Gospel Proclamation

Matthew concludes the narrative of signs and wonders in chapter 9 with Jesus’ deeply significant comments on harassed sheep and a plentiful harvest. These words connect Jesus’ ministry back to the Old Testament promises of a good shepherd, faithful messenger, and suffering servant who would bring about a decisive change in the fortunes of God’s people. Both at the beginning of his public ministry (Luke 4) and in response to John the Baptist’s concerns about his identity (Matthew 11), Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 to indicate his fulfillment of these promises, especially that good news is preached to the poor. In this respect, Herman Ridderbos highlights the origins of the gospel but also notes the shift that arrives with Jesus in his gospel proclamation. He writes, “Therefore, the gospel preached here is not merely a promise; nor does it consist solely in the fact that salvation has come nearer. Though still future as regards its perfect consummation, it has fundamentally become a fact at the present moment. … [B]y the side of pronouncements concerning the future we find those concerning the present.”[1] The fullness of time had come (cf. Gal 4:4; Eph 1:10), and that is why Jesus begins his gospel proclamation with these words: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 ESV).

What difference does it make that the fullness of time had come? What separates Jesus from the prophets of old? Ridderbos writes, “This is explained in the first place by the authority or power with which Jesus preaches the gospel of the kingdom. His word is not only a sign, it is charged with power; it has the disposal of the matter, the salvation which it defines: it is not merely a word, but ‘it shall accomplish that which he pleases’ [for the one] who speaks it.”[2] Like the original creation, which came about by God’s powerful word, without conflict or strain, Jesus’ powerful words of restoration and joy accomplish his will, effect what he desires. This is why there is an aspect of present fulfillment in Jesus’ ministry, even in the words he preached. After all, the proclamation of the gospel as the coming of the kingdom, is something that may be possessed, since Jesus describes the kingdom in the gospels as something that must be received, sought, entered, etc. “Such phrases also make it clear that the kingdom of heaven can be shared in some way or other, that it changes the lives of those who receive it, that by virtue of God’s act it becomes a gift, a possession, a vital domain of those to whom this privilege is granted.”[3]

With that final comment, Ridderbos points to the theme of Matt 10:1-15, namely that the project of gospel proclamation transforms. While Ridderbos is primarily interested in looking at Jesus’ gospel proclamation, the remarkable idea put forward in Matthew 10 is that Jesus also invites the Twelve to participate in this gospel project. They, too, may perform signs and wonders consistent with the present reality of the kingdom of heaven. They, too, may offer the peace that is only available with the proclamation of the gospel. They, too, may by their ministry testify to both the blessings and the curses wrapped up in the presence of the kingdom of heaven. But, there is a critical point of difference that must still be maintained between Jesus’ gospel proclamation and that of his disciples. Ridderbos writes,

The presence of the kingdom, both in Jesus’ action and in his preaching of the gospel, the salvation he proclaims, the possession of bliss that he assigns to the poor in spirit, rest in the secret of Jesus’ person. The only satisfactory exegesis of the gospel of the kingdom in all its facets is the Christological. In the end everything must concentrate on Jesus’ self-revelation. The fulfillment, the new tidings that Jesus has brought can not in any way be separated from his own person, as, e.g., a doctrine promulgated by him and spread by the apostles, but it is present in his person, “in the historical event” which is given with him, which he is.[4]

That is to say, the critical point of difference is that the disciples point beyond themselves while Jesus points to himself. In both instances, though, gospel proclamation is far greater than an idea, for it is the revelation of a particular person who realizes and will realize both the blessings and the curses of the kingdom of heaven. As we carry forward this gospel proclamation as the church, which is the corporate successor to the Twelve, may we never forget that we preach a particular person, the Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all blessings flow.

[1] Herman N Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, ed. Raymond O Zorn, trans. H. de Jongste (P&R Publishing, 1962), 73.

[2] Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, 73.

[3] Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, 77.

[4] Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, 76.