the news remained the same: The kingdom of God has come near!

Jesus said you can’t point to the kingdom of God and say, “There it is!” Not because there’s no evidence of the kingdom—but because he wanted us to be alert for signs of the kingdom all around us.

The Michigan state motto says this: If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look around you. I wonder what signs of the kingdom are waiting for us to look and to see. I wonder how close those signs are.

Open our eyes, Lord Jesus, to see your kingdom. Surprise us by the wonder of its ways, so different from the ways of this world. Amen.

“What shall we say the kingdom of God is like . . . ?”

— Mark 4:30

If you’re writing about a subject for school, you often start with a definition. But in this series I have been writing about the kingdom of God for several weeks, and I haven’t given a definition. Why is that?

What do we know about the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is like yeast in a batch of dough, like a hidden treasure, like wheat and weeds growing together, and like a landowner hiring day-laborers. The kingdom of God is unexpected, like a feast with a surprising guest list. Sex workers and other “sinners” enter the kingdom ahead of deeply religious types. And it’s really hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God belongs to little children, to peacemakers, and to the poor. The kingdom is something to wait for, something to pray for. The kingdom of God is in our midst, but it’s not from this world. The kingdom is light.

That’s a lot to learn about the kingdom of God. And there’s more where that came from. But that’s not what we would call a definition.

Whatever the kingdom of God is, it gives us a different way to see the world, to see people, and to see God. It also gives us a different way to be in the world. And in some ways that makes us strangers and aliens in the world we know so well.

Jesus, we like to know what we’re getting into. So we want to know what your kingdom is all about. But it’s all about you, isn’t it? Let that be enough for us. Amen.

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

— Matthew 19:24

The kingdom of God is eternal. It’s the ultimate reality, when everything will be good at last. Surprisingly, though, the kingdom is also right here, right now—wherever Jesus is present in the flesh or by the Spirit. We can see that in Matthew 19. A rich man who comes to talk with Jesus is very interested in having eternal life—that is, life in the kingdom of God. But does he really want that kind of life? When Jesus tells the man, “Sell everything, give to the poor, and follow me,” the man can’t do it. He can’t take those three steps. It’s really hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. That’s what Jesus says. And he means more than entering the eternal kingdom in the future. He also means living the way of the kingdom right here, right now. Among other things, the way of the kingdom is selfless and generous. And the way of the kingdom includes deeply trusting in God to meet every need. Sadly, the rich man in this story wasn’t ready to live that way. Not here, not now. How about you? Are you ready to live the way of the kingdom here and now? If not, will you want to live that way in eternity?

Lord Jesus, fears grip us, and things grip us—and it’s hard to break free. Help me to let go of everything but you so that I can live the way of the kingdom right here, right now. Amen.

“Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

— Matthew 11:6

John the Baptist had come to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah. And John was so confident! He had a clear and sure word from God, just as you would expect from a prophet.

But in our reading today from Matthew 11, John has his doubts. Prison will do that to a person, making him question everything he’s sure of. What John has heard doesn’t measure up to the big hopes he has had for Jesus. God’s people are no closer to being free. Nor is John himself. So John sends a message to Jesus: “Have I been wrong about you?”

Jesus has nothing new to tell John. But he does encourage him not to lose hope: “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

John had his expectations of Jesus. We all do. But Jesus doesn’t act according to anyone’s expectations. He acts according to the Father’s plan. Jesus encourages John—and all of us—to trust that plan. The kingdom will come in God’s way and in God’s time.

There’s an old hymn that gets it just right: “For not with swords’ loud clashing or roll of stirring drums—with deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom comes.” Of course the greatest deed of love and mercy is Jesus’ self-surrender on the cross. That one deed makes the kingdom a sure thing.

Generous Lord Jesus, thank you for who you are and for what you do. Help us to be grateful for your generosity to us and to show the same generosity to others. Amen.

The apostles left . . . rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

— Acts 5:41

More than once in these meditations, I have referred to the way of the kingdom. There’s no definition for it. But in our reading from Matthew 5 today—often called “The Beatitudes”—Jesus names a number of desires, attitudes, and behaviors that are part of the kingdom “way.”

As you read the Beatitudes, imagine the community Jesus describes. It’s a community of people who are humble, meek, and pure-hearted; who mourn over sorrow and pain; who show mercy and make peace—all because they hunger and thirst for what is right.

You would think this kind of community would be inoffensive. That neighbors would be happy to have them around. But Jesus says the community may also be persecuted: hated, insulted, excluded, falsely accused, and more. The sticking point is Jesus himself—and the community’s first loyalty to him. That’s because the world and its kingdoms would rather be first in our lives. So trouble may come to us who live by the way of the kingdom. But blessings come too. There’s comfort to ease our sorrow and pain. Mercy to overcome injustice. Satisfaction in working for changes to do what’s right. There’s also welcome in the household of God—a place to call home, a place to belong. Above all, in the kingdom itself we will see and live with God!

