Introduction

A. When Jesus came into this world, He found a people expecting the kingdom to appear at any moment.

B. The kingdom Jesus ushered in was very different from the one they had been expecting and from any other they had ever seen.

I. This kingdom has a different kind of king.

A. When offered earthly dominions, this King refused them (Matthew 4:8-10; John 6:15).

B. When this King entered the capital city, He did not enter in the typical royal fashion (Matthew 21:1-9).

C. This King’s kingdom did not end upon His death; that is when it began (Matthew 16:18-21).

II. This kingdom has a very different blueprint.

A. It has a different law (Matthew 6:10; 5:17-20,48).

B. It has a different blueprint (Matthew 13:33; Luke 17:21).

C. It has a different expansion plan (Matthew 28:18-20).

D. It has a different power structure (Matthew 20:25-27).

E. To foreigners its treasury seems empty (Matthew 13:44-45).

III. This kingdom has a different kind of citizenry.

A. Citizenship is available to anyone (Matthew 5:3; 8:11-12).

B. This kingdom also has a unique naturalization process (Matthew 7:13-14,21; 3:2; 4:17; 18:3-4; 19:12; John 3:5).

Conclusion

A. This kingdom is different because it is God’s, not man’s (Matthew 6:13).

B. Earthly kingdoms have tried to defeat it (Matthew 2; 10:18; 11:12), but they will never succeed, for God has declared that this kingdom will stand forever (Luke 1:33).