After spending over three years with His handpicked disciples, Jesus willingly laid down His life, rose from the dead, and before returning to the Father He spent His last 40 days teaching them about the Kingdom of God.
“He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” (Acts 1:3 NIV) Why Would This Be “New”? The Kingdom of God was not a new concept to the Jewish disciples. But a Kingdom where the King would actually rule from inside the hearts and the mortal bodies of His people? Now that was a new concept. But should it have been “new” to them? This understanding of the “inside out” Kingdom of God, of how the King is going to live and rule within the hearts of believers, should not have been a new idea to the 12. The Old Testament fully explained the coming of the New Covenant and how it would be implemented. (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel…just to name a few.) Even To This Day…A Veil But, because of their upbringing within the Second Temple Jewish community of the early first century, they had a “veil” over their eyes when they read the Old Testament promises about the “New Way” that was coming. This is Paul’s explanation:
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AuthorMark Drake is an internationally known author, teacher and leader. He focuses on equipping leaders around the world in New Covenant Grace. Archives
March 2023
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