Jesus, thank you for showing us a better “way” and for going ahead of us. What a wonderful hope we have in you: the kingdom of God! Amen.

Christ Jesus . . . has become . . . our righteousness. . . .

— 1 Corinthians 1:30

Here’s the main entrance requirement for the kingdom of God: You must have a righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the Pharisees. Well, good luck with that! The Pharisees were amazing. They kept the law of Moses better than anyone. The apostle Paul says that when he was a Pharisee, his law-based righteousness was faultless (Philippians 3:5-6). Who could possibly top that?

But could there be a different way instead of trying to do the Pharisees one better? There has to be, because Paul explains that the Pharisees’ way doesn’t work. We are all sinners, and none of us can keep the law perfectly—so none of us can claim to be righteous (see Romans 3-7).

But what if the purpose of the law was to point out our sin and show us that we need a Savior? And what if Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the law for us through his death on the cross? What greater righteousness could there be? And what if this righteousness could be ours through the gift of Jesus? What if Jesus himself is our righteousness? Well, he is. And he is the one who brings us into the kingdom!

No one enters the kingdom of God by having the best behavior, but only by having faith in the King, Jesus. That’s how the repentant tax collectors and sex workers entered the kingdom ahead of the Pharisees. Jesus was their righteousness. Now that’s good news!

Jesus, thank you for taking sin out of the way so that we can enter the kingdom of God. Help me to trust that. Amen.

“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

— Matthew 5:20

College admissions are competitive. So our daughter’s high-school guidance counselor recommended ways to sweeten her applications. I told the counselor not to worry. Our daughter would be going to our church-sponsored college. To get accepted, all she had to do was apply.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were determined to keep the Law of Moses faithfully. They figured their righteousness would help bring the kingdom of God and would ensure their place in it. What a surprise they had when Jesus said that sex workers and turncoat tax collectors were going into the kingdom ahead of them!

What!? Was the kingdom of God just free for the taking, with no special application requirements? To the Pharisees, that couldn’t be. They had staked their lives on the Law of Moses. They were not about to turn to a different way. But Jesus is the righteous one. He brings the kingdom. And those traitorous tax collectors and sex workers were trusting in him. They had repented and now believed in Jesus, the way to the kingdom of God.

They certainly had no righteousness of their own. But that was okay. They had Jesus. So all they had to do was come to the kingdom, trusting in him.

That’s all any of us has to do. Come. Just come to Jesus and his kingdom.

Jesus, I come to you and to your kingdom. Show me the way of your kingdom every day. And help me to follow it. Amen.

“You gave me something to eat . . . [and] to drink, . . . you invited me in, . . . you clothed me, . . . you looked after me, . . . you came to visit me.”

— Matthew 25:35-36

When people have a stake in something, they tend to puff it up. It’s the newest, the fastest, the brightest, the strongest. Not Jesus. He says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.

A mustard seed is tiny. Looking at it, you wouldn’t expect it to amount to much. And like any seed, it’s dependent on outside conditions—soil, moisture, sunshine—to germinate and grow.

Farmers today plant millions of soybean seeds in a single field. They make sure to plant plenty because they know they’ll have a 20 to 30 percent loss. Home gardeners plant several squash seeds in every hill because some of those seeds may fail to germinate and some of the young plants may not mature.

But Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a single, small seed. Everything is staked on that one, tiny seed. If it fails to germinate, if it fails to grow, then all is lost. But when that one seed does sprout and grow, it becomes something far beyond its humble beginning: a safe and shady perch for a choir of songbirds.

In the same way, the kingdom of God may not look like much. But here and there, almost invisibly, it welcomes, shelters, and supports life. Maybe you’re a part of that through a local congregation. I hope so.

Lord Jesus, give us faith to see your kingdom all around us. And give us courage to make your kingdom visible, even in the smallest ways. Amen.

“Are you envious because I am generous?”

— Matthew 20:15

From the time we are little children, we have a keen sense of fairness. So if my mom gave my brother a piece of cake just a little bigger than the one she gave me, I would protest: “That’s not fair!”

Jesus told lots of parables—stories that use familiar scenes and images from daily life to teach about the kingdom of God. These stories are often surprising, and sometimes even shocking. For example, some of Jesus’ parables include outcomes that don’t seem fair—and that can surprise us or even make us upset. But what if fairness is not the point?

In today’s story about day-laborers in a vineyard, the issue of fairness comes up in a big way. When the landowner pays all of the laborers for a full day, no matter how many hours they have worked, the laborers who worked all day protest: “We worked the whole day. The sun beat down on us for hours. Why should the people who worked only one hour get the same pay as we do?” This is certainly not fair. But fairness is not the point.

The kingdom of God is not fair. It’s much more than fair. The kingdom of God is generous. Jesus is a generous King. He gives us all that he promises and more than we deserve.

Generous Lord Jesus, thank you for who you are and for what you do. Help us to be grateful for your generosity to us, and help us to show the same generosity to others. Amen.