1. The Kingdom of Heaven Matthew 13

2. The Kingdom of Heaven – Matthew 13 Matthew portrays Jesus as the King – Ch 1 - Jesus kingly ancestry – Ch3 - Testimony of John Baptist / victory over prince of darkness – Ch 5-7 - The rules/principles of his kingdom – Ch 8-10 - Jesus CV for the role of King - Growing opposition and rejection – Ch 11 - The dangers of rejecting him – Ch 12 - The rejection reaches its peak – Ch 13f - Jesus directs his teaching to those who believe

3. The Kingdom of Heaven – Matthew 13 The Kingdom of God – the Big Picture! Bible more than a collection of Christian writings Bible more than a collection of Christian writings Bible is God’s story Bible is God’s story – It follows the family line of Abraham – God’s gave promises to bless and prosper him Chief of these was a land and a king Much of Old Testament is spent looking for this king – New Testament = new dawn John Baptist told people to get ready for the king Jesus said he’d come to bring the kingdom in

4. The Kingdom of Heaven – Matthew 13 The Kingdom of God – the Big Picture! Bible more than a collection of Christian writings Bible more than a collection of Christian writings Bible is God’s story Bible is God’s story – Abraham – promises of a king – New Testament = new dawn John Baptist told people to get ready for the king Jesus said he’d come to bring the kingdom in – Didn’t work out as people expected – Leaders rejected Jesus because he wasn’t what they expected – God’s plan was to start small, gradual build up, to include non Jews and to climax at a 2 nd coming.